Field Service Employees determine customer satisfaction, reveals Trimble study in light of National Customer Service Week
As National Customer Service Week (1-7 Oct) sets out to raise the profile of customer service, Trimble’s ‘Road Ahead’ report reveals the strategic importance of field service delivery as a driver of customer satisfaction and brand reputation
- 90 per cent of companies surveyed see field-based staff as the face of the company
- 68 per cent consider customer satisfaction a top priority
- 61 per cent of managers plan to expand field service teams
This week, National Customer Service Week grasps its opportune moment to take stock about how well and how consistently organistions are meeting their customers’ needs and harnessing customer service to drive business success. A new industry report from leading fleet and field service management solutions provider Trimble reveals that businesses are investing further in customer service teams to meet the growing expectations of customers on the doorstep.
‘The Road Ahead - The Future of Field Service Delivery’, a new independent report commissioned by Trimble reveals that 57 per cent of operations directors and managers say their service teams have grown since 2007, while nearly two thirds (61 per cent) believe their service division will grow in the next five years.
The industry study was carried out by Proteus, an independent market research agency, and involved in-depth interviews with 100 managers and directors of businesses in the UK with field service departments across a variety of industries including communications (phone, cable and satellite), utilities, trade (HVAC, plumbing and electrical) and waste management.
The strategic importance of field service operations is increasingly recognised at the Board of Director’s level with 90 per cent of companies in the survey saying their organisation was fully committed to improving field operations. Just under half (49 per cent) said their board is placing more strategic importance on field service excellence than it did a year ago.
The report also found that field-based employees were perceived as the face of the company by 90 per cent of respondents, demonstrating the increasingly key role these teams are now playing in the overall business and in potentially impacting customer service and retention.
Businesses are also going to greater lengths to ensure service levels are maintained, with 82 per cent now running customer feedback programmes to monitor satisfaction, and over half now using social media to capture feedback. More than three quarters of managers anticipate a larger role for social media in the future.
It’s clear that today’s field-based organisations consider a customer-centric focus to be a priority, with customer satisfaction given as the top priority (68 per cent) for meeting field service objectives, followed by customer retention and improving profitability.
There is a growing acknowledgement of the increasing expectations of customers and the links between customer service, retention and profitability. Those businesses recognising their workforce as not only the company face but also a customer retention tool can reap the rewards as service continues to be a differentiator and something consumers could use to make an informed decision about who to buy services from.
“This report illustrates how businesses are adjusting their view of their field-based teams,” said Mark Forrest, general manager of Trimble’s Field Service Management Division. “These organisations are moving away from considering their service teams as simply an operational necessity, to viewing them as being strategically important to customers. Adopting a customer-centric focus in the field to meet customers’ service delivery expectations can be a significant asset to build a company’s brand.”
The ‘The Road Ahead - The Future of Field Service Delivery’ report explores the issues troubling industry managers and reveals insights into the strategic priority their organisations are giving to field service effectiveness, and their future plans in areas including service delivery and employee safety.
For a full breakdown and comprehensive analysis of the research findings, the report is available for free download at www.trimble.com/fsm/uk/theroadaheadreport/
Eisha Cooke
Trimble
Tel: 01473 696340
Email: eisha_cooke@trimble.com
About Trimble
Trimble applies technology to make field and mobile workers in businesses and government significantly more productive. Solutions are focused on applications requiring position or location: including surveying, construction, agriculture, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilising positioning technologies, such as GPS, lasers and optics, Trimble solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user. Wireless technologies are utilised to deliver the solution to the user and to ensure a tight coupling of the field and the back office. Founded in 1978, Trimble is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif.
For more information about Trimble and its products visit: www.trimble.com
About the research
The survey was executed by Proteus over April and May 2012. Participants were based in the UK and had a clearly defined role in the management or overseeing of field workers operating in a service function. The interviews were conducted by telephone with 100 managers and directors of businesses in the UK with field service departments across a variety of industries including communications (phone, cable and satellite), utilities, trade (HVAC, plumbing and electrical) and waste management.