Due to its convenience, functionality and, of course, mobility, the rise of mobile and field service software applications have made a huge impact on the state of field service management today. But while it’s true that managers and field technicians are no longer stuck with using the old pen, paper, telephone to record and communicate information, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t new management issues that come along with the newer more advanced technology-based field service solutions that are currently available. As a company that provides field service and workforce management software to all types of field service businesses, we wanted to learn more about what kind of thought should go into the field service management software shopping process, and specifically, how business executives in the market for field service management software can avoid the most common (and avoidable) mistakes people make when buying it. To do this, we asked 14 business field management software experts to answer this question: “What’s the single biggest mistake executives make when buying field service management software?”

1. 14 EXPERTS SHARE TOP MISTAKES
MADE IN FIELD SERVICE MANAGEMENT
SOFTWARE BUYING DECISIONS

2. WE ASKED 14
FSM EXPERTS:
“What’s the single biggest
mistake executives make
when buying field service
management software?”
We’ve collected and compiled their expert
advice into this comprehensive guide to
buying field service management software.
See what our experts have to say…

3. Executives get lost in the potential savings or revenue
growth associated with Service Management Software,
and they lose their rational judgment.
When vendors provide them with flashy slides or
high-powered executive presentations that promise an
overwhelming return, they lose sight of the fact that the
teams and people in their organization must analyze,
install, train, and adjust to the new software. Those
costs are rarely part of a vendor’s pitch, but they are
very, very real.
www.clicksoftware.com
Dr. Jim Bohn
Pro/Axios
The Mistake
ROI blindness.

4. When using field service management software,
executives miss influencing where labor generates
income and increases cost. Too often, workforce
management systems are seen as transactional (input/
output/workflow) applications rather than systems to
channel labor activity and actually control what goes on.
Click here to read the rest of Lisa’s advice…
Lisa Disselkamp
Deloitte
Consulting LLP
The Mistake
Missed investment outcomes
when executives do not look at
the data produced as an asset.
www.clicksoftware.com

5. It’s very easy to become consumed with focusing on
staples such as price, features, platform dependence,
and even scalability. While these are all very importance
aspects of such a purchase, and certainly must be
considered as part of any ROI due diligence, there is yet
another often overlooked component that must be part
of the decision making process as well, and that is the
support and/or sustainability requirements for
the same.
Click here to read the rest of Dan’s advice…
Dan Sullivan
Parata Systems
The Mistake
ROI blindness.
www.clicksoftware.com

6. Edward Ip
POS.com
The Mistake
When the exec is focused
on technology instead of
Business Needs.
We hear this on a regular basis. Is IOS, Cloud, Android,
or Windows the right solution to purchase? We always
recommend our clients to focus on business needs first,
and technology as secondary. It’s definitely a lot less
sexy to focus on Business Processes than to look at the
latest IPhone or Android device.
www.clicksoftware.com

7. The sunk cost fallacy tricks businesses into investing
in old systems even when new systems could
be developed for less. Often a central business
component—say bookkeeping software or a field paging
system—gets so deeply entwined with other processes
that the temptation is to spend more and more to keep
it integrated with newer components.
Pretty soon your company is depending on weird
Frankenstein monsters, like iPads that can talk to an
ancient mainframe system.
Michael Herrick
Matterform
Media
The Mistake
Sunk cost fallacy.
www.clicksoftware.com

8. Many companies are wowed by the dizzying number of
features a software has to offer, and right away think
that having more features will automatically result in
higher performances/efficiency within their company.
Companies need to only buy software they need now
and will use in the immediate future. Overbuying on
service will quickly drive up the costs. Having more
features (especially the ones you don’t need) also means
more complexity, which workers may find difficult and/
or overwhelming. In most cases, employees don’t learn
the full capabilities of software features and want to go
back to the old way.
Click here to read the rest of Reuben’s advice…
Reuben Yonatan
GetVoIP
The Mistake
Over buying of service.
www.clicksoftware.com

