blog Archives - Page 2 of 51 - Future of Field Service

By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor in Chief, Future of Field Service

How do you ignite transformation in a complex, global service environment? For Clinten van der Merwe, SVP, Head of Service at TOMRA Recycling, step one is defining a bold “North Star” vision. In a recent episode of UNSCRIPTED, Clinten offered an inside look at how he’s using his North Star – 100% remote service by 2035 – as a compass to guide TOMRA’s evolution through the challenges of digital transformation, rapidly shifting customer expectations, and the relentless drive for sustainability.

It’s important to understand that a North Star is more than just an aspirational statement. Clinten believes a North Star is a clear, compelling, long-term vision that shapes not just strategy, but the very identity of a team or organization. “It acts like a compass, pointing to north through complexity, ambiguity, and change,” he explains.

A North Star isn’t a simple technical tweak or incremental improvement. A North Star is needed, and adds value, when what’s underway is more of a paradigm shift. “A bold North Star really captures hearts and minds,” Clinten says. “It energizes the team, aligns leadership, and signals we’re here to build tomorrow — not just tweak yesterday.”

Using Storytelling to Unlock Business-Wide Alignment

A strong North Star also creates a foundation for powerful storytelling that can help build understanding and foster support beyond the service function – a struggle many leaders know well. Like TOMRA’s North Star of 100% remote service by 2035, most bold visions for service transformation are intertwined in broader business transformation. Storytelling is a powerful yet underutilized skill that can help build a business-wide movement, uniting R&D, sales, IT, operations, and even HR.

As Clinten puts it, “Stories inspire and move people to act, especially when bridging the gap between strategy and emotion.” In his first 90 days at TOMRA, he focused on the “why” – framing the vision in terms of emotional resonance, real business risk, and tangible customer value.

Consider this: In some markets, TOMRA already achieves an 80% first-time-fix rate remotely. That means less travel, faster response times, and greater equipment uptime for customers. But Clinten’s storytelling extends further, painting a future where a customer receives a proactive alert, connects instantly with an expert, and has issues resolved before they even know there’s a problem.

The art of storytelling isn’t just about painting a bright future, however; it’s about tailoring the message for every stakeholder. For sales, remote service becomes a differentiator and revenue driver. For engineering, it means spending less time firefighting and more time innovating. For HR, it’s about attracting and empowering the next generation of tech-savvy, customer-centric talent. And for finance, it’s hard numbers: millions in operational efficiency.

From Vision to Action: Building the Strategy to Achieve Your North Star

Of course, ambition and alignment alone aren’t enough; but a North Star sets the stage for building a stepwise strategy to achieve the vision. Clinten explains that TOMRA’s strategy is divided into three horizons.

Horizon 1 is focused on strengthening its digital backbone and expanding remote capabilities. This includes upgrading core platforms (like ERP), integrating AI and machine learning for predictive service, and piloting new models with trusted customers. For Clinten, “Scalability equals speed plus consistency.” Without modern systems, there’s no way to deliver a world-class, global remote service – but systems alone won’t make TOMRA’s vision a reality. “Data is everywhere,” Clinten says, “but insight is everything.” The value lies in knowing what to do with the data — turning it into actions that drive customer trust and business value.

Horizon 2 is centered around accelerating adoption. Over the next three to five years, TOMRA aims to expand remote service to 50–70% of interactions, build trust at scale through data transparency, and shift field teams to hybrid, remote-enabled roles.

Horizon 3 is about transforming for the future. In six to ten years, the goal is 100% remote capability across all product lines, embedding serviceability into product design from the start, and reimagining field engineers as strategic remote advisors. Achieving the North Star vision means TOMRA will need to fundamentally rethink its approach to talent.

Clinten acknowledges that service skillsets are evolving rapidly. “TOMRA isn’t eliminating field roles but elevating them. Tomorrow’s engineers will be part coach, part problem-solver, part data interpreter,” he shares. “Digital transformation expands the talent pool but also increases competition, so TOMRA is focused on making service careers modern, strategic, and customer-impacting.”

Flexible work, enabled by digital tools, appeals to a broader range of talent — inviting in those who want to work from coffee shops, set flexible hours, or contribute remotely from anywhere in the world. Yes, this is a bold vision – but also one that is quite compelling.

Navigating the Practical Realities of Service Transformation

Throughout these horizons of transformation, TOMRA is focused on setting measurable goals and celebrating milestones to keep teams motivated and accountable. The company is leaning into KPIs like customer uptime and digital resolution rates. “The goal is to be aggressive but attainable, inspiring but relatable,” Clinten notes.

As every service leader knows, transformation is never easy or linear. Clinten is candid about the challenges, which include resistance, slow progress, and the sheer weight of ambition. Staying motivated, he says, is about returning to the vision, celebrating small wins, and investing in continuous learning — for both leader and team.

Leadership, as Clinten models, means being present, uplifting teams, and modeling gratitude. “Positive stories are hardly celebrated,” he observes, “but they’re what keep you moving forward.”

For service leaders facing similar tides of change, the idea of creating a service North Star and leveraging storytelling to rally around it are one blueprint for how to guide a business (and its people) to not just adapt to tomorrow’s realities, but to create them.

By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor in Chief, Future of Field Service

As companies like Diebold Nixdorf (DN) strive to move from product-centric models to service-driven enterprises, the keys to success often lie not as much in bold strategies as in navigating the cultural, operational, and philosophical shifts required. Brian Gallipeau, SVP Service, Americas at DN, attributes much of the company’s progress on its journey to how it has harnessed principles of lean methodology to fuel transformation, foster change acceptance, and empower frontline teams across the Americas.

With service accounting for roughly 50% of DN’s workforce and representing a major share of revenue and profit, the stakes for evolving from its legacy as a product-focused company to one that is service-centered are high. An open mindset and willingness to change are foundational elements that DN has working in its favor, which isn’t always the reality in this type of evolution. “In many companies, there’s internal resistance to try something new or that siloed approach of ‘don’t get involved in my business’... there’s really not a lot of that at DN, surprisingly, for how old the company is,” Gallipeau shares. Gallipeau, who previously spent more than 20 years at Canon, oversees 8,000 employees responsible for delivering service at DN.

