Change Management in International Field Service
How Service Managers and Technicians Succeed in Digitalization Together
Companies invest huge amounts in software every year. Time is spent on selection, testing, and rollout of a new solution – yet six months later, teams are still working with Excel, paper, and workarounds.
The Nexthink Report "Soft-Waste" shows: Nearly half (49.96%) of all installed software in companies is not used at all.
Analysis of data on more than 6 million devices shows that unused licenses cost the examined companies about half a billion US dollars per year.
Source: nexthink.com
Additionally, only the core functions of SaaS products are often used. Estimates suggest that 60-80% of features go unused, and their value is neither recognized nor realized.
Unused software licenses and features are more than just an IT issue. They are a symptom of inadequate or weak change management:
- Software is purchased faster than work processes are adapted
- Decisions are made without sufficiently involving those affected
- Leadership names the change but does not consistently manage it in daily operations
Instead of new tools solving existing problems, they create costs, parallel processes, and frustration within teams.
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What is Change Management?
Change management describes the structured support of changes in companies – with the goal of sustainably embedding new processes, workflows, or technologies in everyday operations.
Software that is supposed to increase efficiency and relieve employees will not be used if change management is not properly addressed.
In this blog post, we take a look at change management in field service organizations and give you five specific to-dos for how, as a leader, you can consciously guide and successfully execute your change management and the accompanying digitalization.
1. What a Change Management Project Really Means for Everyday Working Life
Change is not a short-term project but a continuous leadership task that must be adjusted step by step to the real world of the company
Source: VDMA Business Advisory
How do you get people on board, create acceptance, and achieve real added value in everyday work?
For successful change management, it is necessary:
- that the leader takes responsibility
- to communicate a clear ‘why’ for the change
- to involve affected colleagues and departments early
- to make roles and responsibilities transparent
- to consciously plan for learning and adjustments
- to systematically collect and implement feedback
New software changes processes
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Processes change the way people work
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The way people work affects people
2. Why Change Management Projects Often Stagnate in Field Service
If change fails, it is rarely due to a lack of motivation. Common reasons for failed change management are:
Leadership names change but does not actively manage it
"Digitalization is a top management matter" – you hear this a lot. But in daily business, clear expectations, regular conversations about usage, and a visible commitment to removing hurdles and taking responsibility for change are lacking.
IT involvement is missing or comes too late
IT is not included in the selection of software and review of technical specifications. But colleagues will have to support implementation and integration into the existing system landscape.
Operational daily business is at capacity
Service daily business is characterized by quick reactions, dynamic planning, and crisis management. There is often simply not enough capacity for a major change management project.
Technicians and back office are brought in too late
The decision for a solution has been made, configurations are already running, go-live dates are set – and only then are technicians and the back office informed. There is almost no room for input at that stage.
Focus on software instead of daily work
Discussions often revolve around functions and features rather than specific work situations or their changes. Too few questions such as:
- What exactly will change in job preparation?
- What will be eliminated in documentation?
- How will coordination between field and office staff improve?
Trainings are sporadic and disconnected from everyday operations
A big training day, lots of slides, a quick live demo – and then everyone is expected to "just start." Especially in international settings with constantly traveling technicians across time zones, such one-off formats are ineffective. Continuous learning during regular operations is not supported.
3. Five Concrete Do’s for Service and Team Leaders in the Change Management Process:
1. Make the ‘Why’ Tangible
Instead of generic digitalization arguments (“efficiency,” “transparency,” …), concrete everyday examples are needed to make the benefit of new software clear:
For technicians, e.g.:
- Less duplicate documentation (paper and system)
- Better job preparation (complete information available in one app)
- Fewer queries from the office, simpler communication via chat
- Photo documentation, ready-made reports
…
For the back office/dispatching, e.g.:
- Clearer overview of job status
- Less manual rework
- Reliable data for planning and reporting
- Seamless teamwork across branches and departments
…
Regularly show in team meetings what has improved – with real, current examples (“Before, we had to... / Now we can...”).
2. Involve Instead of Just Inform
Without involving people, resistance develops – even to good ideas.
