Field services after COVID-19: how to soften the impact and streamline processes

Throughout history, humanity has adapted and restructured itself in response to emergencies that destabilize society at its roots — natural disasters, wars and, of course, pandemics.

In the information age — also known as the "digital age" — the same thing happens, only abruptly and globally.
In many ways, COVID-19 accelerated changes in behavior and mobility that seemed suspended or postponed indefinitely.

Telecommunications, process automation and smart routing are just some of the tools that have transformed how consumers receive services, and also the approach companies choose to take with potential clients.

These behaviors are not trends but shifts in paradigm; they took hold and have affected the field services industry, so it makes sense to think about how we should proceed in order to adapt effectively and safely.

With that in mind, let's look at the practices and advantages geo-management software offers when it comes to protecting people's health, lowering operating costs and raising profitability, even in a pandemic.

Protecting our people

Keeping field staff supervised and protected is a challenge, and social distancing makes that challenge far harder to meet.

Even so, geo-management, through its mobile and web applications, keeps back-office teams and the mobile workforce connected, operating together despite the distance; and it provides real-time data that is vital when decisions have to be made.

The actions and data captured are made available to both sides on equal terms, which supports the best possible answer to common communication problems and provides the tools to operate with greater precision

Automatic assignment and reassignment:  optimized, safe and intelligent

Isolation, social distancing and widespread uncertainty have increased the need to postpone or cancel appointments and reschedule work, and consequently to overload the administrative tasks that assign times and staff.

This is particularly challenging for companies that do not use geo-management software, since these tools make it possible to control and manage street-level work extremely safely, making it easy to cancel, change or reschedule appointments in a few clicks, addressing client needs quickly and effectively and reducing administrative workload.

Beyond saving enormous amounts of time, it also guarantees that the best-qualified person is assigned to each job at the safest possible moment for both sides.

Efficiency and intelligence

With geo-management software like GoDoWorks, organizations stay connected anywhere and at any time; with quick access to scheduling and rescheduling, and with tools to improve efficiency and performance.
GDW meets adversity by building intelligence and forecasting: as data is gathered in the system, it delivers the insights needed to work out how to maximize performance and save through efficiency.

 Making the most of resources

Implementing artificial intelligence is and will remain key to creating optimal schedules, cutting costs and saving the time a human scheduler would take. But AI can also reassign work in real time based on new data, such as how long a technician spends on a call or task.

AI-driven solutions reduce the load on remote technical support staff, solving a problem companies urgently need to address: the calls, in order to lower workplace risk and costs.

An estimated 27% of companies decided to stop making calls once COVID-19 arrived, opting for self-service and remote technical support. That shift in paradigm also strengthened the autonomy of frontline workers, who took on a decision-making role that markedly improved on the results the rigid, outdated pre-pandemic processes had been producing by slowing decisions down.

Being able to determine the course of action on the practical side of daily work without losing administrative control or data along the way is one of the great benefits senior executives will see across the whole line of work through geo-management software like GoDoWorks. So, in conclusion: should we wait for things to "go back to normal"?

No, of course not. We have to adapt and understand that nothing is going to be the way it used to be. Only the companies that operate from a place of innovation, swimming with the technological current and matching their pace to the accelerated post-COVID-19 shift in paradigm, will see their profitability affected positively, lowering costs (even below their pre-pandemic figures), and only they will reach the operational excellence that keeps their workers and clients safe, protected and loyal.

And what do you think?