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July 24, 2023 | 5 Mins Read

Are You Creating Successful Gen Z Field Technicians?

July 24, 2023 | 5 Mins Read

Are You Creating Successful Gen Z Field Technicians?

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By Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service

There is a fair amount of handwringing among employers in just about every industry around what to do about the incoming group of Gen Z employees. These young workers (in their 20s to very early 30s) are generally seen as very technology-savvy, but also very difficult to manage.

To evolve with the times, companies have done everything from adopting new perks, flexible schedules, to creating new programs and processes around diversity, ethics, mental health, and employee engagement. On the other end of the spectrum, some companies have dug in around the “No one wants to work” post-pandemic position that “these kids today” are lazy and want to be coddled by their employers.

You can see some of these viewpoints reflected in a recent survey conducted by ResumeBuilder, which found that three-quarters of managers find it difficult to work with Gen Z. 

There can be a lot of negativity in this kind of coverage, though, which overlooks some key points. First, this type of generational complaining has been going on for a long time (as this Inc. story points out). Second, these sweeping generalizations about workers of a certain age (any age) are not very helpful. And third, in many cases, meeting Gen Z where they are in terms of workplace expectations makes the work environment better for everybody, while also helping field service organizations recruit and retain young technicians.

But what are some of the reasons that managers think Gen Z is difficult? According to the ResumeBuilder survey, the top reasons were that they lack technological skills, lack effort, lack motivation, lack productivity, are easily distracted, have poor communication skills, and are easily offended.

This was a cross-industry survey, so the first point (they lack technological skills) is one that field service organizations have already been dealing with, addressed with solutions such as developing technicians via apprenticeships, working with trade schools, on-the-job training programs, etc. 

As far as the other challenges go, though, a big problem seems to be that different generations are speaking different “work languages,” for lack of a better term. Workers in their 20s have entered the workforce during a time of significant disruption and volatility across pretty much every facet of their lives – political, environmental, economic, and social environments included. They have also watched their older family members struggle as work becomes more demanding and ubiquitous thanks to our always-connected culture, while pay has stagnated and the cost of living (particularly housing) has ballooned.

As a result, younger workers are more likely to put up boundaries around their personal lives and time, while also asking for better pay and a company culture that allows them to enjoy (and maintain) their off-hours. While we do have to be cautious of too many generalizations, I think that as a group these younger workers have also not necessarily bought into the type of striving that their predecessors have valued – the idea that putting extra time and energy into your job is going to provide a path to upward mobility. This can come off as a lack of motivation, but it seems to me that it’s really an indication that the old incentives just aren’t working anymore.

Turning Perceived Weaknesses into Company Strengths

The real question we must ask ourselves is, how can we use this information to create successful Gen Z field service technicians? To do so, we need to focus on turning some of these perceived weaknesses into company strengths. Here are a few ideas:

Invest more in employee education. I addressed technical training above, but younger workers often lack interpersonal communication (or soft) skills – they are used to talking to people via text or online. Develop communication skills training (your older workers can probably benefit from a refresher, too) and put it in the proper context. Your goal is to help people (your customers) solve a problem. Gen Z has an abundance of empathy, which is a valuable commodity when it comes to customer service.

Invest in modern technology. If you haven’t upgraded your service management, scheduling, diagnostic, and/or communication tools for a long time, you are going to have trouble with younger workers that view your IT infrastructure as some sort of antique. Having modern tools in place is going to help your business in general, while also making it easier to hire and retain younger technicians.

Be open to new ideas. Younger workers are much more likely to question and criticize existing policies and processes if they don’t make sense. Forward-looking companies will resist being defensive and appreciate the fresh eyes. Some of those old policies/procedures are in place for good reasons, but others may have exceeded their sell-by date. Your younger technicians are more likely to thrive (and help you thrive) if they think their ideas are given serious consideration. 

Examine your company culture. Workplace culture in the U.S. has typically punished people for being human. Taking time off when you are sick, when your kids are sick, or when you need to deal with any type of issue (from an ailing parent to getting your car into the shop) is viewed negatively. For hourly positions, any time off work is time you aren’t earning, and at some companies your use of sick days or other PTO might be held against you when it comes to overtime or promotions. 

Is your company like that? It shouldn’t be. During the pandemic, a lot of employees took a hard look at how their employers treated them and did not like what they saw. Your employees (old and young alike) are human, and they need time to take care of their families and themselves. If your PTO policies are reasonable, your employees will be reasonable in following them. 

Give respect to earn respect. The survey also indicated that managers felt Gen Z was too thin-skinned and easily offended. But this generation is the most diverse we have ever seen entering the workforce, and their perspective on workplace behaviors is probably going to be very different, particularly in industries that have traditionally been more heterogeneous. For field service companies to thrive in the face of a shortage of qualified technicians, organizations are going to need to recruit more technicians from diverse backgrounds. For those employees to stick around, they must feel respected and comfortable.

New Gen Z technicians are offering employers fresh perspective, adaptability, and enthusiasm for problem solving. The things they are asking for in return – a livable wage, work schedules that give them time to have a personal life, and less toxic work environments – are not unreasonable. In fact, the existing employees who haven’t fought so hard for these things will appreciate them, too. 

Do you have experience training this new generation of technicians? What has worked and what hasn't? Please send me your thoughts and experiences. 

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A Toolset Plus Mindset Approach Equals Remote Service Success at RICOH

July 17, 2023 | 3 Mins Read

A Toolset Plus Mindset Approach Equals Remote Service Success at RICOH

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By Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service

The ability to successfully perform remote service can have a big impact on costs, customer satisfaction, workforce optimization, and even sustainability efforts. Incorporating remote service into your service delivery mix, though, requires both new technology and what can seem like a big cultural change within a service organization. 

A few weeks ago, I spoke to Darren Elmore, GM of Service for printer equipment specialist RICOH New Zealand. I had heard Darren speak at the Field Service Palm Springs event in the Spring and was impressed not only by what he shared related to RICOH’s remote service journey, but also what he had to say about some of the ways company’s tend to avoid innovation (which I wrote about here.) I then welcomed Darren onto the podcast for a chat about how RICOH has successfully increased its ability to deliver service remotely.

Darren said he started thinking about a remote first service approach a few years ago, while observing internal IT support operations at RICOH, where the majority of tickets were resolved remotely. At the time, RICOH’s field service operations were resolving around 25% of EM service requests remotely – and he thought they could do better than that.