This openness to change, across new and existing leadership, has laid fertile ground for lean principles to take root at DN. Instead of clinging to the refrain, “That’s the way we’ve always done it,” DN has cultivated a climate where the willingness to try, adapt, and improve prevails.

Applying Lean in Service: The Opportunity and The Challenge

While lean methodologies are often synonymous with manufacturing, Gallipeau feels they could have an even more significant impact on service environments. In manufacturing, processes are controlled within a closed system, like assembly lines and defined workflows. Service, on the other hand, is decentralized and distributed: “We have potentially 500 people solving the exact same problem in different places every single day,” Gallipeau notes. This presents a massive opportunity to standardize best practices for efficiency and consistency across a sprawling field workforce with varying levels of experience.

But the challenge lies in translating lean from the lab to the real world. Anyone familiar with the realities of field work can understand how the traditional approach of engineering “standard work” in pristine environments simply doesn’t translate. Gallipeau shares the example of how, for instance, repairing an ATM in a controlled setting doesn’t account for the complexities technicians face in the field, such as navigating double-door vaults or split-machine access points. Therefore, lean transformation in service must be co-created with frontline employees, to ensure standard processes are both effective and realistic.

Build a Foundation of Trust

“Most of the time when you’re introducing change, it’s really the people who have been here the longest who are the most resistant,” Gallipeau admits. The best way to work through this resistance is to focus on building trust – and this includes understanding that trust must be earned.

DN has worked to build trust by showing the employees the goal isn’t to dictate what they do, but to build best practices around their lived experiences. DN has involved technicians and service leadership in the development of lean processes, empowering them to shape procedures and claim ownership. “If you can give them the small wins... I helped develop this procedure, and this is really the right way to do it... that really permeates throughout the organization,” Galliepau explains.

When respected technicians champion new practices, their influence ripples far beyond what top-down directives could achieve. This was reinforced by communications expert Jason Anthoine, who shared in a recent podcast how internal influencers, though fewer in number, wield disproportionate impact on organizational culture.

Beyond involvement, Gallipeau points to two simple-to-say but harder-to-practice principles that are instrumental in building trust: genuine listening and taking real action on feedback. At DN’s North Canton center, groups of select technicians are regularly invited for lunch with leadership to candidly share field challenges. Leadership listens attentively and, even more importantly, takes action to address the shared challenges. Whether the issue is as simple as providing better screwdrivers or far more complex process fixes, demonstrating follow-through builds trust and signals a new era of responsive leadership.

For this to be effective, however, it must be sincere. Leaders who listen just to give the impression of caring, then fail to deliver, risk doing more harm than good. Moreover, transparency is vital – that means that even when a fix isn’t feasible, setting clear expectations and communicating reasons honestly helps manage morale and maintain credibility.

Lean in Action at DN: Ride-Alongs, Kaizen Events and Real-Time Insights

Gallipeau describes how lean transformation is embodied at DN through tangible practices, such as:

Ride-alongs to illustrate the importance of service. Gallipeau says that while many service organizations only require ride-alongs as a KPI for frontline managers, DN extends this practice to all functions – including HR, procurement, and the C-suite. Experiencing technicians’ day-to-day realities fosters empathy and informs intelligent decision-making. “Even the CEO participates, receiving unfiltered technician feedback,” says Galliepau. “This holistic exposure unites the business around common goals and highlights the importance of service at every level.”
Kaizen events for cross-functional problem solving. Kaizen events create a get-things-done energy at DN. They are not small-scale brainstorming sessions – rather, they convene up to 100 people from different departments for intensive, week-long sprints. These sprints are focused on solving identified field problems and, crucially, both decisions and implementations happen in real time, with all relevant stakeholders present and empowered to act. “The goal is not to leave with a to-do list, but to leave with solutions in place,” notes Gallipeau.
Incorporation of video training & data-driven support. With technicians managing a vast array of products and scenarios, traditional training alone is insufficient. DN has augmented traditional training with video resources and data-driven platforms to provide just-in-time information, diagnostics, and repair instructions. This approach not only minimizes time out of the field but also enhances accuracy and further reinforces lean’s principle of “value where and when it’s needed.”
Leveraging scorecards and continuous Feedback. Transparency is central to DN’s approach to performance management. Weekly-reviewed scorecards and “bowlers” (visual management tools) give technicians real-time insight into their performance relative to peers and expectations, eliminating surprises and creating a culture of accountability and self-improvement.

Lean transformation is not a one-off program or a flavor-of-the-month initiative at DN. “Consistency really is the important piece,” says Gallipeau. “This is a continuous journey.” The willingness to invest and iterate, even after initial failures or skepticism, signals to employees that change is both real and lasting.

As service organizations worldwide aim to keep pace with change, DN’s experience offers a powerful blueprint. By embedding lean principles like inclusion, transparency, real-time action, and persistent communication into its DNA, DN has created a compelling environment where change is embraced, not feared. This breeds confidence that builds momentum. In Gallipeau’s words, “There’s really nothing stopping us from becoming the best in service... not just in ATM or retail, but across industries.”

To hear more from Gallipeau about DN’s journey, listen to the full podcast interview.

By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor in Chief, Future of Field Service

What if you could cut technician turnover in half while building a more engaged field service team? In last week’s episode of UNSCRIPTED, Dave Sarazen, VP of Customer Service at Multivac, shared how his organization has transformed their approach to recruiting and retention in ways that have massively paid off.

Multivac is a global leader in packaging and processing equipment for the food and pharmaceutical industries. With a background in mechanical engineering and extensive experience in technical service leadership, Dave has successfully led initiatives to reduce technician turnover by more than 50% and achieve the highest employee satisfaction scores across the business.

Tackling today’s complex talent landscape remains the biggest challenge for service leaders and there are many valuable lessons to take from what Dave shared. One important point to keep in mind is that if you’re focused only on recruiting, your strategy is short-sighted – it’s imperative to put effort into the employee experience to retain strong talent for a long-term solution. As Dave says, “It's one thing to be able to hire, the other thing is to be able to retain and keep those, keep that as a as a stable workforce for us in the field.”

