Field Intelligence: Insights for technicians on market trends

For the past several weeks, we’ve been publishing key metrics about the overall health of the field service industry in a series of Field Intelligence reports. Based on data from the Field Nation marketplace, these reports provide analysis and insights to help businesses adapt in a turbulent market.

Today we’re publishing a special edition of Field Intelligence for our technician community. Here are a few highlights from our recent reports:

Work order volumes continue to rise

We’ve seen a gradual increase in work order volume across our marketplace since the low point of the market, which we believe was in week 15 (the week of April 4). 

Last week (the week of June 1), the volume of work orders submitted through our marketplace was substantially higher than in previous weeks, and only two percent below 2019 levels.

In the past several weeks, we’ve continued to see our customers initiate new projects to upgrade technology in retail stores and for other retail-related work. Currently, the fastest-growing work types on the Field Nation platform are:

• Desktop/Laptop: 5% year-over-year growth
• Telecom/VOIP: 44% year-over-year growth
• Audio-visual: 86% year-over-year growth
• CCTV/Alarm systems: 101% year-over-year growth

In a recent post, we also outlined the top IT certifications that companies look for when posting work to the platform.

Geographic trends reflect broad expansion

The market rebound does not appear to be limited to a particular state or region. Instead, the increase in field service activity is affecting all 50 U.S. states. Nearly half of all states now show positive year-over-year growth.

California, Texas, New York, and Florida—which are the largest states in terms of gross domestic product—have shown marked improvements over the past several weeks.

Weekly active connections demonstrate value of Field Nation network

The number of companies that actively post work on the Field Nation platform is steadily increasing. Weekly active companies increased by 13.6 percent since the market low in week 15. Likewise, technicians that use the platform to find work increased by 7.3 percent since the market low.

Most importantly, weekly active connections, or the percentage of new connections between businesses and technicians, on the Field Nation platform increased by 22.6 percent over the past eight weeks. The Field Nation marketplace continues to be a valuable resource for connecting companies and technicians.

Although the broader U.S. economy may be in a recession, it appears that the market for contingent field services labor is quickly recovering. Now is a great time to create a profile on Field Nation, or update your existing profile with new skills. By doing so, you’ll be well-positioned to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.

Field Intelligence experts

Wael Mohammed has been in the IT services industry for more than 27 years. He has held leadership roles in both startups and large enterprises, including SPS Commerce, IBM, and Target. Wael is currently the Executive Vice President of Product at Field Nation, and oversees product management, product design, and data science. He is a master in identifying product and market growth opportunities, taking new products to market, and maximizing product performance.

Steve Salmon brings more than 30 years of leadership experience to the IT services industry. He has held senior roles in both startups and large enterprises, even co-founding a technology services company in 1992, which was later purchased. Currently, Steve is the VP of Enterprise and Channel Sales at Field Nation. Previously, he served as SVP of Global Managed Services Solutions at CompuCom, where the services revenue grew from $200M to more than $1B. Steve’s expertise and strategic prowess have landed him on numerous radio shows as a technology and business specialist.