Worker Shortages: What it Takes to Attract and Retain FSM Talent

Finding field service workers to fill positions was an issue even prior to the pandemic, but the pandemic has certainly inspired a new level of stress when it comes to attracting and retaining talent for most industries.

Some of this is out of our hands. People are taking advantage of pandemic assistance to reprioritize and reorganize their work-life balance. It’s a difficult situation for both employees and businesses, however—it doesn’t have to be a bad thing for FSM organizations that are willing to get creative with how they view and manage their employees.

What You Can Do

One of the issues for field service organizations when it comes to recruitment is the unfair stigma around field service jobs themselves. Millennials make up the largest portion of the workforce, and they grew up hearing that a college education and a 9-to-5 desk job were the pinnacles of success.

On the contrary, this idea has led to most of them carrying a large amount of student debt and taking whatever jobs they can to get by. Add to that pandemic conditions and many of them wanting a change—and you have a great opportunity for FSM organizations, which have a history of providing stable careers.

• Most field service positions pay well and offer benefits—if you add training opportunities to that it makes FS a particularly attractive option right now.
• Look into adding schedule flexibility wherever possible, as it’s become a top priority for employees.
• Have tech-savvy options available—the majority of the workforce uses technology to help make their daily lives easier, it’s now expected in the workplace.

Where to Invest

If you want to capitalize on how you can attract and retain new FS talent, where should you be investing? Your FSM solution needs to be up-to-date.

• Training

  • Work with veteran employees to set up knowledge transfer, and younger employees to help shape what your training should look like.
  • Modules and gamified working in smaller, easier-to-manage sessions will be more appealing.
  • For hands-on field training pair newer employees with veteran employees, and look into AR capabilities to help increase your capacity to train specialized tasks in the field.

 

• Flexible Schedules

  • This is such a major selling point for most people, so invest heavily into your scheduling, and planning, which will allow:
    • Veteran technicians to work from home by collaborating with people in the field, or helping customers with self-service.
    • If you have clear policies and real-time information, employees can pick from flex schedule options.
  • Invest your time—get to know your employees and what they need—if you’re willing to listen and adapt so that everyone’s needs are met, you should see a decrease in turnover rates.

 

• Technology in the Workplace

  • Automate, automate, automate—the easier it is to do the job the fewer mistakes you’ll see, and the happier employees will be to do it.
  • Scheduling, up-to-date information, mobility, safety, and access to the right information when they need it all impact the daily life of a technician, and can all be improved by a modern FSM solution.
  • Make sure your FSM solution is intuitive—for field technicians, schedulers and dispatchers, etc.—when the user interface is designed to make tasks simple it’s one less thing to worry about during the workday.

The Path Forward

If you’re looking for solutions to your Field Service Management challenges – from best practices to powerful and modern software solutions, talk to the experts at Gogh Solutions. Contact us.