9. Such software is defined by the technician by unwieldy
burdens, such as purchasing of dedicated hardware that
the technician must lug around in their pockets, systems
that don’t support SMS or email updates from BYOD
devices, and systems that cannot be customized.
DeWayne
Lehman
DeWayne
Lehman
The Mistake
Not talking to experienced field
technicians to properly assess
their requirements.
Click here to read the rest of DeWayne’s advice…
www.clicksoftware.com

10. Companies often think technology will be a quick fix
to complex process problems. Sometimes this is true,
but more often than not the process needs to be re-engineered
so bottlenecks, data flow/integrity, and
other problems are resolved.
Click here to read the rest of Liz’s advice…
Liz D’Aloia
HR Virtuoso
The Mistake
Implementing the software
without fixing underlying process
problems and engaging the right
integration stakeholders.
www.clicksoftware.com

11. Executives are trying to solve the issue they are facing
today, which is most likely something to replace the
paper with, but are not anticipating what will happened
3-6 months down the road as their business grows
and industry trends change. Today, choosing a server-hosted
solution over a cloud-hosted platform is the
biggest mistake that can be made.
Gie Reklaitis
ServiceBridge
The Mistake
Not anticipating
future needs.
www.clicksoftware.com

12. Oftentimes management overlooks taking advice from
the frontlines, who are usually the primary users, and
picks a solution that is overly complicated. An example
would be buying a multipurpose printer when your
team only really needed a printer and scanner. Solutions
that do everything are rarely simple and cost a premium.
Click here to read the rest of Matt’s advice…
Matt Lim
Procurify
The Mistake
They pick the tool that
works best in theory.
www.clicksoftware.com

13. The result: reluctant employees who
1. Don’t understand the importance of the new
software, and
2. Don’t want to bother using it, much less integrate it
with their daily workflow.
Click here to read the rest of Charlie’s advice…
Charlie Gillette
Knowledge
Anywhere, Inc.
The Mistake
Ignoring the critical step of
investing time and resources to
raise awareness about the new
software so that existing employees
adopt the applications and
integrate them into their
daily workflow.
www.clicksoftware.com

14. This in conjunction with the search for the smallest
price usually results in the purchase of management
software that is completely inadequate. In my previous
experience before I was a manager, I can recall my boss
being excited after the purchase of some new software
only to boot it up and be utterly flabbergasted at how
useless the software is for our daily use.
Click here to read the rest of Don’s advice…
Don Snyder
InstaDRY Carpet
and Tile Cleaning
The Mistake
They think they know what
the technicians need.
www.clicksoftware.com

15. It doesn’t matter how capable the software is, if it can’t
be used efficiently, then it’s not going to work. Real
world testing and analysis is the best way to avoid costly
mistakes.
Michael Riley
Boxter
The Mistake
Looking at the features
instead of the user
experience.
www.clicksoftware.com

16. Many field service professionals don’t even offer an
ROI analysis to buyers, which in my mind is just crazy.
The service provider should look at current systems
carefully to determine what works, what doesn’t work,
and exactly what’s needed to solve the business’s
problem.
Ron Formanek
Telecom
Solutions Inc.
The Mistake
Not asking for an ROI analysis
to distinguish between features
their business needs and features
individual executives consider
“must haves” based on an article
they read in a business magazine.
www.clicksoftware.com

17. Copyright © 2014 ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be copied without the express written permission of: ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd.
The information contained herein does not constitute a warranty of any kind. ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. reserves the right to revise this publication and make
changes without notification. ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. assumes no liability for losses incurred as a result of information contained herein.
About ClickSoftware
ClickSoftware is a global leader of automated
workforce management and optimization solutions
for the service enterprise. Available via the cloud
or on-premise, our solutions provide organizations
with end-to-end visibility and control over the
entire service process, while providing them with
tools to drive their business forward by optimizing
forecasting, planning, scheduling, mobile workforce
management and customer communication.
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IN OUR PRESENTATION!
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