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October 21, 2024 | 3 Mins Read

My Top 5 Moments of IFS Unleashed 2024

October 21, 2024 | 3 Mins Read

My Top 5 Moments of IFS Unleashed 2024

Last week, more than 2,000 customers, partners, and prospects from across the globe descended upon the Orlando World Center Marriott (which happens to be the largest Marriott in the world) for IFS Unleashed. It was an action-packed week (and that’s putting it lightly!) with more to recap than could possibly fit into one short article. So here I’ll share my top five moments of the week.

#1: The Future of Field Service Stand Out 50 Leadership Awards Announcement

These aren’t even in a particular order, but of course this had to be number one! This summer, we opened nominations for the Stand Out 50 leadership awards, on a quest to acknowledge not only the incredible work of service leaders, but to reinforce the tremendous importance, value, and potential of service within businesses. On Wednesday, we announced the winners live at the event. I was joined by two of my fellow judges, Dot Mynahan of National Elevator Industry, Inc. and John Carroll, CEO of the Service Council, who spoke with me about why this recognition matters so much. It was an honor to have the opportunity to acknowledge these impactful leaders, some of which were able to join us live for the award. Take a moment to have a look at the winners and stay tuned for some content we’ve collaborated with them on as well.

#2: Mark Moffat’s Opening Keynote

Mark took the reigns as CEO from Darren Roos in January, and it was compelling to see how he addressed the crowd on opening day. His keynote brought what felt like genuine energy and passion around the next phases of IFS’s journey that he’s signed up to lead. He set the stage for Industrial AI as the next Industrial Revolution and spoke enthusiastically about how IFS is positioned to lead as that unfolds. The session set the tone of high energy and excitement for the week! You can watch his keynote here.

#3: Darren Roos’s Closing Interview with Gary Player

I’ve never golfed a day in my life, so while I knew who Gary Player is, I didn’t expect this session to have a markable impact on me. About three minutes in, I found my eyes welling up with tears listening to the 89-year-old legend talk about what’s mattered most in his life, how he takes care of himself, and some of the incredible experiences he’s had. As a bonus, I ran into him in the hallway just after and he was kind as could be – gave me a big hug, a kiss on each cheek, and gladly took a selfie. I won’t be picking up golf clubs as a result, but the interview is one that will stick with me for a long time.

#4: Exelon’s Story of Business-Led Digital Transformation

There were many impressive customer stories shared over the three-day event, so while it’s hard to pick just one, I’ll explain why Exelon’s took the top spot for me. The company’s leaders spoke about the importance of not only replacing outdated technology, but doing so in a business-led, customer-centric manner. To me, this means modernizing the right way – not just layering new technology on top of existing processes but digging in to see what all it will take to become the business it wants to be not only today but into the future.

#5: Making Memories with Wonderful People

I will own that this is a cheat to put on this list, because it isn’t *one* moment but a whole lot of them. But if there’s a true number one, it’s this one – because having the opportunity to spend time in person is a gift. There’s simply no replacement for human connection, and having the chance to share a laugh, give a hug, have a brainstorm session, shake hands, ride a roller coaster (we went to Universal Studios Wednesday night, which was so fun!), or even just smile at across the room are moments that make the hard work we all go back and do different, because we’ve connected (or reconnected) on that human level. It’s special, and it’s an important reminder that it’s always people that matter most.

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What Does “Master the Basics” Even Mean in Service Today?

October 14, 2024 | 5 Mins Read

What Does “Master the Basics” Even Mean in Service Today?

Everyone has heard and likely used the term “master the basics.” In the service context, we often do so when talking about the need to have the fundamentals nailed before looking to innovate. I recently hosted a podcast with Ben Williams, Director of Service Operations for Americas at 3D Systems, that made me reflect on our use of this term.

When Ben and I had our podcast prep call to explore different ideas for our discussion, he brought up the importance of “being brilliant on the basics” before trying to layer on change. This became the theme for his episode, during which I realized the distinction between the two phrases. “Being brilliant on the basics is important because you create a solid operational foundation, which aligns you for a long-term growth and sustainability. And the byproduct of that is increasing your customer experience,” he says.

