Skillsets the Important Factor for Businesses Choosing Contractors
LONDON, July 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Yet failing to deliver customer satisfaction could be costing them, as one in ten customers complain about subcontractors
Just 4% of UK businesses consider cost the most important factor when making a procurement decision according to a global study into contracting carried out by ClickSoftware. Businesses in Britain are instead prioritising matching skillsets (30%) over every other factor when selecting contractors for tasks, however there are still ongoing issues around customer service.
Customer satisfaction has become a major concern with more than one in ten (16%) seeing it as the critical element of a bidding contractor's proposal. Virtually all (98%) businesses now track customer satisfaction, increasing its importance in the procurement process. More than three quarters (77%) of companies that took part in the study have received a complaint about contractors or subcontractors in the past. Worryingly, more than one in ten (12%) complaints are happening on a regular basis. In comparison, the global results showed 95% of US businesses have received complaints about contractor service.
UK businesses are now seeking contractors that will provide peace of mind that they are equipped to handle the job and reduce the number of complaints received around arriving late for jobs (40%), leaving a mess (28%), or delivering an overall poor service (24%).
"Decision makers need to strike the balance with having the best skillset available coupled with subcontractors that will represent the company to the same standards as any regular employee," said Dr. Moshe BenBassat, Founder and CEO of ClickSoftware. "With more businesses moving towards a marketplace model, procurement is going the same way. Companies can now collect proposals and make better informed decisions by comparing and contrasting proposals and we will see more procurement handled in this way."
Survey Methodology
This UK survey was conducted between April 23 and May 01 2015 among 250 business decision makers aged 18 and older by OnePoll on behalf of ClickSoftware. The US survey was conducted between April 15 and April 23 2015 among 200 business decision makers by ResearchNow on behalf of ClickSoftware. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact clicksoftwareteam@redconsultancy.com.
About ClickSoftware
ClickSoftware is the leading provider of automated mobile workforce management and service optimisation solutions for the enterprise, both for mobile and in-house resources. As pioneers of the "Service chain optimisation" concept, our solutions provide organisations with end-to-end visibility and control of the entire service management chain by optimising forecasting, planning, shift and task scheduling, mobility and real-time management of resource and customer communication.
Available via the cloud or on-premise, our products incorporate best business practices and advanced decision-making algorithms to manage service operations more efficiently, in a scalable, integrated manner. Our solutions have become the backbone for many leading organisations worldwide by addressing the fundamental question of job fulfillment: Who does What, for Whom, With what, Where and When.
ClickSoftware is the premier choice for delivering superb business performance to service sector organisations of all sizes. The company is headquartered in the United States and Israel, with offices across Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit http://www.clicksoftware.com. Follow us on Twitter.
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James Roche
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james.roche@redconsultancy.com
James Gilheany
+44-(0)20-7025-6463
James.gilheany@redconsultancy.com
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