He knew intuitively that in many cases, technicians would arrive at a customer site and pretty quickly diagnose a problem based on the equipment model and a few troubleshooting questions. “Well, if you're pretty sure you know what it is and it's not something that requires physical adjustment or a part to be replaced, how about talking to the customer and see if we can resolve it over the phone?” he said.

When the COVID pandemic began, the experiment quickly accelerated into a more formalized push for remote service that has paid off tremendously. As of 2022, the company had expanded from 25% remote resolution to 42%, and halfway into 2023 that rate was already sitting at 47%.

I have talked to a lot of service leaders about the incorporation or expansion of remote service, so I know that adopting new technology (which RICOH did) is only part of the story. Companies have a variety of options, some choosing mixed-reality tools like IFS Remote Assistance that allow for a virtual “hands-on” feel and others using more pared down remote access or even video chat solutions. I asked Darren about the balance of new toolsets vs. new mindsets that are required to really make remote service a successful endeavor.

As you might expect, he emphasizes the importance of change management to succeed from the mindset perspective. Before you deploy remote service tools, you have to talk your team through what you are trying to achieve – the “Why?” of what you plan to do. That messaging has to get to the technicians actually doing the work. 

“[T]he mindset has to come before the tool set if you want the buy-in from the teams that are going to be using the tools, otherwise you are just investing in a tool set that metaphorically, it's just going to count the dust and you won't get the take-up that you need,” Darren said.

As a result of expanding its remote-first approach, RICOH has been able to not only save money and improve productivity, but it has also managed to reduce emissions as part of its sustainability initiatives by having fewer truck rolls. Darren also said that remote service has boosted its customer satisfaction scores. “We conduct surveys, post completion of the service request. And in the free text field, we've had some really good comments,” he said. “I remember one not too long ago where we had an end user saying how great it was that they felt they were part of the solution, they were able to actually take part in the resolution. But again, that's us leveraging off the tool set and technology that we're able to do things that five years ago just weren't possible.”

The company’s success thus far can certainly be attributed to its understanding that such a change requires not just the toolset but the mindset as well. And there's more to come. Darren sees a lot of potential in artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models for remote service resolution and customer-led self-service. We covered a lot of ground in the podcast, so be sure to listen to our whole conversation here.

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Can 3D Printing End Parts Obsolescence? 

July 10, 2023 | 4 Mins Read

Can 3D Printing End Parts Obsolescence? 

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By Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service

3D printing is one of those technologies that was perpetually on the cusp of widespread adoption, but never quite got there. In the past few years, though, it does seem to have reached a tipping point. There are auto manufacturers and aerospace companies, for example, that are printing parts for their vehicles, and the technology has taken off in some surprising places (like manufacturing dentures).

But in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when global supply chains were shut down, a lot of people began experimenting with these printers to address a short-term problem – part and product availability. That opened a lot of eyes to a key benefit of 3D printing: flexible, decentralized manufacturing in relatively small quantities. 

Which is why I have been wondering how field service could potentially benefit from on-demand manufacturing, particularly in industries where wait times on spare parts can degrade service performance.

Is there a business case to be made for field service organizations to invest in 3D printers and create their own spare parts? Short-term (and maybe long-term) the answer is probably no. Even in highly specific applications like HVAC service, there are so many different parts made of different materials, it would be impossible to justify the cost of buying multiple printers just to create a few one-off parts. That doesn't mean that 3D printing can’t help field service, though. 

There are examples of companies testing out 3D printing for spare parts applications, but so far they tend to be in industries that rely on in-house mechanics rather than field service engineers – automotive, aerospace, defense, etc. Companies like Airbus and Boeing have reverse engineers and printed parts for older aircraft when parts become obsolete. Porsche also launched a program a few years ago to print custom parts for owners of vintage cars.

In some cases, companies are directly printing the end use part, rather than creating it in a machine shop or trying to find an aftermarket part. In others, they use 3D printing to recreate molds, tools or dyes that would otherwise be extremely expensive to reconstruct. 

It is unlikely we would see field service technicians printing parts at a job site – the equipment is too persnickety and (depending on the material) slow. But it could help augment parts warehouse/depot operations for long-tail or obsolete parts. Right now, if a part is hard to get, service organizations are faced with either a long wait time (to find a part, or get one shipped, in some cases internationally) or to create something in a machine shop for large, expensive industrial use cases. 

3D printing would have an advantage for hard-to-find parts that can be printed – and not every part and material is printable – or for accelerating the creation of new tooling/molds. Instead of waiting weeks, you can cut that time to days or even hours.

The sweet spot seems to be high-value, low-volume parts with long lead times on either shipping or manufacturing, which would generally limit profitable parts printing to heavy industries. 

For example, IMI Critical Engineering, an oil and gas service company, hopes to use 3D printing to help reduce its reliance on stocking expensive, low-utilization spare parts. You can see the benefit here: the parts are very expensive and used in very specific facilities and, although they may not fail often, when they do they need to be replaced very quickly. The company was able to print metal parts that meet industry standards faster than machining them and is evaluating rolling this capability out to multiple facilities. Similarly, Shell Nigeria was able to reverse engineer and print an obsolete seal cover for a mooring buoy at an offshore site, cutting lead time from 16 weeks down to two, and reducing replacement costs by 90%. 

On the other end of the spectrum, UK-based Rowse (an electrical and pneumatics equipment supplier) used 3D printing to create a replacement bracket for its label printers that couldn't be sourced anywhere else. Printing the bracket saved the company the expense of having to buy all new printers.

Most field service organizations do not operate machine shops, though, and probably don't have the engineering expertise on hand to create a part from scratch. There are third-party manufacturing service firms that do have that equipment and expertise, though, and FSOs struggling with increasing spare part sourcing issues might want to start talking to their suppliers about solutions that leverage outsourced 3D printing where it makes sense (mainly for obsolete parts that won't raise any intellectual property concerns or issues with manufacturer agreements).

Even though we may never see 3D printers in the back of technicians’ vans, printed spare parts might be one way that suppliers and manufacturers can help the field service industry address supply chain snags, parts shortages, and reduce long wait times.

Do you have experience with 3D printing spare parts, or other novel ways to solve parts shortage issues? I would love to hear about them.

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Data-Driven DEI: Q&A with Dr. Randal D. Pinkett

July 3, 2023 | 6 Mins Read

Data-Driven DEI: Q&A with Dr. Randal D. Pinkett

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It’s important for companies to create diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs – particularly in industries that have traditionally skewed very white, very male, or both. At the same time, DEI tends to draw a lot of criticism from a number of fronts. Some people think these programs are just a bandaid or corporate whitewashing; others think they aren't necessary at all.

