Monday, October 15, 2012

OnForce and the Science of Service: 2012 CSO Summit Sponsor Series by Sumair Dutta

OnForce has been a partner of the Chief Service Officer Summit for the last few years and we are very excited and thankful for their support of the 7th Annual Chief Service Officer Summit being held in Boston on Oct 16 and 17.

OnForce provides a platform for field service organizations to select, schedule, and manage a contractor or third-party workforce for service-specific tasks or projects. This is possible as OnForce has a vast network of skilled and certified field service technicians tied to various disciplines, product lines and services. The use of this network not only enables service organizations to reduce the cost of service delivery, but also enables organizations to be more responsive when specific IT skills are needed in a variety of locations across the country and in Canada. In addition, OnForce’s goal is to minimize the risk associated with sourcing, managing and compensating a third-party workforce.

Aberdeen’s research has revealed a broader trend in the increase use of contingent or contractor labor for all types of work. In a 2012 study, organizations reported that 27% of their workforce could be considered to be contingent. In field service, Aberdeen’s Service Management research has revealed that 20% of all field service tasks are managed by a third-party or contractor workforce. In larger organizations, those with 500 or more technicians, 30% of field service tasks are handled by a third-party workforce. This is done for the following reasons (percentage of respondents):

- Reduce labor/manpower cost - 42%
- Increase scalability of business – 39%
- Increase overall coverage – 39%
- Reduce infrastructure cost – 34%

There are challenges tied to outsourcing, particularly tied to the lack of oversight of service quality and the need to work with multiple partners and technologies to get the desired workforce. Field service organizations are very cognizant of these, and the OnForce platform is designed to help mitigate and manage these challenges. To learn more about OnForce and its tie into the Science of Service, feel free to visit the 2012 Chief Service Officer Summit, Oct 16-17 in Boston. You can learn more at www.chiefserviceofficer.com

Sumair Dutta is a Vice President and Principal Analyst for Service Management at Aberdeen Group and an occasional guest blogger for OnForce. Follow him on Twitter: @Aberdeen_CSO