The difference between Ben’s suggestion of being brilliant on the basics versus the more commonly used phrasing of mastering the basics comes down to the fact that the service landscape of today is something that is in many ways a moving target – and how could you master what continues to change? You can’t, so as Ben suggests, you focus on being brilliant on the basics – continuously, as what it takes to be brilliant in any given area of service will change.

“You're going to get to a point where you’re brilliant on the basics and your customer experience is great. And then you reach this spot called Arte. Right. Once you reach that, that's the mastery of everything. But the problem is, personnel changes, process changes, and then you're beginning back at the basics. It's kind of like an ebb and flow, just like the tide. It's constant work in progress. And do you master it? No, I don't believe there's a real mastery of it, but I do believe that you'll get to a point where the change part, the willingness to change, look at your processes, wanting to keep building on your future becomes more innate,” Ben shares.

Wise words! I really liked this reframing of a term we’ve used often, perhaps without fully reflecting on what it means. So rather than focusing on mastering the basics, the win seems to be in mastering the willingness and ability to continually learn and evolve.

Ben and I went on to discuss some of the areas within his remit where he’s focused on being brilliant on the basics. These are areas we’d know to be fundamental to any service operation, but with layers of change continually being introduced as a result of technological innovation, customer preferences, and so on. Here’s a look at what was on Ben’s list:

Customer Communication – this category encompasses a range of things, from understanding how customers want to communicate with you (what channels) to ensuring everyone from your frontline workforce up is adept at communication skills. Ben says, “If it's something that's important, people forget: pick up the phone and call. If you're in an escalated issue or process, communicate. Don't hold secrets. Communicate. Foundational things that leaders may know, but we're in a different time now. You have to teach these things.” And going back to the moving target theme, it’s important to stay connected to what your customer preferences are and what experiences they value and continue to focus on being brilliant at those things.
Process Optimization – reflecting on processes and whether or not they serve the business and its customers is a practice that must be ongoing, because what works at one point in time won’t necessarily work a year from now. Because this exercise is one that forces companies to introduce change to their frontline employees, I feel it’s put off or avoided more than it should be. Ben shares, “I think everyone would agree it's cheaper to optimize than to spend. Where we run into issues is your old process might not be able to handle all the new optimization and efficiencies you want. The processes were probably great for 2000 or 2018. But in 2024, you might have to revisit some of these processes. Everybody has a different cadence, right? For me and our business, we review processes probably every year to ensure and it'll help us where we're at, where we've come from, and which direction we want to go forward.”
Strategic Alignment – this encompasses everything from the fact that your customers see you as one brand versus separate functions to the need to create a common view on what the potential for service is for the business and the risk of inefficiency. Ben says, “The customer sees 3D Systems. They don't see 3D Systems field service, customer service, and accounts payable. They see 3D Systems as a team, and being strategically aligned and eliminating silos is one of the best things you can do as a company.”
Leadership – with an evolving talent landscape and new ways of working, leaders who are willing to grow and evolve with the times – to be brilliant on today’s basics – are crucial. Ben shares, “When we talk about leadership, we're always talking about influence, right? And we're always talking about vision. No one ever says, hey, when you're a leader, don't be in that crystal palace in the sky and not be available. Be available. Basic. Be self-aware. We never talk about developing relationships all the way down. Be available, be personal, have relationships. It goes a long way. Do simple things. I'll write personal notes and send them to my field engineers. Little things like that are lasting and impactful.”
AI Readiness – while AI usage is growing, many companies need to start by being brilliant at their data hygiene to make the best use of the technology. Ben says, “Here at 3D Systems, we're in our own initiatives to figure out where it fits with regard to service. We had early adopters of AI that we use to troubleshoot with, and we've learned the pros and cons. But being brilliant on the basis is making sure your data is clean. Do it now. Because the competitors are doing it as well, and they're utilizing AI. AI is a tidal wave. Don't look at that as a cost. Just look at it as an investment in your future.”

