Communication: The Key To

Successful Service Events

It is undeniable. Communication. It is a key component to success. This is particularly true in the service industry where building and sustaining business relationships are built on the foundation of effective communication and collaboration. This is why OnForce has created an entire online community, complemented by a robust feature-set, that supports open and active dialogue between you, OnForce Pros, and OnForce. After all...

Effective communication + satisfied customers = long-term growth and profitability potential.

How do you leverage effective communication and collaboration with OnForce Pros and OnForce to help ensure success? Here are some helpful tips to consider...

Read more »

3 Key Ways To Effectively Communicate/Collaborate With OnForce Pros And With OnForce — To help foster effective communication and collaboration and, in turn, enhance your profit potential, we recommend the following:

  1. Be as specific as possible about what you need, when you need it, in your work order requirements. In search of OnForce Pros who are insured or are Samsung-certified or both? Does the OnForce Pro need to be background checked and drug-tested? Have you included on-site location logistics and service date information? Providing all of the pertinent details in your work order, helps to ensure that the right expert arrives on-site at the right place and time to fulfill the work to your complete satisfaction.
  2. Rate your OnForce Pro upon completion of a service event. How did your OnForce Pro do? Did he/she arrive on time? Did he/she have the necessary skills and knowledge to complete the work? Your honest feedback is critical. It helps us to improve and ensure that you get a consistent, high quality experience with OnForce.
  3. Leverage your dedicated OnForce market support team. In January, we announced that service buyers would be assigned a dedicated support team that consisted of one executive account manager and one or two account managers. Your team knows and understands the needs of your business. When you have questions, have suggestions for improvement or simply would like more information, we encourage you to contact your dedicated team for help. They are here for you. Your feedback enables your support team to enhance your experience with OnForce and ensure quality service for your customers.

Communication and collaboration. They are powerful tools that can accelerate service businesses to greatness – if used wisely. Best of all, OnForce has the necessary leading-edge resources that can help.

Training Bench

With the introduction of Windows 7 in 2009, Microsoft is offering training and certifications which are now available to OnForce Pros. This enables OnForce Pros to keep abreast of the latest technology developments as you look for specific skills to fulfill the ever-evolving service needs of your customers.

Certifications

Did you know that we began verifying several Windows 7 certifications for OnForce Pros? These certifications include MCTS: Windows 7 – Configuration; MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator 7; and MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician 7. When routing work orders for Windows 7 service events, you can now search for OnForce Pros who hold these highly coveted certifications and feel confident that they will meet your service needs.

Associations

We have recently re-engaged with two industry-leading service organizations - CompTIA and the Service Industry Association (SIA) - to collaborate with like-minded professionals, and to enhance and build business relationships, and provide OnForce Pros with new training opportunities.

Spotlight: PowerPro

Anibal Villacisa (Pro ID: 42657)
Since joining the marketplace in 2006, Anibal is an OnForce PowerPro who has successfully completed more than 1,200 work orders with a near perfect rating. With a background check, drug test and several Microsoft and Samsung certifications to his credit, Anibal has gained the confidence of several service buyers to fulfill networking and PC repair work.

Marketplace Stats

We released our Q1 2010 OnForce Services Marketplace Index (OSMI). The top four categories in terms of work order volume the quarter includes:

  1. PC Desktop: 29%
  2. TV/Video: 16%
  3. Network: 14%
  4. Printer: 12%

Click here to see additional marketplace statistics.

OnForce News Marketplace Tips & Tricks
On The Record with Robert Cohen & OnForce CEO Peter Cannone
eChannelLineUSA, May 13, 2010

OnForce Announces Q1 OnForce Services Marketplace Index
Shows Promising Signs for Upcoming Year

Partners Relieve Technology Headaches by Recycling Laptops, Electronics
Channel Insider, March 1, 2010

Staples Dives Into Managed Services With New Division
ChannelWeb, February 16, 2010
Below are some recent marketplace enhancements that increase service buyer and OnForce Pro communication.
  • Schedule Appointment Windows: OnForce Pros now have the ability to schedule windows, in addition to the exact appointment times they can schedule today. This will enable OnForce Pros to effectively set end-user expectations regarding on-site time arrival.
  • New Alerts Tab: To help provide a consolidated, organized view to important work order events, we have created a new "Alerts" tab. With this tab, you can now assess each alert and take appropriate actions quickly.
  • Single Use Attachment: If you are a service buyer that has unique attachments that pertain to a work order (i.e. shipping labels, site specific documentations), you can now attach a file, in any format, when a work order is being created, even if the file has not been uploaded beforehand to File Manager.
Effective communication is critical for ensuring service event success. We have created several tools to enhance communication among all parties within the marketplace.

TIP: We continually update the platform to encourage new ways for OnForce Pros to connect with service buyers. Please refer to your BCC or OnForce Buyer Help topics for updates to learn about our most recent enhancements. Some include:
  • Using Check-in Requirements: We updated the OnForce platform to allow you to specify, within a work order, whether an OnForce Pro is required to use the sub-status system to check-in when arriving on-site. This will allow the platform to track and report on the progress of OnForce Pros through the lifecycle of the work order.
  • Applying Additional Work Order Information: When creating a work order, service buyers can now use the Additional Information page to indicate on-site and support contact information, as well as detail requirements regarding appointment setting and site check-in.

No comments yet.

Leave a comment

OnForce reserves the right to review and approve all comments before displaying here.