While I’d never agree the effort isn’t necessary, some of these criticisms have points of merit – and it's because, regardless of intent, many DEI initiatives are poorly planned and executed. To gain some insight on an effective way to approach DEI, I interviewed Dr. Randal D. Pinkett, author of Data-Driven DEI. He is the co-founder of BCT Partners, and author or co-author of other diversity and business management books. He is an electrical engineer by training, was the first African American to receive a Rhodes Scholarship at Rutgers and was the winner on Season Four of The Apprentice. 

Your new book is called Data-Driven DEI. What is the significance of data to a DEI effort?

Data represents to DEI what an instrumental panel represents to a plane. Long before there were instrument panels, people were able to fly planes. It was significantly harder without the instrument panel. Instrument panels have made the journey more efficient and effective at every step along the way. Similarly, improving DEI can be achieved without data, but it is significantly harder. Data makes the DEI journey more efficient and effective at every step along the way. 

You say that any effort to mitigate bias and grow inclusivity must begin with people.  What do you mean?

Organizations don’t change. People change. Therefore, any effort to transform organizations with more diverse representation, more equitable practices, and more inclusive cultures, can only be achieved by transforming people. If you don’t change; if I don’t change; if we don’t change, then the status quo remains. That is why the primary audience for Data-Driven DEI is people – anyone seeking greater DEI in their personal and professional life – and the secondary audience is DEI managers, leaders, executives, and champions responsible for the DEI efforts at their organization. The book provides a roadmap and the website (www.datadrivendei.com) provides free tools, templates, metrics, resources, best practices, and case studies to embark upon a personal DEI journey or an organizational DEI journey.

For the skeptics, can you summarize the business and personal benefits of DEI?

The business benefits are myriad and have to do with:

  • Win the competition for talent – Businesses that have a strong commitment to DEI are better positioned to recruit and retain skilled workers in today’s marketplace. 
  • Strengthen customer orientation – When you understand and embrace the diverse dimensions of customers and markets, you are best able to capture them.
  • Increase employee trust, retention, engagement, satisfaction, and performance – There is strong evidence that diverse teams increase employee satisfaction and reduce conflicts between groups, improving collaboration and loyalty. 
  • Improve decision making and fostering innovation – Research shows that while diverse teams take longer to achieve cohesiveness and make decisions, they make better decisions.
  • Enhance the organization’s image – Incorporating a strong DEI agenda will improve your organization’s image to employees as well as customers. 
  • Improve the financial bottom line – Several studies have found that corporations that embrace gender and ethnic diversity on their leadership teams outperform their competition financially.

The list of personal benefits is even longer and includes:

  • Enhance personal growth – Diverse relationships with people from different backgrounds and perspectives positively challenge you to move beyond your comfort zone into your growth zone and become a better person today than yesterday.
  • Expand diversity of thought (cognitive diversity) – DEI enables you to tap into the diverse thinking of others to make better decisions, generate better ideas, improve problem solving, and foster greater innovation. 
  • Improve health and wellness – Research has found that individuals with more diverse relationships had a lower risk of mortality and experienced less cognitive and physical decline.
  • Enrich learning and performance at school and work – Diversity of all kinds is generally associated with positive learning and performance outcomes. 
  • Mitigate biases and negative stereotypes – Exposure to diversity can ameliorate negative stereotypes and biases people may have about people from different backgrounds and perspectives. 
  • Enlarge network of relationships – Workers with more diverse personal relationships are better at building a racially diverse network on the job.
  • Increase range of opportunities – Having a larger and more diverse professional network will lead to higher-performing teams and present a wider spectrum of opportunities.
  • Achieve career success – Research has found that individuals with relationships that are rich with opportunities to connect people that would otherwise be disconnected, receive more positive evaluations, earlier promotions, and higher compensation.
  • Expand civic engagement and positive outcomes for others – Increased exposure to diversity is positively associated with civic engagement.

In Data-Driven DEI, you lay out a five-step approach to creating measurable and impactful DEI initiatives. The first step involves an assessment of your current reality. Why is this such an important step?

The five-step cycle in Data-Driven DEI is comprised of the following steps: (1) DEI Inventory (perform an assessment), (2) DEI Imperatives (establish objectives and goals), (3) DEI Insights (leverage promising and proven practices), (4) DEI Initiatives (determine strategies and measures), and (5) DEI Impact (evaluate results). It is a never-ending cycle. Assessment is the first and most important step because it helps you to establish a baseline for where you are along your personal and/or organizational DEI journey. If you don’t know where you are, you don’t know where you are going. If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there. Ultimately, your DEI strategy will only be as good as your DEI assessment.

How can people and organizations determine if their DEI initiatives have been effective?  

Data-Driven DEI embraces a strategic planning framework, OGSM, which stands for objectives, goals, strategies, and measures. It is a method that guides people and organizations through a DEI strategic planning process:

  • Objectives represent broad and overarching aims such as “To become a more inclusive leader.”
  • Goals are the specific, quantifiable, and qualifiable metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) for each objective such as “Increase my rating as a ‘bridge builder’ on the Intrinsic Inclusion™ Inventory from ‘growing to ‘mastering’ within the next 12 to 18 months.”
  • Strategies represent the initiatives, activities and actions that will be taken to fulfill the objectives and achieve the goals such as “Establish a book club to read, Intrinsic Inclusion: Rebooting Your Biased Brain by Janet B. Reid, Ph.D., and Vincent R. Brown.”
  • Measures are the specific, quantifiable, and qualifiable measures to gauge progress against each strategy such as “Complete the book within six months and host four book club meetings to facilitate dialogue and deepen learning.”

Goals allow you to know if you have been effective in accomplishing your objectives (i.e., outcomes). Measures allow you to know if you have been effective in completing your strategies (i.e., outputs). Clearly defined objectives, goals, strategies, and measures enable people and organizations to gauge progress, measure results, and demonstrate impact and, above all, engender accountability. 

What’s the biggest misstep you see leaders make in their DEI efforts?

