Half of desk-based work-time is wasted
(or unproductive)
out of every £8 is wasted on needless manual admin1
of knowledge worker time is spent on unskilled work2
per month is lost in productivity related to poor customer service3
Sources:
(1) Netcall cost analysis combining McKinsey and UK Customer Institute research 2023
(2) Asana – Anatomy of Work Index: How people spend their time at work
(3) UK Institute of Customer Service (ICS) reported in The Guardian (January 30, 2023)
Stubborn problems impact morale and efficiency
Field and site operations often excel at using technology to transform business at speed, such as switching to cloud storage, supporting home-based working for admin staff, and tracking valuable assets.
But even in the age of AI, stubborn problems deep within businesses can get overlooked and drain resources.
Despite all the money spent on technology, there’s often a small army of people still tied down dealing with everyday exceptions, fixing anomalies and finding costly manual workarounds to inefficient processes. And that’s a massive drag on performance and profitability.
How to pinpoint root causes and fix problems
Put simply, each of the issues we’ve explored requires intense manual effort. This is because key systems are disconnected, reliable data isn’t easy to access and teams are forced to devote valuable time and talent to solving mundane issues themselves.
Manual processes can be extremely resourceintensive – whether it’s rekeying data, compiling reports, issuing approvals or attempting to co-ordinate disparate groups of people. These activities often lock up hours of time for employees or temporary staff, putting a strain on budgets.
We’re all prone to errors too.
Mistakes in data entry, calculations or approvals can have significant financial implications. Fixing these errors can be time-consuming and costly, slowing down operational efficiency.
What’s the cost overall?
It’s significant. For example, the average knowledge worker devotes 60% of their time to “work about work” – which includes various manual admin-type activities, according to research*. In fact, just 27% of time is dedicated to the skilled craft that employees have been trained and hired to do
But here’s some good news.
There’s an answer — it’s possible to improve outcomes and save money. You don’t need a huge budget, turn your business upside down, or wait months or years to see the benefits.
Low-code brings transformation to field and site operations – at speed and scale
Say No to…
- Manual workarounds
- Siloed data in a sprawl of spreadsheets
- Untracked email-based approvals
Say Yes to…
- Intuitive tools (without needing to code)
- Empowering your teams to create solutions
- Seeing the right results – fast
Your team knows the issues – and what success will look like
They can deliver massive business breakthroughs for your organisation
Sweeping aside clunky, manual processes and workarounds
Automating humdrum tasks by joining the digital dots
Solving stubborn problems and creating dependable services
Use low-code to transform at speed and save resources
Low-code application development lets you connect people, processes and systems. Instead of purchasing an expensive IT solution or commissioning outside developers, it’s possible to transform business processes and save money – quickly using the skills of the people around you.
The outcome? Organisations are blighted by unnecessary complexity, cost and delay. Below are typical scenarios impacting field and site operation teams and customers:
What this means for you: Get applications 10x faster*
Low-code can speed up application development by as much as 10 times faster than traditional methods. Accordingly, you see the business benefits in a fraction of the time.
*Source: “Why You Need To Know About Low-Code, Even If You’re Not Responsible For Software Delivery” — Forrester
Lifting the mystique around low-code
In essence, low-code is a way to develop applications without needing to know how to code. Instead, you use a drag-and-drop interface and other intuitive tools to connect disparate systems, unlock data silos and optimise processes. You can connect with AI and robotic process automation too.
ATS Euromaster managed to free up staff and overcome manual processes, thanks to an automated solution for that brought together legacy systems and data sources. Meanwhile, teams working for a major UK company found a smarter way to book maintenance engineers, boosting agility and efficiency.
What about our legacy tech and ESG?
Often, there’s no need to rip and replace older systems. Low-code will help you to access data and breathe more life into existing tech, so you can maximise your return on investment and
But low-code may also provide a nimble way to simply replace a legacy system that’s proving costly and complex to power, sustain and support. Low-code platforms enable the development of lightweight applications that consume fewer resources. This can support your environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals around sustainability.
Field and site operations are often complex
The problem
Problems, delays and errors in one area can impact another – causing operations to slow down or seize up.
The cause
It’s often due to disconnected systems, lack of access to reliable data and having to spend valuable time on manual processes. It all costs a fortune and impacts service.
