The Salesforce Field Service Partner Advisory Board: What it is and How it Adds Value for Our Clients
Author: Naeem Khalid
If you follow either myself or Diabsolut on LinkedIn, you may have seen the announcement about my membership on the Salesforce Field Service Partner Advisory Board (PAB).
Why is this important? The short answer is that it offers Diabsolut an even more direct line to be the voice of our customers with Salesforce and helps shape the future of Salesforce Field Service for their specific needs.
The long answer will be covered in the rest of this blog, with information about what the PAB is and how Diabsolut’s membership will add value for our clients.
The Salesforce Field Service Partner Advisory Board
Various versions of this board have been around for years, but this is the first year that Salesforce has split their Service Cloud and Field Service Cloud PABs to include more targeted expertise. This is in line with their focus on tailoring their products to be more industry-specific, which we saw at last year’s Dreamforce.
How Salesforce Field Service board membership works:
- Any Salesforce partners around the world with field service expertise can apply
- There are 14 total members on the board from both Europe and North America, including top global system integrators (SIs) like Diabsolut, with various points of view
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- Individual members include everyone from executives and company owners to delivery leads and solution architects
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- The qualified field service organizations they represent range from large to small, have a high CSAT score, and a history of delivering customer success
- Membership lasts for 2 years, with an annual onsite meeting and quarterly meetings held remotely
During meetings, members discuss Salesforce Field Service (more on that in the client value section below) both as a group and individually with product leads and Salesforce executives.
- Salesforce shares potential roadmaps and forward-looking statements about Salesforce Field Service, and the board helps by providing feedback, discussing improvements, and asking or answering questions for Salesforce based on what product users need the most
- Meetings take place over 2 days, with 1 day used for group discussion, and 1 day for individual discussions
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- For the group discussion, the day is divided up and used to review Salesforce Field Service product pillars in relation to field service needs
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- Pillars include the product’s foundation, mobility, resourcing, and assets
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- Individual sessions allow representatives to discuss what’s important to their own organization and their clients in more depth
- Confidentiality is strictly enforced, so although specific use cases are reviewed, clients’ names and details are not disclosed
Client Value
While we will be unable to share or discuss unreleased information, knowing what’s on Salesforce’s radar and sharing what’s important to our clients can help us maximize client ROI when planning projects or delivering services.
This is an opportunity to ensure our clients are being heard by people who can make a real difference in the out-of-the-box benefits they’ll receive from Salesforce Field Service; and we’re expecting our clients will receive additional value via:
- Direct insight into what’s happening with Salesforce Field Service now and what’s coming up in the immediate future — as well as the ability to impact the product’s updates in the short- and long-term
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- Base product needs, gaps, or concerns can be more efficiently addressed
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- Sharing our point of view as a solution and implementation partner, and how our clients are using the product in the field will help Salesforce prioritize what to work through and develop
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- Improvements and client “must haves” can be communicated and discussed at both a detailed and high level
- Meeting other field service experts and hearing their clients’ use cases helps us expand our knowledge and grow our expertise for our own client projects
We’ve also seen that Salesforce is asking questions about use cases, meaning they want to know why these specific improvements are needed, and they are heavily focusing on industry-specific customer needs.
- Aside from being best practice, it’s the kind of dedication we love seeing for our clients — and indicates clients will see thoughtful product development
Salesforce Field Service
Diabsolut began it’s journey as a field service solution and ClickSoftware implementation partner 20 years ago. Being on the advisory board for Salesforce Field Service, when Salesforce’s acquisition of ClickSoftware influenced Salesforce Field Service development — feels like a natural progression.
We’re looking forward to what this will bring for our clients, and will continue to post Salesforce Field Service Partner Advisory Board updates and thought leadership on LinkedIn.
If your organization needs field service solution advice, contact us; or visit our blogs or library for field service thought leadership.
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