The biggest misstep I see leaders make in their DEI efforts is remaining on silent on DEI issues due to fear. They are afraid of saying the wrong thing or insulting others or being labelled a racist or sexist and the like. My advice to leaders is to find your voice on matters relating to DEI. You must educate yourself and have command of DEI just as you must educate yourself and have command of other disciplines such as finance, marketing, sales, and operations. Take baby steps to slowly find your voice in safe spaces and smaller groups and very soon you will be able to exercise and amplify your voice in more challenging spaces and larger groups. It’s OK to make mistakes as you can recover from them. It’s not OK to remain silent about DEI issues that, if addressed, promote dignity, humanity, and respect for all. This reminds me of the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who once said, “We will not remember the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.” A leader should never be a silent friend, but rather, a vocal and active ally.

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What Are The Opportunities for Digital Twins in Field Service?

June 26, 2023 | 3 Mins Read

What Are The Opportunities for Digital Twins in Field Service?

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By Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service

It’s exciting to see more service organizations rolling out remote service initiatives, but a technology that is still in its nascent stages with the potential to have big implications when it comes to service is digital twins. 

A digital twin is a digital representation of a specific physical object that can be updated in real time via data received from its real-world counterpart. For field service veterans, that probably sounds a lot like the Internet of Things (IoT), and that's a pretty good assessment of where things stand in most industries – but digital twins can take that concept a lot farther.

Digital twins link together IoT technology, simulation, modeling, analytics and big data advancements to create full digital versions of real-world things (from consumer electronics and car parts to entire airplanes and even factories). Conceivably, the digital twin can provide a real-time, virtual view of how an asset is operating in its environment as a 3D model. What's more, that model can be manipulated in a virtual environment, which is where things can get pretty interesting from a service perspective.

Scenarios Where Digital Doppelgangers Prove Useful

For predictive maintenance, digital twins can provide accurate data about actual usage which can make it easier to manage scheduled maintenance and repairs before failures happen. Companies are already doing this with sensors and direct connections to customer equipment but serialized digital twins can give you a more granular view of these assets.

For manufacturers and third-party service organizations, digital twins can open up the possibility of offering better lifecycle support contracts. And because digital twins are asset specific, service organizations can do a better job of scheduling service based on actual utilization. Digital twins can also provide a much better understanding of how equipment is functioning over time, and that data can be fed into product lifecycle management or asset performance management applications to create better recommendations around not just service, but installation and even design.

There are already major software vendors linking together CAD, service, and enterprise data management applications to help close that design-service loop so that design engineers can improve next-gen products based on feedback from field technicians. 

Because digital twins are a full-scale virtual model of an asset, they can possibly create some new applications that can make service easier and more effective, too. Using simulation tools, you could perform virtual repairs and see, with fairly high accuracy, what effect they may have on the actual equipment. Even with a technician on site, a more experienced engineer can view what's happening in the digital twin as the on-site tech performs tests and repairs and offer remote guidance or feedback.

All these potential service applications for digital twins are even more valuable for remote assets – offshore oil and gas equipment, mining equipment, cell towers, etc. From a diagnostic and even repair standpoint, being able to have this real-time view into specific pieces of equipment can save multiple truck rolls. In some industries, those truck rolls cost thousands of dollars each, so the savings can be significant. 

While a lot of this is still future state, it’s interesting to see the potential that exists. A lot of legacy equipment may never have enough sensors or connectivity to work under this model, but a lot of new products do. BMW even leveraged some technology from NVIDIA to build a full virtual model of an entire factory – before it even broke ground. They did so to iron out any potential kinks before construction, but the same model can be tied to the actual factory once it's built for maintenance and monitoring purposes. 

While digital twin deployment is still relatively low the continued shift toward more digital, more connected service models give these virtual representations of actual machines an increasingly important role to play. If you have thoughts (or experiences!) about digital twins and service/maintenance applications, feel free to send them my way.

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What Lies Between Workplace Inclusion Intent and Impact?

June 19, 2023 | 5 Mins Read

What Lies Between Workplace Inclusion Intent and Impact?

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By Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service

Companies today are focusing more heavily on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives for a variety of reasons, some perhaps more virtuous than others.  Motivators can include repercussions of not being seen as a diverse employer, a tactic to try and combat the labor shortages, but the best motivator is the understanding that DEI truly matters. These companies embrace DEI not because they feel they “have to,” but because they recognize that a more diverse and inclusive organization leads to more creativity, innovation, and better results. 

While DEI is often mentioned as an acronym, the three components require quite distinct focus and effort to achieve. Perhaps the hardest of the three is inclusion, because it is in many ways more ambiguous than diversity (which you can set targets for) or equity (which can be assessed). Inclusion is very tied to company culture and leadership, leaving plenty of room for bias and even toxicity to creep in and exist in a manner than can be very challenging to pinpoint, address, and rectify. 

This challenge is exacerbated by the fact that many leaders and organizations would prefer not to dive into some of the realities that can cause a hard look in the mirror. So, I was excited to hear of the book Mita Mallick is writing, Reimagine Inclusion: Debunking 13 Myths to Transform Your Workplace. Mita was first a guest on the Future of Field Service podcast in episode 68 and I’ve been a fan of her work ever since. 

Mita is the Chief Diversity Officer at Carta, co-host of the podcast Brown Table Talk, and a top LinkedIn Voice. She is passionate about DEI work and related topics and outspoken on social media about things many remain quiet on. In fact, her mission in writing this book is to “say all the quiet parts out loud of what holds us back from making meaningful progress in inclusivity work."

On last week’s podcast, Mita came to give a sneak peek into some of the myths covered in her upcoming book – a conversation I believe is important for everyone to listen to and reflect on. No matter what industry your company is in, what role you have in the organization, or where you are today with your efforts around inclusion, doing better is going to be imperative when it comes to not only attracting and retaining top talent but also for achieving the diversity of thought that is essential for innovation. 

