Make a plan, be prepared for when the “proverbial” hits the fan

Ok, we reckon there are a few other ways we could phrase ‘proverbial‘ hits the fan. Whatever word you want to use, the reality is that things do go wrong. Often. And the unexpected occurs.

Whether it be a global pandemic, natural disaster, man-made accident, or some other unexpected phenomenon, it is critical to have a plan in place to be able to assist customers, keep staff safe and mitigate risk when the unexpected happens.

Field Service Management (FSM), visibility for critical response management

A good FSM system will know where and what its team is doing in the event of a disaster. If they’ve made an unexpected diversion, the system knows. If a resource is running low, the system knows. This makes the management of that asset a simple and effective process. You can effectively see and communicate in real-time.

This is not only effective in disasters but day-to-day management as well. Coupled with a well-implemented CRM that has detailed information on customer activities, locations, and assets means that your company can initiate disaster plans to keep your team safe and direct available resources to help impacted customers in need.

This allows you to be proactive in the event of a disaster and allows you to avoid the chaos that accompanies a reactive response to difficult circumstances.

How does this look in the real world?

Let’s look at a common scenario that happens in mountainous regions with electricity companies.

Crisis Scenario

A freak storm hits, pulling down trees, smashing powerlines, damaging homes. Causing a mass power outage for 1000’s of homes in the region.

Command centre must act immediately, taking note of the following:

1. Is everyone safe? Check the status of teams. Does anyone need assistance?
2. Are there any customers in distress? Can anybody in the field aid?
3. Do you have a designated command centre with an emergency response plan with delegated authorities, contacts, personal emergency contacts? Is the plan up to date?
4. If the team is safe, begin polling customers and collect a log of issues and triage them.
5. Determine if third party emergency partners are required?

As you can see, this is a complex matrix of decisions and actions that must be made quickly, all while the proverbial is hitting the fan.

In order to avoid a chaotic mess of a situation, put a plan in place. These types of scenarios are difficult to deal with on the fly. They require a process, a system that can help manage it and an execution that uses available real-time data to react quickly and effectively.

Don’t know when, don’t know what is going to happen…

So how do we plan? The answer… we do and we don’t. Yeah, sounds vague, but let’s elaborate. The solution is not to plan for all scenarios, what we do is plan to have the information we need to make rapid and informed decisions based on quickly changing circumstances.

Information in the form of visibility is key. You need a complete picture of field team operations and the status of your customer assets and needs.

Only an effective Field Service Management (FSM) system combined with a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform with real-time integrated mobile apps for the service team, and asset location tracking will provide your business with the information required.

Visibility allows you to make rapid decisions to divert resources, re-assign service teams to customers most in need, and make quick changes with informed confidence.

While the cost of a disaster can be catastrophic, the opportunity to excel with exceptional customer service also exists.

To get your team ready for a critical response incident speak to a Klugo expert.

About Klugo

NetSuite + NextService

Klugo’s vision is to unlock the full operating potential of our customers to maximise the value of their business. We do this by helping our customers achieve operating excellence using NetSuite + NextService, the world-leading cloud ERP and FSM business platform for small-to-medium-sized businesses.