If you missed the podcast or want a refresh on the key aspects of how Multivac has achieved its success, here are the core elements of their approach.

#1: Aligning Company Focus & Core Leadership

To gain the support needed for the change and investment necessary to modernize the talent approach, the business must first be clear on the value of doing so. Dave shares that, for Multivac, this starts by having clarity and alignment on the crucial role service plays in the business. “About 45% of our overall revenue this year will come from our aftermarket, our customer service teams [spare parts and field service]. That is such a big contributor to the bottom line for an organization, and, beyond that, we anticipate within the next two to three years it will equal our new equipment sales and then ultimately surpass the new equipment sales,” he says. “So, having that long term vision of investing today for where you're going to be tomorrow is critical. I can only emphasize to folks that you have to make that investment to get there.”

With the understanding of investment in this area being necessary, building a like-minded team dedicated to doing what it will take was the next step. “Building a team of strong service management leaders that were willing to drive change and collectively focused on what we need to do to bring technicians in and improve retention is critical,” says Dave.

#2: Reimagining the Ideal Talent Profile & Sources

Some organizations get very hung up on pivoting from the approach that has “always worked,” but no longer is. Not Multivac. The company knew that the dynamics had changed, and it must too. Born of this was an increased focus on soft skills and far less focus on trying to find seasoned technicians.

“A key piece of the technician’s role is beyond the technical part; it’s really the soft skills and the respect of our customers. The empathy for our customer situations and how to navigate issues professionally and successfully when there’s emotion involved around,” Dave explains. “One of the big culture shifts is that we're not looking for seasoned technicians anymore. We’ve learned that there's potentially a lot of bad behavior that'll come along with a seasoned technician who's been out there for twenty or thirty years in a particular industry. We would much rather get someone fresh from the military, trade school, universities who have the learning capability to learn the machines and the motivation to do that. This gives us the opportunity to train that individual from the beginning on the proper way to service and maintain the equipment.”

While recruiting veterans wasn’t brand new for Mutlivac, it has grown in focus for the company and today about 31% of its workforce is made up of military veterans. “Veterans have been a key part of our strategy,” says Dave. “We engage with a number of military outfits across the country for job fairs and have also had success having existing veteran employees make referrals.”

#3: Building Strong Partnership with HR

Another common stumbling block is knowing within the service function what needs to change, but not communicating that clearly or gaining the full support of HR. Multivac worked to ensure that not only was there clear alignment on the objective and supported by management teams, but that a close cross-functional partnership was formed with HR.

“I've been very well supported throughout this endeavor by not only our management teams in Europe and in the US but also from our HR department, which has been critical. We have a dedicated recruiter within our HR team that focuses on the service department, and we involve them in everything,” says Dave. “They have to truly understand what the role is and what our criteria is and how that’s evolved. They're very good at picking out individuals that have more skills than just what's on a resume or an interest that might dovetail into the role.”

#4: Understanding the Value of Transparency

From the point of initial communication, Multivac is very transparent with candidates about what the role entails and what is expected. While painting a rosy picture may yield more new hires, it would hurt retention if reality doesn’t match expectations.

“We're very transparent as to what the role is and the environments that these individuals will be in. Some of these facilities and plants can be very challenging and we really try to set expectations. If an individual hasn't been on the road, we will sit down with them very clearly and go through a typical schedule from another technician,” explains Dave. “Our interview process involves our regional supervisor teams where we invest to bring the candidate into one of our facilities around the country and do a number of tests with those individuals, both written and practical tests. Transparency is valuable with any role, but I think particularly here, you have to paint the picture for what it is. As a candidate transitions to an employee, there should be no surprises when that now employee begins with a company.”

#5: Offering Growth Potential with Career Path Development

Multivac wants candidates that are seeking a career versus a job. To attract those individuals, the company had to reimagine its options for progression and growth. “We are all about promotion and opportunities today, but when I started eight years ago, if you were a technician in the field and you didn’t want to do that anymore, you had two options – move to headquarters in Kansas City or find another job,” says Dave.

This has completely changed because the company knew that, in order to retain strong talent, it needed to provide far more options. “If they want to remain in the field, there’s a very structured progression from a level one to a level two to a level three. If they want to move more towards management, there are supervisor teams in reach region and from those supervisor teams is where we pull for the next step as manager and then director and so on. We also have options to move into the help desk, giving former technicians the option to work from home. We have specialist roles for certain complex equipment, and they can focus there, which is a progression. We also have options like CSRs, aftermarket sales, and a few others. But the overall goal is that candidates know up front they can build a future here.”

Of course, it would be easier if technicians were happy to stay in that role for the long term, but that isn’t always the reality today. “Retention through the company is the focus, rather than just within the service department,” explains Dave. “Our regional directors have regular one-on-ones to talk with individuals about their desires, next steps, any additional training or exposure to different areas. We want them to be excited about the next step in their career.”

#6: Taking Responsibility for Creating a Talent Pipeline with An Apprenticeship Program

Even for companies who would like to hire experienced talent, there’s a dwindling pool to choose from. Companies must accept that in today’s talent landscape, there’s a real need to farm and nurture a talent pipeline. Multivac has created a two-year apprenticeship program to do just that. “A little over two years ago, we endeavored down the path of creating our apprenticeship program. In our European headquarters in Germany, it’s very typical to have apprenticeship programs so we decided to try that on a smaller scale here,” says Dave.

Multivac brought in six individuals from local trade schools or high schools that were interested in learning about field service for a very thorough two-year program. “The first year they spend entirely within the Kansas City training facility. We have one trainer who was hired specifically to focus on these individuals. They spend this first year splitting time between the training center and our manufacturing shop,” explains Dave. “Year two, we begin to put them into the field and rotate them through about one month per region, circulating twice throughout the different areas of the country. They are paired up with a senior technician who we've identified truly want to mentor and support these younger individuals. At the end of two years, they are able to test to go into the field as a full-fledged technician.”

With tis first class, Multivac wasn’t sure how the program would fare, but all six apprentices tested into full-time technician roles and are now working in different regions around the country. The second class of the program is underway, and a new class begins each year to always keep two in process.

