If one of your company’s challenges is installing, maintaining, or servicing technical equipment in the field, you’re probably going to be shocked at how the Netfor field services team will make that process easier and lead to better customer experiences. The key to our field services operation’s quality isn’t some magic solution. It’s going about every step in a smarter way, getting ahead of your competition.
There are many reasons behind the success of our field services team, but we’ll zero in on three of the most important:
- Our nationwide reach and diligent vetting of technicians,
- The ways we deliver real-time communication with our clients, and
- Measurable proof that we outperform the competition.
Let’s examine these reasons and why they’re important to you and your business.
Secret #1: Our technician network
You can examine dozens of outsourced field services operations, but you won’t find any that come close to Netfor. For starters, there’s the scope of our network. When Netfor handles your field services, you gain access to over 6,000 highly skilled, prequalified, trusted technicians across the U.S. (including territories) and Canada. Every one of those technicians is equipped with knowledge, tools, and resources, armed with the soft skills that protect your hard-earned reputation and supported with accountability measures that build confidence.
Just as important, we don’t put numbers ahead of quality. We use a deliberate, step-by-step qualification process, highly focused training, extensive real-time communication, and accountability that continually improves the relationship between Netfor, its partners, and our network of professional technicians. So whether you need someone in Belmar, New Jersey; Ocala, Florida; LaMesa, California; Baxter Springs, Kansas; or rural Saskatchewan, Netfor is ready with the right technician.
How it works
When you come to Netfor with a need for field services, we start by developing a thorough understanding of the exact skills and technical requirements. Next, we reach into our talent database to find the closest technician or team with the right skills and experience to handle the project.
We confirm the scope of work with our clients and review the scope of work with the technician to verify they have the proper knowledge, tools, and experience. Then we confirm their past performance continues to meet our high standards. If a project is more complex than usual, one of our project managers may follow up with a more focused collaboration with our clients.
Our goal?
Heading off the potential for anything going wrong at the actual service call — such as the technician not realizing a specific tool is needed or discovering the project requires skills they lack.
Next, we send the technician training materials about the project, whether that’s step-by-step videos or knowledge articles, backed up with pre-visit testing to verify the technician’s understanding of what must occur while in the field.
Secret #2: Real-time Communication
The service our technician will provide is vital to you and the people at the site. That’s why we’ve developed a real-time communication platform to keep everyone apprised of the status and the project. Our Netfor 360 platform ensures everyone knows exactly when the work will be performed and then verifies the work was done correctly. Your onsite team will know who will show up, when they’ll get there, and how long the work will likely take.
The communication helps us get better, too. If the technician encounters an unexpected complication, they’ll share the details with us so we can incorporate them into the project scope and our training materials. We also check back with you to confirm your satisfaction with the technician and the work. If there are any problems, we dig to find the root cause and take steps to keep it from happening again. And most importantly, we provide our clients with deliverables which typically include pictures of the critical work product performed and successful test readouts of newly installed devices.
Secret #3: Proving we’re the Best
It’s one thing to make vague promises about the quality of a company’s service. It’s something completely different to have data that clearly documents that quality. Our most important measure is something known as First Run Rate (FRR), which describes what percentage of our customers’ needs are resolved during the first service call.
We focus on FRR because it provides an excellent snapshot of the realities of field service. We recognize that service visits generally involve interruptions, delays, or productivity gaps. You may be waiting for something to be installed. Maybe an existing system needs a critical update. Or perhaps something just isn’t working. You can’t restore your normal productivity until the situation is resolved. And let’s face reality, dispatching a technician is the most expensive means of delivering a service so doing it right the first time is imperative.
When our technician arrives on time, has everything needed to accomplish the task, and takes care of it as quickly as promised, you’re happy. But if they’re late, or they lack the ability or resources to do what needs to be done, you’re frustrated. Know how angry you feel when you have to take a half-day off work to wait for the cable guy, and he never shows up? FRR tells us whether we’re succeeding at making sure that the technician arrives in the right place, at the right time, with the right knowledge and resources to get the job done to your satisfaction.
A major study of the technical service industry by Aberdeen concluded that companies with good service teams manage to achieve a First Run Rate of 88 percent. That sounds pretty impressive until you learn Netfor’s FRR for field services averages an amazing 97 percent month over month. In other words, “good” companies in technical field services are going to disappoint you better than one time in ten. You and your company deserve better.
So why isn’t Netfor perfect?
You probably see that 97 percent FRR and wonder why we’re proud of less than 100 percent. The answer’s simple. Perfection is unattainable and we won’t make promises we know we can’t keep. Parts may be delayed. The contact at the customer’s location may have called off sick. The technician encountered an unexpected issue that added a day to the process. Maybe they forgot a special tool. Or a surprise snowstorm made the roads impassable. In other words, stuff happens. And each time some kind of stuff happens, we find ways to keep it from happening again. That’s our pledge to you.
Still, we don’t spend much time patting ourselves on the back about that 97 percent FRR. Instead, we’re always looking for ways we can get closer to that 100 percent mark. The real secret you should remember, nobody works harder to satisfy your stakeholders’ needs than Netfor.
