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Don’t Settle: You Can Easily Manage a Blended Field Workforce

Don’t Settle: You Can Easily Manage a Blended Field Workforce

You may hear that it’s best to do all you can to avoid using contractors for any field service needs. If you have a field service organization with hundreds or thousands of internally employed field technicians, deploying contractors might not be a pressing need. Or maybe you’re considering deploying contractors in the field but are concerned about the lack of visibility and control over the customer experience. It’s your brand reputation out there and you want to make sure it’s protected. 

However, many organizations today are facing evolving workforce-related obstacles like a technician talent shortage caused by a retiring workforce and few people entering the field service industry. 

Does this sound familiar? 

You want to not only sustain but grow your business, yet the field technician talent shortage is challenging. Don’t let that worry you because the reality is that employing a blended workforce of full-time field technicians and contractors can help you overcome these obstacles. Moreover, enabling this blended workforce with the right technology to drive field service quality is key.

According to “Field Service Excellence Drives Enhanced Customer Experiences and Outcomes,” an IDC report sponsored by ServicePower, acceleration of a blended field service workforce is required to meet the dynamic needs of the service organizations and helps drive field service excellence and quality.

Let’s examine some of the strategies for successfully deploying a blended workforce.

Free Playbook: Overcoming the Technician Talent Shortage with Software

Maximize Technology to Optimize Blended Workforces

Some organizations are hesitant to deploy contractors in the field, as they become representatives of your valuable brand, which you need to protect. The reality is that there’s a good chance that you need or will need to use contractors at some point to support your service goals. 

“The ability to leverage a flexible workforce that incorporate a variety of field service resources, both internal and third party, can ensure customer issues get resolved efficiently, effectively, on time, and profitably,” according to the IDC report. 

But before you make the transformation to a blended workforce for your field service, make sure you have the right technology partner, one that has a solution designed to work with blended workforces. ServicePower’s unique field management software is the only industry software designed to work seamlessly with your employees and contractors. 

When you deploy ServicePower, you’ll also empower your contractors with a powerful claims reimbursement solution that lets them easily submit warranty claims and quickly pays them for services performed. This robust payment capability helps build loyalty to your company and leads servicers to want to do business with you. 

The unique blended workforce solution gives you the best of both worlds. It intelligently selects an employee or contractor depending on criteria you define, such as availability, skill, location, and a myriad of other criteria. 

Attract and Retain Quality Workers – Employees and Contractors 

Consider your contractors as an extension of your workforce who will represent your business in the field. And it’s natural that you only want the best to represent your brand. Make sure you have created an efficient and positive onboarding experience for contractors so they can begin receiving work sooner than later. Coupled with fast and efficient reimbursement, the best contractors will be happy to do business with you, ensuring work gets done and customers remain satisfied. 

Contractor onboarding and credentialing present administrative challenges and high costs to service the processes effectively. Technology that simplifies these processes and reduces time and money spent administering them has a positive result on the bottom line.  

Embrace technology to make contractor and employed workers’ jobs easier. Deploying modern tools (such as mobile and innovative technology) can help field technicians – full-time and contractors - feel empowered and increase their morale and job satisfaction, so they’ll perform their jobs better. Field service management software, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and IoT are technology solutions that help field workers save time resolving service issues. The right technology can also provide visibility and information on parts inventory, scheduling, equipment repair history, best and safest route to the service call, and more.

Visibility Into a Blended Workforce

Field service businesses want to have visibility into their field workers, whether they’re full-time employees or contactors. Here’s another case for deploying the right innovative field service management software. The right field service management software solution empowers and enables the workforce to do its jobs efficiently. 

Flexibility, smart dispatch and route optimization, improved communication, innovative technology – these are all drivers for a field service workforce to continue to work for the business.  You’ll have greater visibility on where your blended workforce is heading – in real-time – and how well it’s performing in the field.

The Future of Field Service

In the age of customer experience and the digital economy, customers have more choices about their wallet share, according to the IDC report. Service organizations need to become more agile, innovative, and collaborative. As the mixed employed and contracted workforce evolves, organizations need better performance, visibility, and planning to ensure they deliver a high-quality customer experience.

While there are various marketplace field management solutions, they are not equal, especially when it comes to blended workforces. Some organizations will try to create their own solution, but this will cause more complexity, fragmentation, and challenges – and will usually cost more in the end. You have enough headaches to deal with.

We have a better approach.

Only ServicePower has a purpose-built software solution that works intelligently with a blended workforce and is committed to ongoing innovation.

Overall, the talent you possess or manage directly reflects the type of business you run. Take care of your employees and contracted workers like you take care of your customers.

Don’t settle for a solution that doesn’t meet the needs of today’s consumer and an evolving workforce. With the right field management software in place – especially one that is designed for a blended workforce – you can better position yourself for the future.

Looking for more insights? Download the free IDC White Paper: Field Service Excellence Drives Enhanced Customer Experiences and Outcomes.

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