By Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service
It’s been an honor to be at the helm of Future of Field Service in 2019, and a pleasure to watch it grow. Since it’s inception at the very end of 2018, we’ve had immense support and interest from the industry – so thank you for that! I’m very passionate about giving the service community a platform to share, learn, and grow and I’m thankful for the opportunity Future of Field Service gives to do just that. Looking back on 2019 I’ve been thinking about how much we’ve accomplished this year and wanted to share with you all my personal favorite Future of Field Service moments of 2019.
First is the Future of Field Service Podcast launch! Since April 3rd, we’ve released a new podcast each Wednesday (with a few bonus episodes thrown in). I’ve wanted to launch a podcast for a very long time – I’ve long felt that the conversations I get to have with folks within the service community are just awesome, easily my favorite part of my job. Being able to share those conversations with our audience and enable all of you to feel a part of them is a lot of fun. We’ve been fortunate to have some amazing guests on to share their own journeys, their wins and struggles, and their valuable insights. I absolutely love the podcast platform and look forward to keeping the momentum going.
Next is our Women in Field Service series – a series we began in March in honor of International Women’s Day but decided to keep going all year long because of how interesting it has been to hear women’s journeys. I hope we all get to a point where there doesn’t need to be a “women in” callout, but particularly in field service I don’t think we’re there yet – there is work to be done to make the service industries a more equal ground, and a strong desire from many to work diligently to foster greater diversity. Until we accomplish those objectives, I think the practice of hearing and telling women’s journeys – what brought them to service, what their challenges have been, how they see the opportunity for women in this industry, and what they’ve learned – is important, and enjoyable. I’ve loved each of these interviews – you can find them all by searching “Women in Field Service” at www.futureoffieldservice.com. I especially loved this podcast episode, recorded live at Field Service Amelia Island. Check it out!
Third, I was honored to be invited to the grand opening of DHL’s Americas Innovation Center in Chicago to keynote the company’s The Future of The Services Supply Chain event. It was a gathering of a number of companies leading innovation within the service industries. It was interesting to hear what is on their minds, and it was also a pleasure to share with the audience some of what I’ve learned while interviewing service leaders throughout this year. DHL extended this invitation after finding value in Future of Field Service content, and this to me was a testament of how well the platform has taken off.
Finally, I was thrilled to attend my first Field Service Europe event. I’ve been attending Field Service Palm Springs for a decade, but had never before been to the European event. I was happy to represent Future of Field Service on the mainstage, first interviewing IFS customer Cubic Transportation and then moderating a great panel on AI and ML. Future of Field Service was well-received by the attendees of the event and we look forward to expanding further in the New Year.
There are many more moments I could list, but these four came to mind first. I owe a big thank you to IFS for trusting me to lead this resource and for working collaboratively to bring a valuable platform to the service community. I also owe a big thank you to contributor/podcast producer/jack-of-all-trades Tom Paquin for keeping this ship afloat. Finally, I owe each of YOU a big thank you for being a part of this journey. We have some wonderful plans for 2020 and I look forward to what’s in store.