An Interview with Yukon Palmer, FieldLogix President: ‘We Help Hundreds of Companies Worldwide Increase Billing Revenues, Reduce Labor and Fuel Costs, and Improve Driver Safety, Vehicle Health, and Productivity’

“We will continue to focus on making FieldLogix among the best places to work and a place that everyone will be proud to be associated with.”

FieldLogix is one of the most enduring companies in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) industry. It focuses heavily on product innovation and customer support to ensure that it’s clients have the best experience possible with its service. This focus has helped FieldLogix to grow rapidly and to become the leading Field Resource Management provider.

The company was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Yukon Palmer, FieldLogix President, spoke exclusively to The Silicon Review. Below is an excerpt.

Q. Explain your services in brief.

We provide a Field Resource Management platform that helps organizations better manage their remote personnel, vehicles, and heavy equipment. This is done through a SaaS solution that they use to monitor their drivers' current locations, past activities, driving habits, and more. They can also plan and optimize their daily routes and dispatch jobs to their field employees through our platform. We help hundreds of companies worldwide increase billing revenues, reduce labor and fuel costs, and improve driver safety, vehicle health, and productivity.

Q. Developing a revolutionary resource management platform needs experts in house. How did you manage to form your dream team?

We were lucky when we first started because we were able to hire very skilled people despite not having an established ‘brand’. Unfortunately, once we gained notoriety in our industry, we started bringing in people who weren’t aligned with our values. Because of this, we eventually had to create a formal procedure for our hiring process. We now have a very thorough screening and interview process. To start, we write a thorough job description and establish criteria for a successful candidate. We then post the job to the best channels and evaluate those that apply for the job against our criteria. We then screen candidates via phone to confirm that they qualify for the role. If they do, then we move them to the formal interview process, which consists of three interviews. The interviews cover their prior work experience, their personality (to ensure a cultural fit), and a demonstration of their relevant knowledge. Once they complete the interviews, we conduct a thorough reference check with their prior employers. Upon hiring, we establish well-defined goals and objectives and conduct reviews with them every 30 days to ensure that they are developing professionally and are on track to meet their goals. We can find very talented people and keep them longer using this approach. We ensure that the diversity of our team reflects the diversity of society as a whole. One of our core values is that we respect everyone that we interact with. We select our team members based on their alignment with our values and correct issues that don’t align with them as soon as they arise.

Q. ‘When people are having fun, they work together better and they produce better work.’ How do you interpret this saying?

We wholly believe that employees’ attitudes reflect their success in what they are trying to accomplish. If someone has a positive attitude about their work environment and teammates, then they will give 110 percent to ensure that the company is successful. Conversely, we understand that a negative attitude is also reflected in how they go about their tasks. In this situation, they only will put forth the bare minimum effort and will eventually become someone who just works to collect a paycheck. We try our best to ensure that our employees don’t fall under this category. We believe that people who enjoy the company they work for, their work environment, and their teammates will put the team’s interests above their own for the good of the company. We look for people who have a history of being team players and continuously conduct team building and volunteer activities to ensure that everyone is engaged and enjoying their experience at FieldLogix.

Q. Growing the company based on employees’ passions must be the priority. Do you ask your employees what they are interested in doing and how they would like to see their career unfold?

During our interview process, we look for evidence that they were passionate about a cause in the past. If we find this, we believe that they have the potential to be passionate about FieldLogix too. We always demonstrate our passion for what we are trying to accomplish during our regular meetings to set the tone for everyone in the organization. By doing this, as well as by providing regular updates on our successes, our passion inspires others throughout the company. On an individual level, we conduct regular reviews with our employees and ask them what their career goals are. We then set development goals to help them attain the skills or knowledge that they need to advance in their careers. We will support them if they request outside training to attain the skills required to achieve their personal development goals.

Q. A good workplace stresses teamwork while still encouraging individual achievement and creativity. Does your company follow the same strategy?

As a company, we meet annually to discuss the business objectives for the upcoming year. This results in quarterly goals for each team. The team members meet throughout the year to discuss their objectives for the quarter and create plans to accomplish their tasks. The team members can propose projects to management, who will then work with them to prioritize the proposed projects. Team members are often dependent upon others to accomplish their tasks and they rely on open communications to ensure that their tasks are accomplished. Team members meet regularly to discuss their various projects and coordinate on required activities to move them forward.

Q. What does the future hold for FieldLogix and its employees? Are exciting things on the way?

We are typically among the first in our industry to embrace new technologies. During the upcoming years, we will be working on some very exciting, yet challenging product initiatives to further grow our customer base. While we like to plan for the long-term, we are also constantly learning and are eager to adopt new approaches when we see the potential for success. We believe that great companies are built by very talented people and we make every effort to find and retain strong individuals. We will continue to focus on making FieldLogix among the best places to work and a place that everyone will be proud to be associated with.

Yukon Palmer, President of FieldLogix:  In His Own Words

I have been in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) industry since 2000 and started FieldLogix in 2002 based on a business plan written in the San Diego State University MBA program. I am very involved in the day-to-day aspects of the company.

On the family front, I have been married to my wonderful and supportive wife, Cathy, for 19 years and have two amazing children.

“We always demonstrate our passion for what we are trying to accomplish during our regular meetings to set the tone for everyone in the organization.”