Here's a partial synopsis of the myths Mita and I discussed on last week’s episode:

  • I'm all for diverse talent as long as they're good. “That myth really goes to how we have different standards for different people. A lot of companies have systems and processes in place to help with creating inclusive and equitable cultures. And yet, at the end of the day, it's all about the leader. It's all about Mita and how she shows up to work. And if I can't interrupt my bias, it's going to be a different result that actually might go against the system or the process,” she explains. “And so, when we say things like, ‘I'm all for diverse talent, as long as they're good,’ would we ever say, ‘I'm all for non-diverse talent as long as they're good? These are the things we have to ask ourselves. And then, as a result of questioning it, what I say next and what I do next will be different because I interrogated it.”
  • We protect the A-holes because our businesses wouldn't run without them. “A lot of companies, especially big public companies, private companies, have systems and processes in place. But we make exceptions,” Mita says. “You have a toxic leader on your team. How many people need to leave? How much hurt or harm does this person have to cause for you to say, ‘I'm walking away.’ How much is your personal relationship more important to you than the impact on the company? Are you really listening to all the feedback? Are you going to protect this one person versus protecting the company? Because here's the thing: We always set up in our mind, it's the employee versus the company. Employees are the company. They're one and the same. The company doesn't exist with those employees.”
  • We need more people of color in leadership. Let's launch a mentorship program. “I have been over-mentored and under-sponsored in my career. I have had so many amazing mentors. But here's the thing: Mentors are not the same as sponsors,” cautions Mita. “When you think about a mentor, they could give me career advice. Sponsors are typically going to be someone who's two levels above you in an organization. They have access to big budget, P&L, they're in the room when the doors are closed and people are talking about your career. They have access to the C-suite. They might be in the C-suite. They know about roles that are coming up that haven't been listed, special projects, assignments. Sponsorship is people with power and privilege in the organization taking an interest in other individuals and actively saying they're going to help them advance their career.”
  • Of course, we support women. We just extended maternity leave. “This is the notion that all women want to become mothers, and it actually ties back to a lot of the cultural stereotypes, the gender norms we grew up with in our homes. This idea that we extended maternity leave is enough for mothers that we check the box,” says Mita. “Also, in this myth, I talk about gendered ageism. Women are never the right age. We're too young or we're too old. It's like that one year where we had the perfect moment, right? But gendered ageism shows up at the workplace a lot.”
  • These DEI efforts don't benefit me. My voice as a white man doesn't count anymore. “The white men that I've worked with in my life, many of them do express that they have at some point feel shamed, named, blamed, demonized,” explains Mita. “So, in my role as the Chief Diversity Officer, if white men come to me asking questions, I have the space to answer those questions with grace and kindness, and to help educate and teach. And at the same time, white men listening need to understand that they do have a place in this work, because the world of work for everyone can't change without them. There’s a very, very long action list of things that men can be doing to show up. Interrupting bias in the moment, taking parental leave, if you're on a panel and it's all white men, give up your spot, make recommendations. Are you paying your teams fairly and equitably? There are so many ways.”

The full conversation is well worth a listen, and you can pre-order Mita’s book now on Amazon. 

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Q&A: How Field Service Leaders Can Encourage Safety Culture

June 12, 2023 | 6 Mins Read

Q&A: How Field Service Leaders Can Encourage Safety Culture

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By Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service 

Field service technicians face a lot of unknowns when they report to work, as well as a lot of risks. Depending on which industry they work in, they may be repairing equipment in a cushy office or noisy factory; they could be working in a dangerous neighborhood, or in a house with an angry dog. Some technicians work in mines or climb tall towers or work to repair heavy, dangerous equipment. 

And in addition to their own safety protocols, service technicians often must also follow safety protocols of their customers – which sometimes aren’t in harmony. Different service scenarios bring different safety needs, but no matter the working conditions safety is always critical. 

According to Ken Chapman (an industrial psychologist and consultant) and Tony Orlowski (an engineer and executive at McWane, Inc.), authors of the book Safety Beyond the Numbers: A Path to Principled Leadership, workers are probably safer than they have been at any time in the past century, but additional improvements have been hard to come by. In their book, they note that workplace safety statistics have plateaued over the past few decades. 

To make the workplace even safer, they say that companies need to embrace a culture of safety, rather than just focusing on compliance. That sounds a lot like many of the conversations we have had here at Future of Field Service around technology adoption and digital transformation, so I was pleased to have a chat with Tony, looking at some of the concepts in the book, from a field service lens.

In the book, you note that workplace safety statistics have plateaued over the last couple of decades. Can you put that into some historical context? How safe are we now compared to prior decades? Is the U.S. more or less safe than other similar countries? 

Tony Orlowski: Workplace injury reduction has come a long way. In the 1920s and ‘30s, workplace fatalities occurred at an annual rate of approximately 15 per 100,000 population. By 1970, that rate was about cut in half, and by the 1990s it was cut by half again. Then, it essentially plateaued. The fatality rate has remained largely the same for 30 years while total injury rates have continued to decline. This tells us two things: We have not gotten to a point of diminishing returns where further improvement is impossible and, we are not effectively dealing with the issues that have the most impact on human lives. Technology is and has been responsible for most improvements in workplace safety over time, but its benefits now appear to be butting up against and limited by the human element of safety. That is where Safety Beyond the Numbers can help. 

In field service, we have talked a lot about how compliance/punishment-focused approaches to new programs or new technologies are ineffective; you really want manager and employee buy-in. What are some ways that an ownership culture can impact workplace safety? 

Tony Orlowski: We think referencing the work of Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman is a helpful way to understand the benefits of an ownership culture. Friedman once qualified the effectiveness of spending money in terms of whose money it was, and on whom it was spent. There are four specific ways, but only two apply here. One way is to spend your money on someone else, such as when you buy a gift for a friend on their birthday. In that case, you will be very careful about the amount you spend, but much less concerned about the quality of the gift you give (It is, after all, the thought that counts!) Another way is to spend your money on yourself. You will still be careful about how much you spend, but you will be much more concerned about getting exactly what you want. Compliance matches the first example. We are asking other people to expend their efforts for the results we want. As a consequence, their effort is always measured, and the results rarely better than “good enough.” Ownership, in contrast, allows you to spend your efforts on you, and on what you want, and we think the logical effect of that on the quality of safety outcomes is self-evident.

Leadership is key in safety (and other) initiatives, in order to get team members to take ownership of the process. But how do leaders themselves get there? In other words, for leaders that have not yet really taken safety as a moral imperative, rather than an issue of compliance, are there good ways for organizations to get their leadership team on the same page on this issue? Managers in some companies tend to view things through a prism of compliance, KPI measurement, box checking – but what you are proposing sounds like it requires a different viewpoint. 

Tony Orlowski: It certainly does require a different viewpoint, and you are correct in that it is absolutely necessary for management to “get there” to be successful. Leaders must begin by understanding and embracing the moral imperative. This means choosing not to view business as primarily a profit-making enterprise, but as an economic engine for the common good. That is to say, if a business is perceived by society as not providing it value, then society (the market) will not support it. Therefore, the business will ultimately fail. 