#7: Building Engagement Through Strong Internal Communication

Multivac leadership has identified a crucial aspect of retention: strong employee engagement. The company puts ample focus on creating and maintaining employee engagement, which is done to a large degree through a dedication to effective communication.

“We communicate, communicate, communicate. You can never have too much of it. We do the one-on-ones. We also have a biweekly Teams call with each of the regions and all of the technicians and their leadership join. We go through their situations, their challenges, we review any company updates, and we discuss everything in a very open forum,” explains Dave. “We make every effort to ensure our technicians feel part of the company.”

To evaluate how well its efforts are landing, Multivac includes an employee engagement survey as one of four annual employee surveys. What’s surprising is that the company’s highest level of engagement for the past four years has come from field service – an area that often struggles in these surveys because teams can feel disconnected from the organization. “Overall, our company has high engagement, but we’re especially proud that our highest scores four years and running are from the field service teams,” says Dave. “It’s almost counterintuitive – they’re not in the building; they don’t see each other daily. Oftentimes, our technicians spend most of their time by themselves. So, seeing them feel that engaged and connected to the company is something we’re really proud of.”

Dave is quick to point out that leadership has built trust by making sure that feedback is acknowledged and acted upon. “Any areas that we do see that need some focus, we take that on,” he says. “They see that the information is important to us and that we’ll act on it to address challenges.”

#8: Making Teams Feel Valued with Recognition & Rewards

Another important aspect of Multivac’s success is making it a priority to recognize and reward the efforts of its field service teams. “I personally will recognize any technician as often as I can – I’ll give them a call, send them a note, make sure they know we appreciate what they’re doing,” Dave says. “Sometimes individuals don’t want to be in the spotlight, but they do appreciate knowing that what they’ve done has impacted a customer in a positive way.”

All leaders make an effort to recognize teams’ contributions on a regular basis, but the company also has a reward program called the “spot awards.” This is a company-wide initiative for individuals who are going above and beyond their daily job. “The spot award can be given by a manager from a different department, from anywhere in the business, to call out someone’s effort and success by giving them anywhere from $100 to $600 depending on the impact they’ve had. We want to make sure they know their effort is seen and feel appreciated. Leaders must be appreciative. I tell them all during the interview process, it’s the most important job in the company, hands down. Without their success, the company as a whole can’t be successful.”

#9: Investment in Face-to-Face Time

While this could fall into the point about strong communication, I’m calling it out separately because I think it is uniquely important and likely has had a significant impact on what Multivac has achieved. Many leaders I speak to underscore the importance of investing in face-to-face time and are firm that there is simply no substitute. Multivac, too, has found that spending time with technicians in-person is vital.

“We have our monthly senior management meetings where we get together as a team one day a month. Six of those, one for each region, we will travel out to the region where we have let's say Monday and Tuesday for technician meetings. We bring all the technicians in for their regional meeting for two days and then on the second day the remainder of the management team fly out to have a dinner with all of the technicians in that region,” explains Dave. “We spend time with them and just have a very casual dinner. We encourage them to float around a little bit and get to know leaders from other functions. It’s quite an investment, but they see in that their importance, and they feel connected with the company. That also contributes to the engagement levels we’ve seen.”

#10: Promoting Work-Life Balance Through Schedule Innovation

Multivac takes responsibility for respecting its technicians’ schedules to avoid burnout and protect their work-life balance. The company offers two schedules for technicians to choose from. “We have two options for schedules, work ten days then off four or work three five-day weeks per month and one weekend per month,” says Dave. “But I don’t think there’s anything worse for a technician than to be coming to the end of your schedule, looking forward to your downtime, and then a manager says – sorry, we need you to stay out there. We try to encourage work-life balance, and they have to have a break from their job. They need that time, they need to be able to plan for it and we have to be able to respect that.”

#11: Showing You’ll Stick to Standards by Not Tolerating Poor Behavior

Part of creating a strong culture is knowing what to do when someone is tarnishing it and recognizing the detriment that can be to the team. “When there is an issue with the technician not performing, perhaps, or poor behavior, that region is well aware that they have an individual on their team that doesn't stand up to the rest of them,” explains Dave. “And I've seen companies and I've been with companies in the past that allow that to happen because they don’t have confidence in the HR department to move that individual on quite frankly. You can destroy the morale of a company or a team when you have a poor performer that someone else is going out after every job and cleaning up something unfinished on that job or something that was done incorrectly”

During our discussion, Dave pointed out that many of these success factors don’t have a lot of cost associated with them. But it takes understanding, intention, and commitment. “It has to be intentional, and it’s got to be on a cadence. You have to continuously do what you say you’ll do,” says Dave. “It’s critical and it’s appreciated. We’re constantly learning and constantly supporting each other.”

By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor in Chief, Future of Field Service

I wrote my first article on IoT more than 15 years ago. The buzz around the term then wasn’t entirely dissimilar to the buzz around AI today. However, the buzz around IoT faded because there didn’t yet exist capable enough ways to digest and analyze the data, nor scalable ways to action the insights gleaned from it. The era of AI we’re in today changes all of that and will (finally) unlock the promises of IoT.

Last week, I welcomed to the UNSCRIPTED podcast Amir Pasdar, Senior Manager for Intelligent Connected Solutions at Henny Penny and Intelligent Equipment Connected Solutions Leader at the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM), to discuss this evolution and the future of connected solutions.

Like myself, Amir remarked that the journey from simple connectivity to advanced AI-driven solutions has been a long one. He recalled his early days in the industry, working on smart meters and predictive sensors for smart grids. Over the years, he’s witnessed the focus shift from basic automation and connectivity to condition monitoring and big data analysis. We both find it exciting that, today, we stand on the brink of a new era characterized by AI and agentic AI, where the analysis of vast amounts of data enables valuable real-time insights, powerful opportunities to improve efficiency, and unprecedented insights that allow businesses to anticipate and prevent issues, offering a proactive approach that was previously unattainable.

Think Beyond Efficient Service Delivery

Looking ahead, Amir envisions a future that is increasingly intelligent and self-healing, capable of diagnosing and fixing issues autonomously. “The role of agentic AI will expand, with different AI agents handling various aspects of customer service and maintenance, working together to provide seamless and efficient service,” he shares. “This evolution will not replace human roles but will augment them, allowing for more complex problem-solving and innovation.”

