Field Service Management Trends in 2021

Was there a business that wasn’t caught off guard by COVID-19 in 2020? The coronavirus pandemic upended the global economy with stay-at-home orders and mandatory quarantining forcing many businesses to either shut their doors or have their employees work remotely.

This was especially true for small- and medium-sized field service companies and their employees.

Many field service technicians work in industries that are considered essential to preserving life, health, and basic daily functioning. This includes critical infrastructure workers (hydro and natural gas), plumbers, and home heating and air conditioner repairs (HVAC). These remote workers had to navigate in-home essential services and functions throughout the pandemic. 

While vaccines are expected to help get COVID-19 under control, no-one knows what the rest of the year holds. If anything, the pandemic showed us that field service workers need to prepare for future safety challenges. 

With that said, here are some of the top trends impacting field service management in Canada in 2021.

Focus on Greater Predicative and Proactive Maintenance

Canadians spent more time in their homes in 2020 and 2021 than at any other time in history. And they have been using their appliances and mobile devices more than normal. With their livelihood on the line, it’s imperative that their home devices work properly and are free from malfunctions or system crashes. 

Predictive maintenance juiced by the Internet of Things (IoT) can proactively monitor the performance of a system and alert a field service technician of needed repairs or even a potential shutdown. 

The IoT refers to digital and physical devices that are connected through the Internet (thermostats, refrigerators, furnaces, appliances, computers, cars, lights, etc.) and communicate with each other.

The IoT plays a critical role in monitoring how everything operates and plays an increasingly important role in making homes smarter. With more and more people working permanently from home, it’s important that everything works seamlessly. Field service management software does just that. 

Automation

Automation helps field service technicians be more productive and improves customer service. 

Cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions can provide field service technicians with instant access to inventory levels, access diagnostic tools, manuals, and schematics. 

They can also schedule additional appointments, create work orders, e-receipts, and accept payment. 

Big Data into Services

Field service technicians that are better prepared are more efficient, which results in more satisfied customers and better reviews. 

How does field management software accomplish this? 

Whenever a field service technician works with a client, they collect mountains of data. Field management solutions keep track of all of this data, crunch the number, and analyze it, giving businesses a complete overview of the organization. 

A better understanding of that big data also provides remote workers with greater insight into their customers. This real-time information provides field service business with a huge competitive edge over their biggest competitors. 

Higher Expectation for Self Service via Apps

The importance of working remotely and self-service came into the spotlight during the pandemic. No one has time to report an issue with a call center only to be put on hold. Apps and online portals are an excellent way for customers to report an issue on their own and schedule a repair.

Sitting on hold is a waste of time but being told that a field service technician will show up between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., only to have them not show up, is even worse. 

Because field service management software is in the cloud and updated in real-time, businesses can be more efficient. Instead of waiting around for four hours, their arrival can be pinpointed to a one-hour window, or less.

Agility and Adaptability to Change

One important thing that the coronavirus pandemic has taught us is how we need to be more flexible and willing to adapt to the changing workforce environment. When a workforce is this remote, employees need to embrace business agility. 

And when you break it down, agility is about being responsive to change. And everyone had to do that in 2020. And it looks like we’ll be asked to do the same in 2021.

TFP Canada, Canada’s Ultimate Field Service Provider

With the right field service management software, business can better predict, identify, implement, and manage their business needs. If you want your business to be agile and productive as possible, contact TFP Canada.

TFP Canada’s ERP software can help your business grow in the following ways:

• Avoid upfront costs for hardware, data servers, and software licenses.
• Upload data in real-time, to the cloud, creating a permanent digital record.
• Create better accounting and data entry.
• Improve business insight and reporting.
• Provide supply chain transparency.
• Provide a single source of information.
• Improve regulatory compliance.
• Improve supply chain optimization.
• Make more accurate projections.
• Improve data security.
• Provide backup and recovery.
• Improve scalability

Using the best technologies for web and mobile, our platform helps businesses automate and streamline their organizations complex business operations. Developed specifically with small-and medium-sized businesses in mind, our ERP software is easy to install, customizable, and easy to use. 

TFP Canada offers a complete office management system that lets you put your business on autopilot, anywhere, and everywhere, which allows you to do what you do best—grow your business.

To learn more about TFP Canada and how our cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software can help automate your business, improve fleet management, and reduce costs, contact us at 647-612-3300 or by email at sales@tfpcanada.com.