How did you first come to work in the field service industry?

I was standing in the rain waiting for the No15 bus on Oxford Street; I noticed a stack of job supplements from the Evening Standard and took one to cover my head. I later read it and came across an advert for IT service managers – no experience needed but P&L and people skills necessary. Two months later I was being introduced as a service manager to my first customer for Fujitsu.

What did you most like about it?
I enjoyed having the freedom to ask the silly questions being new to the industry.More often than not this resulted in finding a simpler way to deliver the service.  The main change over recent years is that IT service is no longer just viewed as a cost of failure, with the focus on delivering the SLAs.

What would you have done instead?

At heart I am a retailer, where you have to demonstrate the value of your product if you want someone to part with their hard earned money. As a service manager, you still need to demonstrate the value you deliver, even if it is company money. Had I not moved into this industry I would still be a retailer

Who has been the most influential person in your professional life?

My late father has been the biggest influence on my professional life. He was the MD for a semi conductor company and was a strong believer in getting the right people into your team, focusing on what you can do best and understanding your financial drivers. I have since been introduced to the book Good to Great by Jim Collins which supports this and is well worth a read.

What is your most notable example of field service?

During a project that was running over budget to combine two communication rooms together for a newly merged bank, I took an engineer to the first meeting, which had a cast of many reviewing a very costly and detailed project plan. After listening to all the problems my engineer asked the simple question: ‘As the two buildings are next to each other, why don’t we just drill a hole through the wall?’ The room went silent and his idea saved thousands of pounds, much of which was project management costs.

Name the most important issue for your company

We operate in a dynamic and increasingly demanding environment that creates an ever-changing set of challenges.  The only way we can address this is by being equally dynamic through establishing a culture of continuous improvement through our people and our operations.

The most important issue for the service industry in general?

The industry needs to continue to move towards a value based ethos where people and operations are 100% aligned to delivering value to customers in their business terms.

How will the industry develop in the future?

Globalisation is really gaining momentum, bringing challenges in how we operate, sell and procure services. Services will increasingly be made up of components assembled from around the globe that makes delivering winning customer solutions even more challenging – this in turn opens markets up to UK providers but also opens the UK to overseas competitors.

What stands your company apart from its competitors?

A typical answer but for Fujitsu it really is our people – they have an energy and customer commitment that is second to none. Our Japanese heritage means that we have an inherent quality based culture founded on lean thinking and a desire for continuous improvement. We take the long-term view of our customer relationships, providing an environment that empowers and supports our people to deliver world class service.

Should there be more training for engineers, and if so, in which areas?

Soft skills, adding value