However, I see many businesses hyper-focused at the moment on how AI can bring an entirely new type of efficiency to operations – and not much else. This was reinforced in my recent conversation with Amer Iqbal, a sought-after speaker who has spent the last 20 years leading innovation at some of the world’s top companies including as the Head of Digital Transformation, APAC at Meta and Director of Digital Strategy & Innovation at Deloitte Digital. He explained that consulting clients are coming to him in droves to “do something with AI,” but aren’t looking beyond its impact on efficiency, which he views as only the low-hanging fruit of what’s possible.

Businesses who begin early looking beyond the ever-appealing efficiency gains will come out on top when it comes to competitive differentiation. In service-centric businesses, it’s crucial to consider now how the layering of new AI capabilities into your connected device landscape can open doors to new business models. Shifts we’ve seen underway – Servitization, outcomes-based service, As-a-Service models – become increasingly attainable and feasible in this new era of predictive capabilities and automation.

Amir reinforces how this evolution of intelligent connected solutions lends itself to companies moving from selling products to selling services (and experiences). “For instance, instead of selling an air conditioning unit, a business could offer a subscription service that guarantees a certain level of comfort, with AI-driven maintenance and updates included,” he says. “This shift could provide a more sustainable and customer-focused approach, ensuring that businesses remain competitive in a rapidly changing market.”

Service Leaders Should Be Aware of Challenges and Considerations

While technological capabilities are advancing rapidly, we know that technology is an enabler but one piece of a far bigger puzzle. Amir emphasizes the importance of organizational and cultural readiness, saying, “Companies need to ensure they have the necessary technical infrastructure, including standardized data pipelines and in-house AI teams, to support these innovations. Equally important is preparing the workforce and customers for these changes, addressing any resistance, and ensuring a smooth transition.”

Beyond readiness and change management, companies must also be pragmatic about AI is leveraged. Amir suggests that a certain degree of caution is warranted as risks such as fabricating data or making biased decisions remain valid. “Companies must rigorously test and validate their AI models to ensure accuracy and compliance with regulations,” he notes. “Transparency with customers and internal teams is also vital to maintain trust and understanding.”

How is your organization viewing the potential of AI? Are you focused solely on efficiency, or broadening your view to how it sets the stage for service innovation? I’d love to hear from you.

By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor in Chief, Future of Field Service

The Experience Economy was first published by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore in 1999, describing the emergence of experiences as distinct economic offerings and the next step (beyond services) in the progression of economic value. Pine, who was a guest on the podcast in 2019, has said that great experiences begin with, but don’t end at, great service.

While there are countless examples of consumer brands that have mastered, or were even born of, the experience economy, from my point of view, the experience economy remains somewhat of an enigma in the B2B realm. We talk often about companies struggling to move beyond a product focus to seize the potential of service, and embracing experiences is a significant step further.

Now I do believe most companies recognize the importance of the “experience” aspect of what they deliver, which is why leaders are quick to emphasize that “service is a people business.” But is this lens too narrow through which to view the full experience opportunity? As is, the relevance of experiences is constrained to a box to check within their current value propositions and processes versus its own potential strategic driver.

Beyond Customer-Centric Service

While focused on consumer spend, this article from McKinsey shows an interesting trend that, despite an overall pessimistic view on the economy, in the U.S. that isn’t correlating to spending less. Instead, there’s a trend of economizing on ‘lower value’ items to afford to splurge on those deemed ‘high value.’ This Forbes article underscores the importance of B2B brands creating a unique experience that companies associate with the company. And I find the premise of this article especially intriguing, which is proposing that the era of B2B is giving way to that of H2H (human-to-human).

So, with the experience economy being a long-proven concept and such relevant supporting evidence of its potential, why then haven’t more companies learned to thrive versus survive?

I don’t think the issue is understanding – there’s a strong consensus around the value of experiences. The understanding is overshadowed, however, by some of the complexities orienting around the experience economy presents to businesses – especially those with a legacy.

First, experiences are intangible. To deliver valuable experiences, you must deeply understand your customers and what they need, want, enjoy, and care about. What often makes an experience an experience, in other words memorable or special, is immaterial – it’s a feeling. And most businesses aren’t adept at dealing in intangibles.

Experience Management: More Than a Mindset Shift

The second hurdle here is that how success defined and measured in the experience economy is far different from how businesses are accustomed to measuring success in a product or service-centric environment. It’s a new language fraught with a number of myths and falsifications.

I recently invited Alan Nance, a strategic technology leader and pioneer of XLAs (Experience Level Agreements), to join me for a podcast deep-dive on XM (experience management) and XLAs. Alan is recognized for his transformative work in digital experience management and had a wealth of knowledge to share on how to consider the shift from service economy to experience economy.

One of the major myths that Alan clarifies is that the experience economy will replace the service economy. “I’ve lived through a number of these shifts, and in my experience the old economy doesn’t go away – it just gets absorbed,” he says. “But there are a lot of people today who have put their kids through college or plan for their retirement based on their ability to do service management. A lot of those people will tell me that we can just add experience to service management, and we’ll be fine. They miscalculate the change that’s actually occurring. This isn’t about adding a sentiment score to your uptime – that’s not going to bring you where you need to be.”

Over the two-part discussion, Alan and I dig into a variety of topics related to what it will take for companies to move from surviving to thriving in the experience economy, including:

The Evolution from Service to Experience Economy
Other Common Misconceptions about Experience Management
The Core Elements of XLAs
The Role of Enlightened Leaders
A Critical Distinction Between Productivity and Efficiency
The Importance of Ecosystems in the Experience Economy
And much more!

If you’d like to listen to learn more, check out part one and part two of our conversation as well as the work Alan and his team do at xla.institute.

By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor in Chief, Future of Field Service

At our recent Future of Field Service Meet-Up in Nashville, a question was raised about how service leaders balance the mandate to increase automation with the employees’ desire to maintain autonomy. I think this is a point that deserves more reflection, because both technological innovation and employee satisfaction are imperative.