What makes this more challenging for companies than maybe it should be I believe is the pace of change. Everyone is in a race to understand what’s next, what’s new, what’s the path ahead – it takes our focus away from the basics we need to be brilliant at and what it takes to do so.

The reality is that the two are intertwined – being brilliant on the basics involves continued focus on some of the core foundational elements of service we know matter most as well as the incorporation of new technologies, new ways of working, and new value streams. Keeping grounded in the customer lens is important – yes, they may be interested in a new service that innovation could bring, but not if you aren’t already capable of delivering a stellar experience, on-time, the first time.

There was loads more to Ben and I’s full podcast discussion, be sure to check it out here!

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The Crucial Work of Connecting Women with the Trades

October 7, 2024 | 6 Mins Read

The Crucial Work of Connecting Women with the Trades

Field service organizations have been striving over the last number of years to bring more women into roles, to varying degrees of success. Many have reported that they’ve struggled to recruit and retain woman technicians, even more so than other diverse groups they’ve aimed to welcome into their workforces.

These challenges become easy to comprehend when you consider related recent news such as how, “despite the many academic symposiums, STEM programs, and corporate efforts towards diversity, the high tech sector has made frighteningly little progress over the past two decades, according to a new report by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).”

All the while, much debate is taking place over the validity and impact of DEI efforts (and even how best to refer to these efforts). In a recent article for BBC News, technology editor Zoe Kleinman discusses how women’s STEM supports are waning as a result of this debate (along with corporate budget cuts and culture shifts). She specifically notes the closure of two impactful groups: the charity Women Who Code, a US-based group with 145,000 members that in June announced it was shutting down “due to factors that have materially impacted our funding sources;” as well as the US non-profit community Girls in Tech that closed in July after 17 years (also reportedly with lack of funding as the main reason).

Existence of these groups is an essential component of how we continue to make much-needed progress in gender equity. We spoke recently with California-based Tradeswomen Inc., a grassroots non-profit focused on recruitment, retention, and career development for women in the skilled trades industries. Melinda Ramirez, the group’s development manager, and Felicia Hall, workforce development manager, share how the organization is bringing women and employers in the trades together.

Felicia Hall

Melinda Ramirez

Future of Field Service: Can you tell us about the mission of Tradeswomen Inc.?

Melinda Ramirez: Our organization is non-profit, we’ve been around for about 45 years, and our mission and our work is centered around improving equity in the skilled trades, mostly construction trades, and increasing the number of women and LGBTQ employees in the trades.

Most estimates say 11% of the employees in the industry are women, but really only about 4% of employees in the trades are women that actually work with tools. We do outreach for recruitment, retention, and leadership development. We go to a lot of career fairs, try to help guide women into pre-apprenticeships, and help them to apply to different registered apprenticeship programs. We also helping them with resources to support their efforts, like gas cards and child care stipends.

Our previous director, Meg Vasey, works with the National Taskforce on Tradeswomen’s issues, and they focus on policy and law. For example, one item that was recently passed was having separate bathrooms or porta-potties for men and women on jobsites. They have also worked on mandating better fitting safety gear, since most safety gear and hardhats were designed for men.

We will soon go to New Orleans for the Tradeswomen Build Nations conference, and I am meeting up with people from all over the world who are working on policy and gender equity.

Felicia Hall: We work directly with recruiters, and we have a newly developed Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3) apprenticeship program with NABTU (North American Building Trades Union). That allows candidates to get into a paid, union apprenticeship.

A lot of the work we do is in advocacy and getting knowledge out there about the trades. Many women don’t know these roles are even an option. We focus a lot creating awareness among high school graduates about the trades and the opportunities available.

We have a monthly apprenticeship workshop, where we explain the benefits and some of the challenges of working in the trades. As women in the trades, you do face discrimination, and they will push you to your limit. As a woman you need to be able to pick up your ladder or tools and move them yourself. We talk about the importance of that independence as a woman on a job site, and how to conduct yourself on a job site.