Source: VDMA Business Advisory
Getting technicians and office staff “on board” means more than just project updates:
- Define a key user group of technicians and dispatchers early on
- Test processes and screens with them: What works, what doesn’t?
- Make these key users visible as multipliers in teams and branches
- Clearly explain decisions: which feedback has been implemented, which hasn’t – and why?
Service managers are often caught between operational responsibility and transformation pressure. Technicians often experience changes that miss their actual realities. Early involvement ensures this doesn’t happen.
Select key users carefully, give them clear responsibilities, and actively seek their feedback (“Where is there still need for training? / Where is support missing? / What has changed since the last meeting? ...”).
3. Require Usage
Set clear agreements:
- As of when are job reports created only digitally?
- Which data needs to be maintained? (ideally, as mandatory fields in the system)
- How are exceptions handled?
Actively reflect usage:
- Collect and discuss key usage metrics (e.g., percentage of digital reports, checklist use) regularly in the team
- Ask in cases of deviation: “What made it difficult to use the software/function?”
Take obstacles seriously:
- If users report certain processes are too cumbersome, this is not resistance but a pointer for optimization
Introduce regular, brief usage analyses and integrate them into team meetings (look at team performance, allow users to share feedback and problems openly).
4. Enable Learning in Everyday Operations
International field service technicians are often on the road, in different time zones, with little predictable time. The team is multicultural and speaks different languages.
Classic day trainings at fixed times and places are hardly feasible for field staff.
Better options are:
- Onboarding for different user groups
- Short videos within the application (multilingual)
- Online training center accessible anytime, anywhere
Plan time for learning explicitly, e.g., by dedicating fixed team meeting slots. Regularly provide an overview of newly released features and encourage the team to try them out.
5. Establish Continuous Feedback
Change management is not a one-way street. To ensure feedback isn’t just given by chance, you need structure:
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Regular, short surveys on usage and satisfaction (separately for technicians and back office staff)
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Fixed agenda item in team meetings (“Experiences with the system”)
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Channel feedback:
What is a training topic?, What is a process issue?, Where does configuration need adjustment? -
Make it visible what happens with feedback:
“Based on your feedback, we changed X.”, “We reviewed these points but cannot implement them for reason X.” ...
Actively ask for feedback and address resulting changes and adjustments transparently. This shows you value feedback.
4. How fieldux FSM Supports Service Managers and Technicians
The “do’s” for change management described above apply regardless of the software or project used.
Only in the second step does the question arise: How can a field service management solution like fieldux, as part of a change management project, specifically support successful project completion?
Functions tailored to everyday service work
- Clear structure for job preparation, execution, and documentation
- Mobile use for technicians in the field – online and offline
- Relevant information for the back office and dispatching at a glance
Onboarding for different user groups
- Separate onboarding for technicians, dispatchers, and service managers
- Content tailored to the respective role and typical situations
- Combination of guided steps in the application, test tasks, and concise instructions
Short videos about features in the app
- Accessible directly in the application
- Explain a specific feature or process step (e.g.: “How do I create a job report?”) in just a few minutes
- Work independently of time and location
- Usable as FAQ and quick support in everyday work
Online training center, available anytime and anywhere
- Ideal for technicians working worldwide – in the hotel in the evening, between jobs, or while traveling
- Also supports the back office with new features or process changes
- Enables repeated learning at your own pace
- Quickly empowers new employees
Best practice knowledge we share
- Roadmaps that transparently reflect timelines
- Fixed feedback loops and support with product management and our development team
- Specialized knowledge and solution examples for processes and workflows
This turns software into a tool that actively supports change management.
5. Conclusion: Change Management is a Leadership Task – and Teamwork
Service managers provide leadership under high operational pressure. Technicians safeguard quality and customer satisfaction worldwide. Good change management supports this work instead of making it more difficult.
Digitalization in field service only works when it delivers real relief and supports people who already perform at a high level.
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If change management or a digitalization project fails, it almost always happens because reality is too rarely the starting point or responsibility is not taken.
Change management is a leadership task because managers set the direction, establish priorities, and take responsibility for the process. And it is also teamwork because change only succeeds when the people working in the field and the back office contribute their experience and help shape the new ways of working.
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