The example used during the discussion was automated scheduling. An AI-based scheduling optimization tool takes many factors into real-time consideration to produce an outcome aligned to the company’s set objectives (often efficiency). When a company first introduces such a tool, it usually takes the place of a manual process where technicians have had anywhere from some to full control over their own schedules.

The answer can’t be to avoid leveraging technology that can save organizations significant time and money, as well as positively impacting customer satisfaction. On the other hand, talent challenges are real and companies prioritizing employee engagement and satisfaction see how doing so pays off in performance. Ignoring the employees’ frustration around losing autonomy also isn’t wise, so what’s a leader to do? Here are four suggestions.

Be Transparent with Your Service Automation Strategy

First and foremost, as you define your plans to incorporate AI and increase automation in field service, you need to be up front and honest with your employees. It’s important to keep in mind that there’s often an element of fear to frontline employees’ resistance, because they are afraid AI is here to take away their livelihood.

Now maybe you’d agree with many (most) of the service leaders I talk to that AI will not replace field technicians. If that’s the case, be sure you tell them! Moreover, give as many specifics as you can – why, then, automation is important. What you have in mind, how it will change their day-to-day but also what you will ensure remains the same. Information is power, in this case to put them at ease.

But perhaps you aren’t sure what the ultimate impact of AI will be on the role of the field technician in your organization, and that’s fair too. In this instance, I suggest sharing what you do know and being honest about what you don’t know. Being doom and gloom isn’t the goal, but neither is painting an unrealistic rosy picture. If it’s applicable, explain that as things evolve the company is committed to upskilling and reskilling technicians as needed. Some technicians may not appreciate that offer, but many will – and looking at the change you’re introducing through the lens of being surer of their future will be helpful.

Put Your Frontline Workers in the Drivers’ Seat

Most service organizations have a lot of opportunity to automate – meaning, very little already is. This might mean that you could consider starting with what your employees do want to automate, building comfort and acceptance with change before you move on to further phases that they find less appealing.

Giving employees a voice in the service automation strategy could have a couple of benefits. While it isn’t autonomy per se, it does give them a sense of control over what’s happening. Ask what they’d like to automate if they could, and if the suggestions make sense, see if you can start there. You’ll be alleviating friction points in their work days while building acceptance around the role automation has in your service operations.

Take Time to Understand Their Objections

If you have an initiative underway where it isn’t feasible to put your employees in the drivers’ seat, take the time to truly understand their objections. We talk a lot about “communicating the why,” and that’s an important step. But even before that step, it’s important understand their why – and far fewer leaders take the time to do this. Uncovering the root cause of why they are frustrated about the change you’re proposing gives you what you need to work toward adoption versus relying on being able to force compliance.

Take the automated scheduling example – what is it about the autonomy of creating their own schedule that they’re so upset about losing? Perhaps it’s something logistical – a quick stop to drop the kids off at school or a favorite coffee shop they like to stop at. Or it could be emotional – being “controlled” makes them feel like they aren’t respected or trusted. The root cause may or may not be something you’re willing to address, but again – information is power.

If we desire empowered employees, we must understand that the mentality of catching them doing something they shouldn’t be doing or the idea of wringing every last ounce of productivity out of them isn’t aligned to that goal. Instead, we should care enough to as leaders to understand what it is they are feeling or needing and then make an informed decision about whether that’s possible to provide. When this type of care is applied, along with honest communication, you’re creating a culture where employees feel heard and valued which often is enough in and of itself to overcome concerns and increase acceptance.

Share the Gains of Field Service Efficiency to Increase Buy-In

Most of the service leaders I talk to are looking at service as a competitive differentiator or growth opportunity and, as such, want frontline employees who are highly engaged, feel a sense of ownership in their work, and are committed to delivering customer outcomes. If that’s what you’re looking for, something like an automated scheduling tool is being applied because it’s a more sophisticated way of planning and executing work – not because you don’t trust your employees to spend time wisely or do right by the company.

If this type of employee/leader/company relationship is what you’re after, you may want to consider how you can share the benefits of automation with your employees. I’ve heard more and more examples of this recently – leaders and organizations understanding that the benefits of adopting more AI and further automation are real, but so is the need to treat employees well if you’re after highly engaged, effective talent.

These companies, who have realized benefits from automation, are looking at how to offer greater flexibility or even share some of the efficiency gains with employees. For instance, if the technology introduced is saving a technician five hours per week, three of those hours can be put back into work for a company efficiency gain and two can be theirs. While there’s no universal formula for what this looks like for each business, considering the concept is not only worthwhile but (I believe) important.

By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor in Chief, Future of Field Service

After hosting more than 320 podcasts, I’ve grown quite comfortable interviewing individuals of all walks of life. It isn’t too often I appear on the other side of the mic, and I’ll admit being the guest versus the host is an experience I find enjoyable but far less comfortable. I had an opportunity recently to exercise those muscles as a guest on the Bytes and Banter podcast.

Bytes and Banter is created by HDI Local Chapters, a non-profit volunteer organization committed to empowering the tech community through knowledge and innovation. The host, Rocky McGuire, Head of North America Service Desk & Experience Evangelist at Unisys, is a fellow HDI Top 25 Thought Leader of 2025. He has interviewed a variety of guests in the IT space discussing topics ranging from employee experience and the skills gap to cybersecurity and imposter syndrome, among many others. Moreover, as is the case with UNSCRIPTED, the guests often share their own inspiring stories that leave a lasting impact.

Storytelling as a Core Leadership Skill

Despite my uncharacteristic nerves as we got the conversation started (seriously, you’d have thought I’d never used a microphone before!), we ended up having a lively discussion that delved into quite a few topics. I first shared the story of my foray into field service, and then Rocky asked some great questions that prompted discussion around:

A humbling experience from my very early career that sparked my commitment to curiosity and quelled my fear of seeming “not smart enough”
How and why I fell in love with service and my passion for what service represents in the broader business realm
The importance of being yourself and believing in yourself
My observations on both the power and complexity of change and what shift in mindset is essential for leaders today
The criticality of authentic leaders in the AI era & what mindset I believe is most productive as leaders carve their AI strategies
Storytelling as a core leadership skill and what I’ve learned is the basis of every good story
How a leader will know whether they’ve created a good culture among their team
My investment in and gratitude for community

If any of this sparks your interest, I’d love for you to tune in to my episode of Bytes and Banter, which you can find on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.