Future of Field Service: What are some of the biggest challenges in connecting women with jobs in the trades?

Felicia Hall: A lot of the challenges are just getting women to commit. There can be fear because this is unfamiliar to them. We have to convince them to consider the opportunity. We also face challenges around availability. Once people hear about us, they want us everywhere. We are small but mighty, so we try to do as much outreach as possible.

Melinda Ramirez: Any kind of contract with federal funding requires hiring a certain number of women, minorities, and apprentices, and there is a formula companies have to follow. It can be difficult for them to find qualified individuals, and we see a lot of challenges because they hire an apprentice, give them half a shot, and then move on to a more experienced person so they can say they fulfilled their requirements.

I read an article recently about the difference between mentorship and sponsorship. A mentor in the trades will give you advice and point you in the right direction, whereas a sponsor will take a risk on you, introduce you to the right players, and give you the big jobs. Men tend to get more sponsorships, where women experience more mentorship without anyone taking risks on them.

Women also don’t see themselves reflected in leadership roles in these companies. If you don’t see women in those positions, it can be hard to stick with it. Most women tend to leave the trades within the first four years, and there are a lot of reasons for that, but it really comes down to changing the worksite culture. That takes time and work and has to start from leadership and move down.

Future of Field Service: For companies that want to recruit and retain more women in these positions, what are some helpful strategies?

Melinda Ramirez: You need flexibility, and what I mean by that is making small accommodations, like offering a time and place for lactation when women come back from maternity leave, for example.

Companies also need to be understanding about childcare issues, Women tend to be caregivers for children and in some cases their parents, and because of the early start on jobsites that can be difficult. Most daycares do not open at 4 a.m.

There should also be a path for upward mobility. If you give them opportunities and have women in leadership roles, you will attract more women at an entry level.

Felicia Hall: When we work with companies that have women in leadership positions, they often tell us they prefer to hire women because they are more meticulous and pay attention to detail. We have seen data that shows when you have one woman on a job site, you get a 15% higher safety record. Just by having one woman in any role on a job site improves the safety on that job site.

Future of Field Service: Are you seeing promising trends around promoting the trades to younger women, and students in general?

Melinda Ramirez: We are trying to get information to youth at an early age, even as young as middle school. You have to show them that this is an option, because a four-year college is not for everyone.

You can learn more about Tradeswomen Inc. and the work they’re doing on their website. The group holds a monthly apprenticeship workshop on the third Thursday of every month via Zoom. (Registration is required.) If you happen to be in California, they are also holding a fundraiser on Nov. 16 in Alameda, CA.

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Lessons in Leadership: Remaining Relevant and Impactful Over a Long Career

September 23, 2024 | 9 Mins Read

Lessons in Leadership: Remaining Relevant and Impactful Over a Long Career

A couple of weeks ago I welcomed to the UNSCRIPTED podcast Tim Spencer, VP of North American Operations at Interblock Gaming for what turned out to be one of my favorite conversations to date. Tim is well known in the field service space for the work he’s done innovating within the service function at companies like BUNN, Scientific Games, WMS Gaming, ACCO Brands and Taylor.

What I’ve always appreciated about Tim is that he stands out from many of his peers – older, tenured leaders – in that he has little interest in the status quo. I’ve watched many of his peers speak on stages and belabor the challenges of actually innovating or defend their decisions to continue “doing what’s working” in a variety of areas while Tim gives insights on embracing new technologies, modernizing the talent approach, and finding new ways to meet today’s customer demands.

So, I was excited to welcome him onto the podcast to discuss what, in his view, enables a long-time leader to avoid falling into the warm embrace of the familiar and instead push ahead to continue to evolve. Within our discussion, Tim humbly shared his views on what aspects of service and leadership have stayed the same over his career, what’s changed, and how he’s worked to remain relevant and impactful over his long career.

