Resisting Change Could Stall Field Service Management Innovation

Blog, HVAC

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Last updated Mar 16, 2020 at 11:51AM | Published on Mar 14, 2018 | Blog, HVAC

We are all resistant to change. It’s our nature that we don’t like our major day to day activities altered. We grow routines, and know what is expected of us at our jobs when we go in, and any deviation from that normality can cause panic or stress in even the most skilled worker.

In field service work, whether that would be in HVAC repair, industrial equipment maintenance, or facilities maintenance, tasks can become routine and how you complete them can become systematic for some employees. Some are just used to using pen and paper, filling out work orders on their own manually, contacting dispatchers directly, and keeping things away from the mobility avenues field service management is heading towards.

However, just because your technicians have their own system and way of doing things, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be looking for ways to innovate your field service delivery. While there are plenty of assumptions on how your field service technicians will react when a field service management software is added to their lives, the reality is, the benefits, be in technician productivity and possible revenue and growth opportunities, out-weigh the negatives, and your technicians may surprise you and be fully prepared for a new approach. Here are some assumptions we make that may limit innovating our field service organization.

Technicians will resist changing to a field service software

The largest assumption is that technicians will be resistant to any change in their workflow. They are the ones in the field doing the work, and they may not want their routines messed with. But this assumption isn’t necessarily as bad as many make it out to be, and more of an assumption built on our own fear of change. If your technicians resist a change to a field service management software, often it’s because they don’t understand why the change is happening, or what the benefits are to them. Perhaps they just need to be reminded that their job won’t change, in that they will continue to fix and maintain equipment and provide excellent service, but that they are now getting tools that will make their job easier, faster to do, and take away the mundane tasks they may despise doing.

Technicians don’t want to learn a field service software

Another assumption that sets back managers from making the decision to go with a field service management software is that some employees, mostly older ones, won’t want to learn a new technology. If your technician workforce is older in age and used to doing things the old-fashion way, resistance could come when you want to add mobility and field service software solutions to their lives. But the reality is, most employees will adapt to technology being introduced, as long as they see the benefit to them for using it. If explained properly and clearly to them, technicians may even fully embrace a push towards a technological solution, it just may require some additional training to get them up to speed.

The best field service organizations adapt to change and innovate their service delivery to become more efficient. But just assuming your employees will resist change to a field service management software could have drastic effects on your businesses bottom line, leaving plenty of improvements on the table, where other organizations will take them. Change is inevitable, so it’s best to have a conversation with your technicians, explain the reasoning why you are making the change to a field service software, the benefits to them, and how they will be trained. Because more often than not, resistance to change is just out of fear of the unknown. And with a team behind you ready to implement your software, those fears can easily be mitigated.