Your July INSIDER!

Welcome to the July edition of the INSIDER newsletter! This month, we tackled key topics shaping field service. We discussed AI fatigue, stressing the importance of strategic AI implementations, and highlighted how service organizations can embrace sustainability through regulatory compliance and reducing environmental footprints. We also explored balancing efficiency and employee empowerment, offering strategies for supportive environments. Lastly, we showcased the benefits of a "no door policy" with insights from James Mylett of Schneider Electric, demonstrating how accessibility can enhance employee engagement and culture. In our podcast episodes, Sarah Nicastro spoke with Rainer Karcher about sustainability trends and Darian Ari from GlobalConnect about the service optimization trifecta of enablement, empowerment, and execution. She also interviewed Teresa Carneiro about her journey as a young woman in field service and Clinten van der Merwe on setting a compelling strategic vision. Stay tuned for more insights! Read the full newsletter to find out more.

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Name: Darren Elmore

Job Title: GM Service

Company: Ricoh New Zealand Limited

1. What trend or challenge is top of mind for you at the moment?

Current trends that are still front of mind are those around how the customer experience (CX) is being delivered in an increasingly remote first world, as well as deploying AI with purpose rather than seeing it as a solution looking for a problem. As for challenges, where to begin, I would say that talent management, both recruitment and retention is always up there, as well as looking at new ways to differentiate yourself as a service provider in a crowded marketplace that has become less focused on products and more on end users and the improved utilisation of services.

2. How do you nurture creativity and innovation for yourself or for your team?

For myself, it’s all about deliberately making the time to be curious, I once read the quote, “Show me your schedule, and I’ll tell you what you value.” This really hit home, and since then I have ensured that I have time in my schedule for concentration and contemplation as a way for me to create time in each day to think about innovation. Within my team, I coach on the differences of management and leadership as the two terms are often used interchangeably, but they are both disciplines in their own right that are teachable practices, its about knowing when to be tactical, and when to be strategic.

3. What source of either information or inspiration has helped you/helps you most in your role? (can be a book, podcast, article, quote, website, community, mentor, famous person, etc.)

I listen to a diverse range of podcasts on my daily commute which help provide thoughts and insights from a broad spectrum of people and topics, as well as making the commute more tolerable! I also recently finished reading “More Time to Think”, by Nancy Kline, which I found incredibly insightful and advocates for the transformative power of dedicated thinking time in unlocking both individual and collective potential. A favourite inspirational quote is that from former racing driver Mario Andretti, “If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.”

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1. Should we be using Chat GPT??

Ah, everyone’s favorite buzzword! There are so many applications for tools like, and including, Chat GPT but whether or not you should be using one is hard for me to answer. What I will say is that you should absolutely be looking into and evaluating various sort of AI that can automate menial, low value work to free up your employees’ time for other things. Chat GPT is one example among many of how powerful today’s AI tools are and they undoubtedly play a role in the future of field service – but you want to be sure to lead your evaluation with the business value in mind versus the tendency to be drawn in by what’s newest, coolest, or shiniest. And, be sure to take steps no matter what new technology you’re testing to avoid any cybersecurity issues.??

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