Valuing What is Timeless

Tim’s insight can be roughly divided into two categories: knowing and valuing what is timeless and keeping pace with change (as a leader and for your business). Number one in the timeless category is the criticality of good communication. “One of the keys to success in service is communication. Always has been. Always will be. Won't ever change,” he emphasizes. “I’ve found that in my career, every challenge I ever had with a customer was resolved one of two ways. Either by better understanding expectations or by better communicating. Or both. So, if I learned what they expected and they learned what I could deliver, we aligned those expectations.”

Effective communication is a building block of any relationship, and the importance of being able to build and nurture relationships is the second timeless skill. “Generally, this effective communication helped to build a good relationship. If the relationship came off the rails, it was because we didn't spend the time we needed on the communication,” says Tim. “And the keys here are timeliness and candor. Again, I've rarely had a customer who said, I hate the bad news you're giving me. Usually what they say is, why didn't you tell me sooner? Maybe I could have reacted. We could have worked something out. We could have done something differently. Timely and honest communication are crucial.”

Customer centricity came up next, and not only in the sense of creating customer intimacy but for obtaining insights to fuel innovation. “When I was very young in my career, the President of our company put me in a sales leadership role for two years to develop my understanding of our customers,” shares Tim. “So, first sales call ever, the customer says, ‘oh boy, another new guy. What are you going to do for me?’ I said, well, I don't know. What do you need? And he said, ‘No salesperson's ever asked me that. They’ve always said, here's what I'm selling.’ That was something I've incorporated since that moment, is to ask my customers, what do you need? What do you need me to do? How can I help you grow your business? How can I change to help you be better? That informs and fuels whatever you need to do next to be successful.”

Tim also shared about the timeless value of learning, especially from peers. “As a leader, if you're not finding a way to reach out to other people and learn and grow by association, you're missing the boat and you're doing yourselves and your customers and your employees a disservice,” he says. “Finding ways to tap into the ideas and thinking of others is a great source of new ideas, valuable connections, and inspiration for innovation.”

Keeping Pace with Change

It might not surprise you that one of the things that’s changed most since Tim’s career began is the use and role of technology in service – and he hasn’t shied away from rolling up his sleeves to understand what’s available, its impact, and to put to good use technology to modernize service in many of the organizations he’s led. “One of most obvious changes over my career is technology,” Tim says. “You know, you think about your grandparents and wonder what changes they saw in technology over time. Well, I'm now one of those grandparents! I spoke about the innovative launch of our first handheld device back in the early 2000s and that was nothing compared to where technology is today.”

With the volume of technological innovation Tim has witnessed, I was curious how he prompted himself to keep pace and determine what investments were best at different points throughout his journey. “I never implemented any technology in any of my roles just for the sake of technology; I did it because I wanted to solve a business problem,” he shares. “I had an issue. I had to solve it. And I looked to others and experts and technology to try to figure it out. Find a solution and try and implement it in my business to make it better. Then you could innovate or iterate on that, innovate and iterate again, or find the next business problem and go find a solution to that. So just always being on the hunt, I guess, for the next problem to solve. Not being complacent, saying, I don't have any problems because that's stupid. Everyone's got a business problem somewhere.”

We also discussed the evolution of the role of service within the business – it’s shift from cost center to profit center and everything that shift has brought about. “I mentioned that I cut my teeth in the manufacturing side of the business. Product companies for a long time made all their money on the product, skinny margins, and gave away the service. And most companies now have figured out that the inverse is actually the key to success. The margin opportunities are in service; the opportunity to really continue with a revenue model that's repetitive, that's on the service side. That's something that's changed a lot over the many, many years that I've been slugging away at it,” Tim reflects.

The one area that Tim and I debated a bit is just how much has changed – or not – when it comes to leadership styles. “I thought about your question on leadership a lot and at first thought, I don't think leadership styles have really changed or evolved. Then I thought, and I thought, and I thought, and finally I said, well, maybe they have,” he says.