Profit remains essential and vital, but rather than being the goal, it is the result, and the “profit” is a measure of the good that is done by the business. From this viewpoint, a business is a moral institution. So, there is no logical argument for harming employees in the process of “doing good.” The validity of this logic lies in the difficulty of arguing the opposite; that the best path to business success is taking advantage of customers (net-negative societal value) and exploiting employees. Few business owners would say they believe in that logic, but the problem is they are not always sure they don’t believe in it. And when they aren’t sure, their leaders (managers and supervisors) are not sure, either. When ownership is ambivalent about the purpose of the business, their leaders’ default to what they are sure about: Profit, compliance to the law and following written rules. But when ownership is committed to a moral view of their business, then leaders and the rest of the team recognize it immediately. They get on board very quickly. It’s really as easy (and difficult) as that.

What are some key strategies organizations can take to improve safety, leveraging the idea that the human factor is a key area that many have not successfully addressed in the past? What are some successful ways that leaders have been able to achieve that type of organizational buy-in? 

Tony Orlowski: If we are to break it down into a few statements, we would say: Treat people with respect; tell them, and yourself, the truth; be responsible for yourself and responsible to others. These are simple statements, but with profound implications for the business. If you think about them, you will discover many of these implications. Reading Safety Beyond the Numbers will give you even more to consider.

Field service is also somewhat unique in that technicians are usually working in an environment owned/operated by someone other than their own employers/leaders. How would you recommend that technicians take that culture of safety with them into environments owned by other people? 

Tony Orlowski: An organization should never be willing to trade another person’s safety for profit, convenience or approval. That includes at another organization’s worksite. A business should make that clear to all employees, and to the clients they work with. In addition to communicating that expectation internally and externally, training, communication and preparation also help to avoid landing in an uncomfortable and potentially unsafe situation. But there will still be times when a person reaches a site and is unexpectedly thrust into an urgent and unsafe assignment. In that case, you must have developed a culture where it is safe for them to say, “I’m sorry I can’t do what you are asking. It’s unsafe, and I know you would not ask me to risk my safety in doing it. My company would not allow it either. Let’s see what we can change so I can be of help to you.” Any business lost by those statements are customers you almost certainly do not want.

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What I’m Left Pondering About Service After My Recent Travel Woes

June 5, 2023 | 5 Mins Read

What I’m Left Pondering About Service After My Recent Travel Woes

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By Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service

I shared on LinkedIn recently that I had a really tough time traveling from the U.S. to London. The experience was so poor that my gut reaction was to take “pen” to paper and document a tirade of each and every misstep. Thankfully, I knew better and waited until I was home, well rested, and had thought clearly about what had happened to write this because while I’ve no intent to blast the airline, I do think the experience is representative of an overall question service organizations really need to consider. That question is, how do we ensure we are balancing the truly impressive capabilities of automation with the irreplaceable human touch when it is indeed needed?

Let’s back up a step and I’ll share a bit of what happened before I get to the assessment and fundamental question it begs. I almost always fly United and was flying from Cleveland, Ohio (the large airport nearest me) to Newark and on to London Heathrow. We departed Cleveland 10 minutes late but made that time up in the air, landing in Newark on time. However, there was no gate for us to pull into so we sat on the runway for an hour and ten minutes until we could de-plane. By the time we did, I’d missed by 10:00 PM flight to London. I saw there was an 11PM flight, so I raced to the gate for that flight to see if I was able to take it – only to be greeted by an incredibly unfriendly (rude) employee. 

I did get a seat on that flight, and we boarded around 10:30PM and pulled away from the gate right on time. I was in a different cabin than what I’d booked but was just happy to be en route. After a few minutes of taxiing, however, we returned to the gate and the pilot said there was a light that indicated a mechanical issue that needed to be checked. It took quite some time for that to happen and by then there was an issue that once we were in the air the crew would time out. Long story short, we sat at the gate from shortly after 11PM until 4:30 in the morning at which point they cancelled the flight altogether. I went to a nearby hotel United offered to sleep for a couple of hours and regroup, having to juggle plans for work that I had in London for Monday. I had been rebooked onto an 8PM flight for Monday night, which was the next available, but by the time I woke up after a two-hour nap that flight had already been cancelled.

At this point I was losing faith that I would make it out of Newark on United on time, knowing at this point I had missed not only Monday’s work in London but also wouldn’t be arriving until sometime Tuesday with the Live Tour happening on Wednesday – so very little buffer. I won’t go into all of the details of the many hours I spent talking with United Monday morning, but I ultimately decided to fly Virgin Atlantic out of JFK because I had more confidence in that route. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to personally collect my luggage from United at Newark, so I had to have them return it to my home and leave for a 12-day trip to the U.K. and Paris without any luggage. That’s the overall synopsis (I should also mention that my return flight home from Paris, also United, was also delayed by two hours – but luckily, I made my connection). 

How Do We Balance Automation and Human Touch?

Now, that brings me to my less emotional assessment, so thanks for bearing with me! What I want to start with is the positive, which is United’s automated service through their app (and text if you have text enabled). Over the last couple of years, it has become truly impressive – the app will always alert you to gate changes, delays, arrival times, etc. faster than an employee or in-airport signage. It proactively works on fixing any issues, so for instance if it does look like you’ll miss a connection, it offers you next available flights and confirms your seat for you very proactively and reliably. I even had a time not long ago that my luggage somehow wasn’t loaded onto my connecting flight, and when we landed, I received a text apologizing and asking me to schedule delivery via the app – less than three minutes later, I had the claim created with delivery of the bag set to my home. 

I’m a pretty skeptical person, so I’ve really tested the app’s reliability – I remember on my way to Field Service Connect in Austin last year, my flight leaving Houston was cancelled and I didn’t trust the app so joined the line of dozens, maybe hundreds of customers waiting to speak to the on-site service staff. After more than an hour in line, they literally told me to use the app – and when I did, I realized I could’ve sorted things out in about ten minutes had I started there. From that point on, I have used the app exclusively and it has proven to be accurate, proactive, and reliable. 

This is a real-world example of how powerful automated service can be using today’s technology – and kudos to United for investing in keeping customers informed and ensuring the app can help improve resolution time when issues occur. 

Here’s the issue, though. When there’s an issue that does demand human intervention, in my recent experiences, the customer service is horrible. And this is an even more significant problem with the automation in place, because when a customer is calling in or waiting in line because they can’t resolve what they need to via the very capable app, they are probably quite frustrated and stressed. This is where human touch and empathy become incredibly important, something that seems to be truly lacking among the staff today. I had no fewer than ten interactions during this recent situation and each person treated me as though what was happening was my fault – absolutely no apology, empathy, or understanding. In fact, many of the employees argued facts with me or were downright rude. It was truly unacceptable. 

