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Looking Forward: Where Do You Want Your Organization to Be in 2021?  

On behalf of Gogh Solutions, I would like to wish everyone reading this a Happy—and most importantly, safe—Holidays and New Year. Additionally, I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to all of our partners for their continued support. We wouldn’t be where we are without you. 

This year has been a great teacher, even if the lessons haven’t always been welcome ones. At Gogh, when we partner with clients, we always look at the 3 tenants of Field Service Management (FSM): People, Process, and Technology.  

While those tenants haven’t changed, 2020 has limited the options for optimizing the people side of operations to mainly technology and process driven changes. All three are still dependent on one another, but process and technology are playing a much bigger role in enabling an organization’s people—as well as an organization’s overall success. 

This shift is shaping what organizations need to focus on in 2021. What Gogh Solutions has learned, and what we’ve seen this year, is that businesses who are looking after their people by giving them the tools they need to be flexible are the ones who are thriving.  

Lessons Learned 

1. Understanding how work is done is huge. Organizations have playbooks for nearly everything, but not for global pandemics and the economy shutting down. Therefore, companies that were set up to not only be flexible, but had the data to make well-informed decisions, in many cases had their best year ever. 

  • Metrics are key; they allow for responsive change, constant improvement, and offer more ways to achieve success—regardless of the circumstances. 
  • Having a structure in place to formalize more frequent, higher levels of change impacts the entire business, from client engagement to service delivery.  

2. No one wants to hear, “I don’t know when I can help you.” Knowing what work you can do and when you can do it makes your organization an asset to your employees, customers, and within your industry. 

  • Having a command-and-control structure via technology, that includes real-time information to update things such as appointments, technician locations, and client information; has moved beyond the realm of differentiators. 
  • It is expected and necessary for organizations wanting more flexibility. 

3. Keeping up with changes to rules and regulations that vary widely based on location, and this year were often updated frequently, was a matter of safety. Businesses needed to ensure client and employee safety, high standards, and a timely job resolution by keeping up with these changes. 

  • Different levels of control are needed for different service locations; consequently, organizations that can track those rules and enforce them are quicker to adapt and more in demand. 

Planning Ahead 

Looking ahead to next year, and looking back at this past year, we can see that the choices we make as organizational leaders have a lasting impact. Those we’ve talked to, who would offer advice to other FSM organizations, have said they’ve relied on their ability to be agile in order to remain operational. Agility that was a result of things such as: 

  • Investment in technology that was right for their company. 
  • Enabling their frontline employees with optimized processes and tools. 
  • Utilizing real-time data and automation to adapt and respond quickly. 

For those planning ahead, we can stress what we’ve learned at Gogh Solutions this year—remember the human aspect of this all, and support your employees for a more agile organization. Give them the tools and knowledge they need. Yes, this year was difficult, but it’s not too late to turn things around. 

  • Get an evaluation to help prioritize your business needs. 
  • Consider a targeted approach to implementation if you’re looking for quick improvements and ROI. 
  • Go with technology you can control and adjust yourself, and a solution partner that will enable you to do so. 

 Again, Happy Holidays to you all from everyone here at Gogh Solutions. If you’re looking for assistance or advice in 2021, we’re here to help—and have full digital capabilities to enable clients remotely.