The process
Costs and delays are holding back field and site operations
Frontline teams can struggle with everyday issues that should be simple to sort. Tricky problems can also entangle people in the office or colleagues working remotely. In turn, this affects suppliers, customers and other stakeholders.
The outcome? Organisations are blighted by unnecessary complexity, cost and delay. Below are typical scenarios impacting field and site operation teams and customers:
Customer delays
Customers can feel as if their requests vanish into a void. In reality, teams struggle to liaise manually with specialists and other teams – while keeping customers updated about timelines and costs. Delays lead to poor satisfaction scores and damage the brand’s reputation.
Engineer hold-ups
The process for booking engineers feels cumbersome, arduous and lacks transparency. It sometimes takes days or weeks for staff to find and hire contractors to fix broken equipment. This harms the customer experience.
Site access issues
A repair team arrives on site and suddenly discover they need access via property belonging to other parties. This information was missing and it takes days to secure permissions, which involves emails, calls and spreadsheets. There’s no central way to track progress and keep everyone informed.
Risk assessment roadblocks
At safety-critical sites, outside visits must be carefully booked in and risks assessed. But arranging this may take weeks and involve lengthy documents being emailed between all parties – with no simple way to manage the process.
Compliance challenges
Teams risk non-compliance with changing regulations and standards. It’s hard to easily access proper documentation, manage version control and provide audit trails. Failures can result in legal penalties and damage to the organisation’s reputation.
Staff development hurdles
Setting personal goals, up-skilling and empowering employees to be their best is a key business objective. But staff find that most of their time is spent administering the process and trying to communicate assessment appointments.
Niche systems dilemmas
Highly-bespoke systems built by inhouse teams to answer an organisation’s niche needs become slow and inflexible over time. But there’s no suitable replacement on the marketplace and commissioning a software company would be too expensive.
Data management overload
Staff get overwhelmed trying to manage GDPR, Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), data access requests and legitimate interest processes.
This is just a snapshot of the kinds of daily hurdles faced by field services organisations every day across the UK.
Now the 6 big wins of low-code are within easy reach
#1
Solve business issues faster
#2
Make your data work for you
#3
Empower teams and collaborate
#4
Improve the customer experience
#5
Ensure your future is in your hands
#6
Save money, while boosting performance
The keys to success
Powerful but easy-to-use tools
Integration with virtually any third-party system
Ability to add AI and robotic process automation (RPA)
Jargon-free training and stellar support
Access to a low-code community and free apps
Why choosing the right low-code platform is key
To get the most from low-code, it’s important to select a feature-rich platform – with all the support you might need – from the outset. That way, it’ll be faster, easier and less expensive for your teams to build apps for digital-first processes. Here are the top questions to ask a potential platform partner:
Q1. Does the platform have the right capabilities?
You should be able to create enterprise-grade, scalable apps with mobile and cloud connectivity where needed. The option to add AI, machine learning and robotic process automation (RPA) is important too — plus the ability to integrate with virtually any third-party system.
Q2. Does the provider have a proven track record?
Ask for reference customers and case studies. Ensure the provider offers clear contracts and honest pricing.
Q3. How easy is the platform for me to use – and does it come with good support?
Tools must be powerful yet friendly intuitive, so your people don’t feel dropped in the deep end. The provider should be responsive and engaged — from delivery to training and support, offering jargon-free advice too.
Q4. Does the platform enable oversight when apps are being created?
It’s important that organisations have governance tools, with the ability to set sensible guidelines and boundaries around development. As a result, you can ensure your new apps are on-brand and must pass quality control checks before they are released.
Q5. Can we trust the platform? Is it secure?
A low-code platform should have robust security at its core, with operational resilience and the ability to support requirements such as GDPR. There should be transparency throughout the development process with visual modelling and documentation, encouraging good corporate governance
Q6. Can we collaborate with citizen developers in other organisations?
Being able to join a wider low-code community is a massive bonus. As well as connecting with your peers and learning about best practice, you should also be able to access resources like an application library – free of charge. This could mean simply downloading the niche app you need for free, rather than reinvent the wheel.
Put the power of low code in your hands today
...and create enterprise-grade, scalable apps with mobile and cloud connectivity for field and site operations.
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www.netcall.com/contact
Call: 0330 333 610
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