So, this begs the question to me of how we balance the really compelling increase of automation without losing the irreplaceable value of human touch when it is needed. There’s so much you can accomplish using United’s app today – and that’s really a helpful and convenient thing. But when you do need help beyond that automated service, the experience is truly subpar, and I think that’s not only a missed opportunity for them but a very important balance for all companies looking to increase automation to be aware of and work to achieve. 

What do you think?

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Trends Among the Contract Workforce to Factor into Your Overall Talent Strategy

May 30, 2023 | 7 Mins Read

Trends Among the Contract Workforce to Factor into Your Overall Talent Strategy

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By Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service

As we look to determine not only what the role of the service workforce of the future looks like, but how we’ll fill those roles with talent hard to come by, we’d be remiss not to factor in the contract workforce. Some companies have already embraced the contract model, even exclusively. Others have been hesitant to do so for a variety of reasons. But recent trends discussed here may weigh into your strategy. 

There are many factors at play: aging workers, a Covid-sparked recalibration among workers when it comes to what they want out of a job, and preferences of younger talent that want a lot more flexibility. According to a recent study from on-site talent management platform Field Nation and research firm Radius, one impact of these factors is an increase in talent preferring an independent contractor role. 

I recently had a chat with Mynul Khan, founder of Field Nation, about the trends they are seeing in the IT services sector. Their recent study found that larger numbers of IT service professionals are opting to become independent contractors – 98% of respondents said they preferred independent contracting or a hybrid set-up to a traditional full-time position. (You can download the study here.)

Q: People may think of IT as a market that might face less recruiting challenges than other skilled trades. What is driving the shortage of field service techs in the IT sector? 

Mynul Khan: Finding and retaining skilled labor is a significant challenge across all industries, from manufacturing and construction to insurance and high tech. Some reports estimate an industry-wide deficit of 3 million workers across the skilled trades over the next five years, and according to Service Council research, 50% of field service organizations currently face a shortage of resources to meet service demand. And the IT field services profession is no exception. 

Today the IT field service industry has more work than ever before, with digitization of customer experience growing exponentially, and not enough skilled professionals who can do the work. That’s what we have been seeing and hearing from the industry consistently over the last couple of years. 

There are three major trends in the market that are present, creating that perfect storm, and here for the long-term contributing to the labor shortage crisis. 

The first is often referred to as the “Silver Tsunami” which means there is an aging population in field services with one-third of workers 50 years of age or older. This finding is consistent with Service Council’s field engineer survey results – 50% of IT techs are 45 years or older. Whether IT, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, you name it, this issue is plaguing trade workers across the market and the entire community. 

Another trend is low unemployment sitting at just below 2% (CompTIA). There are options for people of all demographics to choose in terms of the work they do. Why they are not choosing to get into the IT field services business is not something covered in our research but my experience and in hearing from technicians and customers reveal there are a few things that could drive support – creating more flexibility and autonomous work environments, which is what we heard from the independent contractor study, and the importance of mentorship to drive community and skill-building. 

And finally, this unprecedented boom in technology deployment. Massive amounts of technology is being deployed everywhere from retail to home to offices to restaurants to warehouses. And all of these require an expert to install, maintain and refresh, and devices connected to the network. Then comes the infrastructure work with cabling networks and connecting it all to back-office servers. 

What’s encouraging is the growth and preference to be and to stay an independent contractor for years to come. From retirees lending their skills to side hustles to professionals choosing to contract as their full-time career, our study found workers of all backgrounds are looking for something that works for their lifestyle, with one-third sharing their desire to stay working for 11-plus years. Embracing a new way to think about your labor model and aligning to your organizational goals is the only way to get ahead of competition and deliver profitable growth. 

Q: What has made contract work more appealing for the technicians? 

Mynul Khan: According to our recent State of Independent Contracting in Field Services Report, flexibility (36%) and control and autonomy (27%) top the list for technicians in 2023. While income is still a consideration (20%), having the ability to control their work and life, create a schedule that works for them and their families, is at the heart of why field service workers are choosing independent contracting. That insight is critical when designing roles for today’s workforce.

More importantly, these independent IT field service professionals are increasingly satisfied with their decision. 82% say they are satisfied or highly satisfied with their work. 

Q: What about the downside? How are techs grappling with things like benefits/insurance, reliable income, and business management?

Mynul Khan: Just like with any role, these are all considerations for independent contractors. Unpredictability in income and schedule were shared as the most difficult things about being a contractor. In some ways, this is the other side of the coin in that flexibility and having autonomy are the top reasons to be an independent contractor. This, along with healthcare, retirement and other benefits, in particular, are something to consider when making the shift to this kind of work. These are difficult issues to work through and our commitment is staying engaged in the conversations with key trade associations, our technicians and customers.

In terms of reliable income, the great thing about working as an independent contractor is you can pick up work where and when you want. These people can also work with more than one client at a time, mitigating risk. If one client cuts budget and goes in a different direction, the contractor may have a couple other clients to lean on. Some of these independent contractors have several sources of revenue, too – IT and field service work is just one stream. 

Q: For businesses hiring these contractors, what are some of the key advantages? What makes the use of contractors or a blended workforce more or less appealing?

Mynul Khan: In some ways, companies are being forced to adopt a blended workforce model. IT spend as a factor of revenue has increased 40 to 50% since 2019 (according to research and advisory firm IHL group), which is driving businesses to find new ways to ensure schedule flexibility and widespread availability of IT professionals across locations. 

For the businesses that are ahead of the curve, they’re already recognizing that a blended workforce helps them meet temporary workload needs, increases productivity, provides a reliable solution for completing tasks, and keeps costs down. And maybe the most important benefit to hiring contractors right now is the ability to access specialized skills and hard-to-hire talent, nationwide. 

However a field service leader decides to divvy up the work is really up to them, but it starts with taking a deep dive into how they can achieve their goals in the most effective and efficient way possible. 

Q: How are independent technicians connecting with employers? What technology is helping make this transition easier for businesses and contractors?

Mynul Khan: Increasingly, contractors are turning to digital labor platforms (full disclosure: Field Nation is one such platform). The availability of these digital labor platforms has increased fivefold in the last 10 years, and businesses have taken notice.