What we ended up coming around to is that Tim has naturally inclined toward a leadership style that is being demanded more in today’s landscape. So, while it hasn’t changed for him, we uncovered in our conversation that it has indeed evolved as a whole.

There are elements of leadership, of course, that have been and always will be foundationally important. “The things that haven't changed relative to how we lead, are things like fairness, equity, and honesty. And one I'll throw out there that many people might not agree with, but I really love, which is inclusiveness. I've never been the smartest guy in the room. I've never been the expert, but I know where to find those people, tap into their experience and knowledge, and have them be a part of the solution. Not only do I get a better solution, but I get a team that's excited to participate. So, I think that leadership style never changes,” he says.

When it comes to what has evolved, it is tied to the elements of leadership I see as outdated like control, ego, and even fear. “What I came to think about that might be a change is the ability to adapt your style beyond the very ‘command and control’ kind of leadership,” says Tim. “I remember an early encounter when I was a supervisor at a plant with an executive who said, ‘I don’t get ulcers, I give them.’ I thought, Wow. Okay. That's aggressive. And throughout the early years of my career, I had a lot of leaders like that who would often say to me, ‘you know, you're not mean enough. You're not tough enough. You're not kicking butts.’ But that's never been my style.”

While that’s a testament to Tim and not only his values but his ability to recognize an approach that’s ultimately more effective, it’s a positive change that “his style” is becoming more the norm. “I think that finally that style has found its home. In our current environment – our employment environment, our work environment, our leadership environment - it's okay to have a little bit softer, gentler approach to leadership,” he reflects. “It doesn't mean that you aren't still tough, that you don't follow guidelines, metrics, and principles to hold people accountable. But it does mean that you can still find joy in the process. You can have some camaraderie and good spirit and mentorship and an approach to leadership that understands and appreciates that your people have lives. If we think about our employees' environment, we can adapt and change ourselves to make it a much better, sweeter work environment for them. And a place that they'll want to come back to the next day and a place they'll want to maybe work harder for.”

The evolution of leadership style ties in, at least in part, with the rapidly evolving talent landscape – and the two topics are inextricably linked. “Today, there’s more of a need to do the right thing. Then it was the right thing, to do the right thing. Now you need to do the right thing in order to attract the workers that you need. And if you're not thinking creatively about ways to make their work-life balance better or to appeal to whatever it is that floats their boat, someone else who's more innovative is going to get the talent,” Tim cautions. “You're either going to not get enough people or you'll get the less talented. So, I think innovation relative to our approach to work, our approach to our people, our approach to hiring and retention, innovation is the key. You've got to be thoughtful. You've got to think outside the box. You've got to be smarter than the other guy who's recruiting the same people. You've got to be thoughtful about what does the employee need in their current environment and what can I do as a company leader to try and help solve for that need.”

Managing Vs. Leading

In Tim’s view, part of the role of leadership is to look for the opportunities to change. “I used to tell young managers that there's a difference between a manager and a leader. A manager manages the process and doesn't change anything. A leader looks for ways to change the process. And I always encourage them to be more leaders than managers,” he says. “What I tried to do in my career was to always be thinking, okay, this feels pretty good, but what am I missing? What's next? And where's the next opportunity to change something? Because not changing is backward movement in life. Staying put is the same as moving backwards.”

Leading well relies on two important factors: one’s willingness to keep learning and one’s ability to be kind. “You can never stop learning and growing, no matter where you are in your career. As part of that learning and growing, look for ways to innovate and then iterate,” Tim says. “Lastly, I'm convinced after 35-plus years, a kind leader can and will prosper. Don't think that you can't be a kind and caring leader. Don't think that you have to be the guy that's kicking rear ends down the hallway. We need to find joy in our leadership. Other people need to find joy in our leadership, and have it not be a burden to work for us. There are ways to do that and still accomplish the mission of the job.”

