Cloud, where optimised workforce management belongs

Kordia Solutions is a leading end-to-end Australian telecommunications, communications and broadcast service provider. The company deploys and maintains critical networks and infrastructure across Australia, employing engineers responsible for structural and network design, telecommunications and IP technology, as well as a mobile team of around 240 field service workers.

The field service team covers the expanse of Australia, carrying out installation and commissioning, as well as operations and maintenance — both reactive and planned. Much of the service activity is located in remote and rural areas and the workload fluctuates according to current project commitments.

Tony Lord is the National Projects Manager – Systems at Kordia. By his own admission, the company had specific and complex requirements to consider when identifying and implementing a suitable workforce management solution.

“We operate slightly differently from many service delivery companies in that we don't segregate the work strictly by geographic region alone. We deal with many different types of customers and each network can comprise vastly different equipment. To that end, we can't predict and anticipate the equipment and skillset that will be required on a job to the same level that other service delivery organisations can.

“Some companies have a standard set of equipment, require a fairly standardised set of technician competencies and it's a matter of techs performing pretty much the same task day in, day out. Our situation isn't unique by any means, but it is a very specific service delivery environment and it creates its own set of challenges," says Lord.

Those challenges were front of mind when it came to finding a suitable workforce management solution and a number of software packages were evaluated. Kordia was keen to investigate cloud-based rather than on-premise solutions as part of an enterprise-wide strategic initiative.

“I think we're now at a point where the benefits are recognised and the cloud is seen as a better option for a number of reasons. There are the obvious benefits, such as a decreased infrastructure burden and the ability to expense as an operational cost rather than a cap-ex outlay. It also means you move away from an expensive upgrade path encountered every time new features and functionality are implemented into the software," he says.

In an industry where it's hard to distinguish between competitor offerings, there are only so many levers that can be pulled to contain costs and keep prices down. Travel has historically been a substantial overhead for Kordia, which was a key driver for implementing a workforce management solution in the first place.

Lord says the old world use of spreadsheets to schedule technician time was fraught with problems.

“Using spreadsheets, it's just about keeping people occupied. You don't get to see who can do what and schedulers tend to monopolise some technicians for certain tasks. It's all too task-oriented and tied to current skillsets. That doesn't provide a path for up-skilling of technicians who may benefit from that process.

“Once we implemented the ClickSoftware solution, we gained invaluable insights into things like our demand cycle and training deficiencies, which enabled us to make changes to alleviate problems we weren't even aware we had," he says.

“As a technology company, we've had to make a conscious decision to move away from becoming software developers to meet our own needs. The transition from an on-premise workforce management solution to a cloud-based one is part of a larger enterprise-wide program.

“We are looking at the whole 360 degree workflow view, from estimation through initiation, execution and field. There's such a high level of interoperability required and we've determined that finding best-of-breed products and combining them delivers a whole that is much greater than its parts.

“Successful integration between these systems means we've lessened guesswork and reduced admin. Using ClickSoftware and having access to information in real-time makes it possible to intervene as soon as we start to deviate from the plan. We can perform trend analysis because we see the bigger picture, rather than a set of isolated, individual cases. This means we can ask ourselves; is it our training? Is it our staff? Are we underestimating required hours or are there other real, deeper problems?

“It starts with fairly rudimentary analytics, but then you start to understand what else you can see and scrutinise. You realise you can assess productivity and performance at a much more granular level, which then begs certain questions, leads to new insights and still more questions. It gives a real sense of how the organisation actually works. It's been quite transformational and has become influential in our business decision making," says Lord.

The positive changes aren't isolated to management. Lord attributes a noticeable shift in technician behaviour to system implementation.

“Everything's visible and everyone's accountable. The system tells a technician when they should be mobilised, they know how long the routing software estimates the journey will take — even with a jeopardy allowance. They know that inconsistencies will be logged and reported, so it's inevitable that behaviours adapt as a result. That's invaluable to any organisation — you can identify and reward top performers and equally pinpoint where there is room for improvement. It also removes the resentment often seen under the old system, whereby one guy perceived as not pulling his weight still earned the same as a guy working his heart out. This levels the playing field," he says.

Kordia is about halfway through the broad transition road map they set two years ago and Lord is a keen believer that it's not just the tools you utilise, it's the application of those tools.

“Many industries are becoming increasingly homogenised," he says, “and it's not uncommon for your competitors to utilise the same software products as you do. We are now at the point where the configuration of those products is what provides a company's point of difference — it's effectively become intellectual property in itself. Software has ceased to be a 'product' in the strictest sense of the word. We see it now as an enabler for informed business decisions and how companies choose to use it as having a huge influence on success."

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Sondra Paulson