How Field Service Management Software Addresses Challenges for Telecom Operators

Let’s face it, humans are wired for connection. Feelings of social connection are critical to mental health.

Even after walking through the shadows of the COVID-19 pandemic, where restrictions on public health have seen many restaurants close, bans on travel, cancellations of events, and remote work, we have seen yet again the importance of human interactions. These restrictions no longer exist, yet the experience has reshaped how we connect.

Co-workers continue to leverage applications to stay productive and maintain the flexibility and benefits of hybrid work models. Similarly, loved ones are balancing in-person interactions with the continued use of videoconferencing and online streaming platforms, which have become a staple in staying connected and entertained.

Pain points experienced by the telecom industry today

The recent demand for broadband communication services has added extreme congestion to fixed and mobile networks. As a result of peaks in internet traffic, field service telecom providers’ struggle to maintain their network stability and prevent services from failing is more accurate than ever.

Coping with these pain points has proved to be a huge juggling act for telco operators. The additional worry of tending to service repairs, handling installations, and improving the customer experience is simply too much to manage without field service management software. These field service management challenges are significant, particularly without telecom field service management software designed to streamline operations such as inventory management to enhance efficiency.

How the telecom industry benefits from field service management (FSM) software

Nearly every home or business across North America has an internet connection, phone line, or both. Maintaining top-level support and services for thousands and sometimes millions of customers can be difficult for a field service telecom company to control. With many people at home these days, new challenges are emerging as more and more calls come in for service installations, repairs, or to ask for technical support. Field service management for telecom is required to help juggle all of these components and deliver superior customer service.
 

1. It maximizes job allocation based on: skill sets, call volumes, geographical location

Having the capability to assign a task to a specific field worker based on certain criteria is vital in industries like this. Often, telecom providers have many workers in the field with various skill sets, including field installation technicians and field repair technicians. Furthermore, the large volume of calls received daily can involve anything from solving the most minor technical problem to the most complex, necessitating effective field service call dispatch software. Matching the right technician to the correct service calls based on his or her skills is simply unmanageable without a cloud-based telecom field services management solution.

Route optimization is another handy feature for telecommunication companies that must assign many work orders to field service technicians for daily field service operations. At the end of the day, minimizing a technician’s travel time can add up to significant cost savings. Dispatchers should be able to allocate jobs to workers closest to the customer site. Praxedo has made work order management even easier with its new SmartScheduler module. The dispatcher can ensure routes are optimized in seconds due to a smart engine that uses metaheuristic algorithms to calculate distances while balancing workloads.
 

2. It enhances communication between technicians, dispatchers, and end customers

Open communication is at the heart of excellent customer service. Opening the lines of communication between a telecom service provider and its customers is the key to improve customer satisfaction and strengthening the professional relationship. In this competitive market, a poorly treated call can cost the organization a loyal customer.

Great field service management software enables real-time updates sent at every step to notify customers of work progress or completion. Receiving automated emails or texts allows these customers to anticipate the arrival of a field service technician and keep track of the work being done as it is happening. As a result, the telco’s customer retention rate improves.

Praxedo recently introduced a new capability to their remote collaboration feature set called Praxedo Share. It lets workers in the field capture and send photos of a customer issue to a remote expert directly from their mobile device to help collaboratively analyze, diagnose and resolve a perplexing issue on-site. This was highly beneficial during the pandemic, as it eliminated the need to return to the customer’s home a second time. 

3. It helps collect and track important service details

When a work order is placed, all necessary data must be entered in one place to enable the field service technician to better understand the tasks. Dispatchers must also monitor the progress of work orders in real time. Logging data at a centralized location optimizes work orders and allows them to sync back to the company’s existing information system.

Telecom companies save time and money when field personnel can access additional technical instructions and job history or view the tools needed to complete the work on their mobile app. Using sophisticated field service repair software to gather all information empowers employees to perform the job well the first time and avoid unnecessary repeat visits to customer premises. Predictive maintenance improves the efficiency of the system by predicting issues even before they occur.

A rising demand for more connectivity is in fact, a good problem to have

The intense competition within the telecom sector has only heightened in recent years. Telecom service operators are challenged to stay innovative, provide ultra-fast connection speeds, and yet offer services with reduced costs.

Additionally, the surge in video streaming and calling usage has grown even post-isolation, putting ongoing pressure on networks to manage this high demand. This highlights one of the industry’s significant field service management (FSM) challenges.

After the horror of the pandemic, People have adapted by finding comfort in connecting with others through wireless technology, and they now expect their service providers to deliver exceptional experiences. Telecom service operators leveraging the benefits of field service management software achieve higher productivity rates by optimizing resources and facilitating the exchange of information between dispatchers and field personnel, a crucial aspect of field service task management.

These functionalities work together to provide the best possible experience to consumers everywhere, reflecting a shift towards more agile and responsive service delivery in the telecom sector. This adaptability is crucial for telecom contractor field service management, allowing for a more efficient alignment of operations and customer expectations.