By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Future of Field Service

I spent last week in Nashville for the Future of Field Service Leadership Meet-Up and then IFS Connect. While I recorded a highlights podcast to share on UNSCRIPTED this week, there’s a point that has stood out in my mind enough that I felt it deserved its own permanent spot in the articles archive.

That point was made by David Lukcic, Vice President of Technology at Tampa Electric, who spoke on day two of IFS Connect about the company’s digital journey. David had many great points, but the one that I loved most was that he shared, “We’re looking to our partners to save us from ourselves,” he said. “We loved to be challenged because that’s what helps us to learn from others’ experiences.”

He shared that when Tampa Electric is aiming to be the best at something, they don’t feel it’s always enough to be the best in their industry. With data, for example, he shared that utilities aren’t known for their innovative approach to leveraging data – so striving to be the best within utilities simply won’t do – they need to look outside their own industry for inspiration.

There’s a lot of wisdom in what David is saying. First, this idea of welcoming different perspectives – of understanding the risk of the default, internal view – is so powerful. All too often companies are overly protective of what they know, what they’ve decided, what they do well that they don’t allow themselves to remain open to alternative opinions – let alone welcome them. This “save us from ourselves” mentality is, in my opinion, a path to competitive advantage.

Service Innovation Requires Challenging the Status Quo

The mentality also reminded me of my recent conversation with Michael Potts of ACCO, when he said that “as a leader, I feel it’s my responsibility to challenge the status quo. How could I possibly do that well if I don’t invite others to challenge me?” There’s a release of ego evident in both statements – and that allows in more curiosity, more openness, and ultimately, I think will lead to more success.

David’s calling out of the importance of seeking insight and inspiration beyond your own industry is also a belief I couldn’t agree with more. Not only is the premise really of Future of Field Service, but I’ve witness firsthand countless times in my career the power of sharing knowledge on common challenges, opportunities, and trends across industries. While you won’t gain a blueprint to success, the lightbulb moments that can come from these conversations are priceless.

As consumer expectations creep further into the business-to-business realm, companies can’t afford not to seek ideas from beyond their own industry. We’ve been referring to “the Amazon effect” or “Uberization” for years already, but how many service organizations have actually caught up to being able to execute experiences like those? Moreover, how far are they falling behind the moving target of what customers will expect next? Seeking examples outside of your own industry is necessary to remaining relevant and competitive in the digital age.

There are many options for how to seek inspiration from outside your own industry, including:

Maintaining an open mind when you read news headlines about what companies nothing like yours are doing that’s working well
Attending an event outside of your core industry – one that brings multiple industries together where you can gain new perspectives
Press on your technology providers to get involved in cross-industry customer interactions (at IFS I created the CollABoratives to serve this purpose) and to learn from best practices they see holistically
Use LinkedIn – many leaders openly share a lot of great content and food-for-though; you’d be surprised how much you can learn from spending a few minutes each day engaging
Network there, too! This type of curiosity and awareness of what can be gained from these cross-industry discussions is shared and you may find some great new contacts (and insights) simply by reaching out and asking to chat

What would you add to this list? I’d love to hear from you!

By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Future of Field Service

In a recent podcast, Kenny Brown, the Senior Director of Global Surgical and Vision Care Franchise Business Technology at Alcon, shared the story of Alcon’s service overhaul. This journey was one that included the transition from viewing service as a cost-center to seeing its strategic value, an organizational restructuring to align to this new vision, global standardization centered around greater customer centricity, and the modernization of core technologies.

While Alcon’s achievements in this large-scale business transformation are impressive, the company’s journey is far from over. Like any organization with a mission to thrive in today’s world of nonstop change, Alcon is shifting gears to understand how best to navigate the next phases of digital transformation while maintaining its focus on customer experience and value. Kenny shares, “I’d love to say that the heavy lifting is behind us, but the next chapter is just going to be a different type of work than what we’ve done so far. As we move ahead, we rely on our three pillars to guide what we do: make the best products in the market, be the best service organization out there, and embrace cutting-edge digital innovation.”

4 Initial AI Use Cases to Level Up Service Innovation

Alcon’s next chapter centers around applying the power of AI to its successful service-centric business transformation. Kenny, who is leading Alcon’s GenAI Go-To-Market Strategy, is focusing first on practical use cases that demonstrate clear value to employees. The initial four areas Alcon is looking to leverage AI are:

Creating Smarter Customer Interactions. “We are aiming to personalize that touch,” Kenny explains. “We have a lot of data around our customers; I think GenAI can really help us to put that data to work. We have on what customers need, what their previous experiences have been, and so on, and GenAI will allow employees to tailor recommendations, offer more engaging experiences, and more.”
Moving Toward Proactive Service. “We don’t want to wait for a customer to call us and tell us their equipment is down,” says Kenny. “We know there’s an opportunity to look at issues before they pop up – to understand the trends that can create potential downtime. Sending data from our devices into a rules-based approach that feeds suggestions to the action takers, or even back into the equipment, can help us increase customer satisfaction.”
Automating Routine Tasks. “I’m not sure if this is GenAI or just traditional AI, but by automating routine tasks we free up teams to focus on more complex and high-value work,” says Kenny. “The engineer's least favorite thing about their job is entering in information into the service management system; let’s automate that task for them.”
Gaining Deeper Insights. “The fourth area is around using AI to create advanced analytics,” explains Kenny. “Using the intelligence to spot trends, optimize processes, and make smarter decisions as a business – faster.”

5 Areas of Focus for Effective AI Execution

To ensure Alcon achieves success in its incorporation of AI, Kenny is calling on his experience with the company’s global service transformation. Alcon has set its sights first on using GenAI within the business before taking it customer-facing. “The idea of our go-to-market at this point in time is for the enterprise; determining how we bring GenAI to life at Alcon,” says Kenny. “We have a lot of strong pilots and use cases that are already offering value. But, in a company of 25,000 people, we need to make sure the approach doesn’t feel fragmented.”

