Communication Strategies in the Field Essential for Technology Rollout Success

With baseball being one of the most popular summer sports, many can recognize the analogy of the hand signals used by the players during the game and communication to the field technicians during a technology rollout. Whether you attend one game a season, follow a team closely or even don't normally watch baseball, you are familiar with the hand signals the players and coaches use to communicate with one another on the field. The catcher signals the pitcher, the third base coach signals the runners on the field and even the umpire signals his calls. You may not always notice the signals during the games they are used as a transparent, behind-the-scenes form of communication that is not easily decoded by fans or members of the opposing team.

Baseball signals guide the players in the field to maximize the team's performance and communicate plays to the members of the team. Coaches use signals to manage the team in the field during the game and alert the players to adapt to changing circumstances within the game.

A Lack of Communication = Disorganization in the System
Let's imagine two runners on the field one on second base and one on third. Knowing the ball is in play and the conditions are not favorable for the runners to take the next base, the third base coach signals the runners to hold their positions. Without clear communication from the third base coach and the other team going for the out on second base, the second base runner could have chosen to run to third, but the third base runner may have decided to stay on third leaving one of the runners stuck in the middle. Unless the runner is able to jump and flip over the opposing team, he will likely cause the team an out as well as the loss of a point he could have scored with guidance from the coach's hand signals. This lack of communication and organization can cause the team unnecessary outs and may even lead to a loss for the team.

Technician/Technology Rollout Company Communication
We all realize that hand signals and effective communication within a baseball team is crucial to their success in the game. Just like how baseball players look to designated players for signals, the field technician will look to a designated point of contact at the Technology Rollout Company (TRC) for guidance and communication during a nationwide deployment of technology or an international rollout. With changing circumstances, like in a baseball game, the TRC will evaluate the most efficient methods of service and should have the processes in place to quickly communicate those changes to the technicians in the field.

When it comes to deploying technology throughout multiple locations on a nationwide and global scale, success is determined by the system of methodologies utilized by the TRC. The Technician Communication Channel is an essential component and organizes the collaboration between the technicians on site and the TRC. The following are some questions that should be addressed to determine if you are receiving a direct communication channel between the TRC and the field techs at each site:

Are the techs rated on their performance by the TRC upon completion of the work? What is the technician redundancy process for technician no-shows? Is the TRC in direct communication with the onsite techs? Are there local codes or regulations which the onsite tech should be communicating to TRC? How does the TRC communicate with an unprofessional technician? Is that tech removed from the site? Is there a time duration by which the TRC issues a notification of an issue on site? What type of documentation is recorded by the TRC for each site? Is the tech's time of arrival and departure recorded and verified by the TRC?

Like the importance of winning each game in the bigger picture of winning the world series, proper communication for each site of a multi-site technology deployment can have an effect on the bigger picture of the whole technology rollout project. Deployment timeframes, project costs and overall satisfaction depends on the strategies and system of methodologies the Technology Rollout Company has in place to manage and communicate with the field technicians.

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