According to MBO Partners’ State of Independence in America Report 2022, 41% of independent contractors who provide services to businesses reported finding work on labor platforms, up from 15% in 2015 and just 3% in 2012.

Like anything, being an independent contractor has both tremendous benefits and a few challenges. Finding what works for you is most important. Independent contractors are passionate about their craft, spending time in both the front-end and back-end tasks – from selling and marketing to invoicing and collecting. Over time this becomes burdensome and takes away from the work and quality outcomes they could be bringing to businesses. That’s why on-demand labor platforms are so enticing. 

Q: Are there particular market conditions that might change the dynamics of the demand for contract work, either tipping the industry toward more freelancers, or pulling them back toward full-time positions?

Mynul Khan: Market conditions are constantly shifting. So, it’s tough to say what, specifically, would tip the industry one way or another. However, I do think it will continue to tip toward companies using more independent contractors. The average contingent labor share of enterprise workforces is expected to increase from 28% today to 33% in 18 months, and 36% in 5 years, according to the Contingent Labor Imperative Report. 

While this shift in labor model is growing, the reality for companies that are moving from W2s to independent contractors is feeling secure in knowing quality outcomes for customers is unchanged which means trust in a tech representing their company like an employee would is critical. 

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The Hard Work of Soft Skills

May 22, 2023 | 5 Mins Read

The Hard Work of Soft Skills

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By Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service

Across sectors, companies are grappling with labor shortages, shifts in how, where and when people work, and a spike in retirements and quit rates in a number of critical professions. In field service, one very large group of people (the Baby Boomers) are retiring, and younger employees are entering the workforce with very different backgrounds, skills, and expectations.

The reality of more open positions than available workers has led to an arms race in perks and salaries to attract and keep employees. What is less discussed, though, is the thinking and evaluation companies are doing around what skills they want those new workers to have. A shift in priority from technical skill to softer skills, including communication, attitude, and teachability, is taking place according to many service leaders I speak with. 

There was an interesting piece on The Hill earlier this year about the increasing importance of soft skills or social skills across different industries. LinkedIn reported that soft skills were featured in 78% of the jobs posted globally over the last few months. You can read the article here, but the overall theme was that when it comes to hiring, focusing on what potential employees know is going to be less important than how they approach the job and solve problems. How do they cope with uncertainty? Can they show empathy? Can they work collaboratively with clients and coworkers to address challenges?

The need to focus more on soft skills relates to something I have touched on in a few past articles and podcast interviews – vulnerability. In this case, though, customer vulnerability is the focus. Service technicians and customer support personnel are working with clients when they are in a vulnerable state, whether the customer is a homeowner with a broken furnace or a plant manager who had to shut down a line because of a problem with a machine. 

To really deliver great customer service, technicians need to be able to read the room, so to speak. What is it the customer really needs? Fixing the immediate equipment problem is usually at the top of the list (and that should always remain a key focus, of course), but there are usually other priorities on the client's mind, too. In the case of the homeowner, maybe they are expecting out-of-town guests, or they are worried about heating their house during a big storm. For the plant manager, they might be under pressure to deliver a big order ahead of schedule. 

Whatever those underlying needs are, they cause emotions that can lead service to fall short if not navigated adeptly by service personnel. This can mean something as simple as listening, acknowledgement, empathy, and clear communication. Sounds simple, right? What makes soft skills hard is that they can be far more challenging to “teach” than technical skills. And, according to many that I’ve interviewed recently, they are skills that many younger workers entering roles really lack.  

Differentiation Hinges on Soft Vs. Technical Skills

What exacerbates the need to improve your team's skill sets around the non-technical aspects of service is that the advantages you may have around technical competency, scheduling/dispatching optimization, or diagnostic capabilities are leveling off. As service becomes more digitally focused and more of your competitors adopt the same service automation technologies, there are diminishing returns when it comes to competitive advantage based solely on technical skill. As such, now and into the future, your ability to differentiate through service will increasingly depend on your reliability, those interpersonal interactions, and delivering customer insights.

So, what types of soft skills are we talking about? There are a variety, and some needs differ based on the structure and scope of the frontline worker’s role (which is also changing, but that’s a topic for another article!). But while it may seem elementary, you should start with the basics of on-site behavior – think of anything necessary to ensure a customer feels respected and well cared for during a visit. This can include where to stand when ringing a doorbell, practicing polite client interactions – especially when a customer may be frustrated, and awareness of any missteps that could make a customer feel uncomfortable, unheard, or unappreciated.

Communication is key. Your technicians should be trained to keep clients informed of their service status – what the diagnosis is, how they will fix it, how long it will take, and what progress they are making. Answer questions as quickly and thoroughly as possible and follow up if there are any outstanding issues (like a part being on order). It’s one thing to have a service visit end without resolution, but another for the customer left wondering what the next step is.  

Empathy is also incredibly important. You can’t really teach how to have empathy, but showing empathy may take some work, particularly in industries where technicians have been trained to be laser focused on the mechanics of fixing the problem at hand. 

Be sure you are also encouraging curiosity and active listening. This is important in avoiding miscommunications or missed expectations and can also lead to uncovering new customer needs. Technicians should be skilled at asking customers what they want/need, making sure they understand their answer, and continuing the dialogue until a customer’s needs are fully uncovered, understood, and documented so that they won’t need to be repeated at another point in the customer journey. 

Remember that fostering soft skills of managers is important, too. Many existing managers came from technician roles, so may have the same lack of these skills that’s evident in a generation of workers for which they weren’t nearly as important. Your technicians need good managers; they are going to have a hard time delivering friendly, empathetic, and competent service if they are exhausted or stressed out. If your scheduling, technician workloads, or performance measurement metrics are out of balance, that will eventually lead to a drop in service quality. 

It looks like a lot of companies are already doing the hard work of fostering more soft skills. A McKinsey survey from 2021 found that the majority of companies were doing more skill building than prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. As I mentioned before, this has also come up in a lot of conversations with service leaders and consultants – including in my conversation with Venkata Reddy Mukku at Bruker Nano Surfaces & Metrology, in this piece about the role of leaders in service transformation, and my article from last year on mental health and the workplace. This shift in how organizations are hiring and what skills they are trying to identify and foster may be a challenging one, but I am excited to see the impact it has on what the future of service looks like. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on what skills (hard, soft or otherwise) you are looking for in your next generation of service technicians and leaders and how you are upskilling or reskilling your more tenured teams.   

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