Here are Alcon’s five areas of focus for AI execution:

Governance. “On the AI journey, I think you have to start with governance,” urges Kenny. “Building that framework of governance clearly defines who is responsible for what, and ensures efforts are safe, ethical and aligned to our values. We have a dedicated AI team to oversee this and ensure they are the center of any innovation, building that framework and those parameters around what we do and what we don’t do.”
Start Small, Learn Fast. “We've had some pilot projects in very focused areas,” says Kenny. “We want to test those, learn from those, refine them, and build up scale from there. If we go tackle every single idea and problem that are out there, it won't build the experience enough to build advocacy and really get it going.”
Value Tracking. “We must ensure we track each of these use cases in a way that we can monitor our return on investment,” explains Kenny. “This is important to build excitement with our leadership, to continue to get investment in this space, and ultimately to return the value back to our business.”
Dedicated Ownership. In our podcast discussion, Kenny explained the creation of a role of an RPO (regional process owner) to own the transformation in each region of the business – he envisions something similar for AI. “We’re not there yet, but we could use the same RPO idea for GenAI,” says Kenny. “This helps to build the community of super users and create best practices in the regions.”
Strong Communication. “We need a robust communication plan with regular updates, giving people tips and tricks, sharing what's coming,” says Kenny. “It’s important to keep everyone informed and engaged in a creative way, but it can also be overwhelming. We need it to be useful and relevant; effective communication is a big lever for us to focus on as we continue this journey.”

On the topic of communication, I asked Kenny if they’ve experienced any fear from employees of AI taking their jobs and, if so, how they’ve managed that. He explained that he echoes the sentiment of the quote, “GenAI won’t take your job, but those who know how to use GenAI will.” He believes its important to help employees see how the use cases can help them, train them on new functionality being introduced, and be open in your communication. “We’ve begun to see the guard coming down by addressing concerns and introducing use cases relevant to their roles,” says Kenny. “When you make it applicable to their life, suddenly they’re like – ‘OK, I’m in. I want some of that!’”

By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Future of Field Service

Technical debt is an issue that is rapidly growing in importance – an issue that many businesses have avoided for far too long but must begin to reconcile. Gartner defines technical debt as “work that is ‘owed’ to an IT system when teams ‘borrow’ against long-term quality by making short-term sacrifices, taking short cuts, or using workarounds to meet delivery deadlines.”

MIT Sloan Management Review states that, “technical debt is an anchor, dragging down business leaders’ efforts to run a tight ship. The accumulated costs and effort from IT development shortcuts, outdated applications, and aging infrastructure sap a company’s ability to innovate, compete, and grow.” They point out that a degree of technical debt is inevitable, which I think is important to note – and possibly another challenge to overcome, in determining exactly when debt becomes “too much.”

Anecdotally, I’ve had numerous conversations with leaders who bemoan the situation of knowing their existing technology stack isn’t aligned with what their business needs. Many of these leaders feel they have no choice but to “make do” for now (and often now ends up being years).

While ripe with risk, technical debt exists for many reasons that are easy to understand – I’m sure each of you can imagine a handful of reasons the need to “make do” arises (and often persists). With the rapid evolution of the digital landscape that’s taken place over the last decade, many business – and even IT – leaders have been left, heads spinning, to digest the reality that world they once knew and loved – where systems could statically service their purpose for five, eight, even ten years – no longer exists.

The Realities of Today’s Digital Ecosystem

But not only has the reality of the digital ecosystem changed, the AI era that has taken the world by storm is creating a compound effect of technical debt. Technical debt forces a compromise of what’s most effective versus what “will do.” It means contorting what your business has become into the limitations of a system that was created for what your business was a handful of years ago, if not more. But moreover, if your business is inching by on a legacy foundation that should have been replaced by now, you are constricted in your ability to modernize at the pace innovation is demanding – you are not able to properly step into the AI era.

Now, many will try to force band-aids on the problem, versus addressing root cause – some of that is delusion, some born of necessity. But these band-aids are nothing more than more short-term solutions. To truly thrive not only in today’s landscape, but to be prepared for what comes next, you need to dig in and do the hard work of ensuring a strong, capable, modern foundation. Try as one might, there simply are no shortcuts or workarounds that will make an outdated platform fit for purpose in today’s fast-paced landscape – and layering even more passable-but-not-ideal solutions upon a shaky foundation is a recipe for disaster.

Meanwhile, the world isn’t waiting for you to catch up – your customers are already expecting you to somehow match the experiences they get from leading consumer brands. Many of your competitors are already delivering these experiences. Your employees are demanding a more modern employee value proposition, one that is nearly impossible to offer if their workdays are fraught with the burdens of outdated technology. And none of these variables are staying still, so it isn’t enough to catch up; you must determine how you modernize your systems, your processes, and your governance to be what today’s businesses have to be to succeed: agile.

U.S. Air Traffic Control Grapples with Technical Debt

A very real and especially scary example of technical debt is what’s currently happening as a result of the antiquated technology in use by the United States air traffic control. I flew through Newark earlier this month in the midst of its “multi-day meltdown,” and the far reaching and potentially detrimental impact of these issues weighed very heavy on my mind. While there are additional factors beyond the technology, the systems in place are decades old and rely on things like copper wires and floppy disks.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has spoken to the fact that outdated technology is a major factor in the issues affecting the nation's air traffic control systems, saying “What we have right now is the old-school flip phone. You can't update the flip phone.” In the same article, Paul Rinaldi, Vice President of Safety and Operations at Airlines for America and a former traffic controller, agrees with Duffy, referring to the existing system as “archaic.”

Duffy has proposed a four-year plan, estimated to cost more than 12.5 billion, to modernize the nation’s air traffic control system. He says in this article that “A lot of people have said: This problem is too complicated, too expensive, too hard.” All adjectives that those grappling with extreme technical debt have likely felt the weight of.

While many of the reasons technical debt persist can be valid, the risk of continuing to delay addressing it is simply too significant. This Gartner article lends some further insight on how technical debt hinders an organization and advice for how to manage it. And this MIT Sloan Management Review piece calls attention more specifically to how technical debt prevents organizations from deploying AI solutions that could reshape how they compete and what do to about it.

If you have a story to share about how your organization has handled the management or reduction of technical debt, I’d love to hear from you!

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