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Service Innovation: No Risk, No Reward

September 16, 2024 | 5 Mins Read

Service Innovation: No Risk, No Reward

It’s interesting to talk with leaders from companies along the continuum of innovating around service and to reflect on the wide range of progress and approach. Some, in the earlier stages, are working to determine how to bring service into the forefront their businesses – they may be struggling with alignment on the value and potential service truly brings and focused on things like increasing contract attach rates or expanding aftermarket revenue. Others, more mature in service innovation, have not only found ways to innovate within their service offerings and delivery, but to transform the business model of service – introducing outcomes-based or as-a-Service offerings.

Regardless of where one lies on this continuum, there’s a shared reality – forward progress can’t be made without taking some risk. There’s always risk in trying something new; in doing something different. When it comes to service innovation, there’s an argument to be made that the more risk you are willing to take, the greater the opportunity for reward. This is evidenced by companies that have taken the leap to evolve the service business model significantly and are reaping the rewards.

How much risk a company takes depends on a variety of factors, including the capacity and ambition for change, alignment on the vision for service, and the willingness to adopt a new business model. Progress also necessitates a company and its leaders take an honest, realistic view of where they are currently and what the potential is. Often, I talk with leaders who would identify as further along this innovation continuum than they truly are; they are finding new ways to sell the existing value proposition versus creating any new value or fundamentally changing the customer relationship – but perceive themselves as having truly transformed.

While there isn’t anything inherently wrong with a more incremental than disruptive approach, it’s important to be able to accurately assess your current state in order to envision the full potential for your future. Only from that view can you determine how much risk you’re willing to take to innovate further.

The Initial Leap

Reflecting on this topic calls to mind some of the wisdom I’ve gathered from leaders in businesses who have embraced the discomfort of risk in order to see what opportunity lies beyond the status quo. The first of those is Dave Mackerness, Director at Kaer, a Singapore-based business that transitioned to a Cooling-as-a-Service model. “There was no one we could look to, to understand is this going to be successful or not. So, we did all of our legacy work that we had done for 70 years in cooling and then we added this as a service and got a few customers on board. Throughout year five we actually did all of our legacy business products and the As-a-Service offering as well and then looked NPS, which was much higher for our Cooling-as-a-Service customers,” he says.

With this data in hand, along with data to support the impact on sustainability this model had, Kaer decided to go all-in on its Cooling-as-a-Service offering and stop its legacy business. “When you're talking about an As-a-Service businesses, it's different investment of dollars and providers then get nervous around ROI. The problem is you cannot look at it this way. You have to understand your business risk and your customers’ risk and you cannot mitigate your own risk by putting on your customers contract clauses and penalties that you bake into the business model or essentially tying them down into things or locking them into things to secure your revenue,” Dave explains. “Those two things really kill the business model. When Netflix came around they said to me ‘Dave, give me 10 dollars a month I'll give you all you want,’ and I said ‘I'll do it, 10 bucks a month.’ If they had said to me ‘Dave, it's 10 bucks a month but, you have to sign a 10 year contract and you have to pay me in advance for the first year and to terminate the contract you have to pay me a penalty of six years’ worth of revenue,’ I would've said ‘No, but thanks very much.’ You have to stay true to the business model. It's not easy, and there is a lot of business risk involved, but you can take it a step at a time, and you can learn from other industries.”

Alec Anderson, Managing Director at Koolmill, a company that has disrupted the rice milling industry not only with its machinery but with offering it As-a-Service, knew risk was essential to his endeavor. “The risk is there; there's always risk. Things will go wrong. The question is how do you deal with that risk? It’s important to focus on value creation. How can you create value? How can you capture a share of that value? And if that means redesigning the machine so that they can have a longer life with more service, and I think the world is moving away from the disposable, buy it, scrap it, get another one. If you can design machinery that has a longer life, and it can be upgraded through its life, I think there's great value there,” says Alec. “We work in a very, very conservative industry, and I would say our challenge right now is not a technical challenge. It's really a culture or mindset. It's changing the perceptions and how people think.”

Alastair Winner, Partner and Co-Founder at Mossrake Group, has a history of working within companies that have introduced new service business models and, in his current role, works with businesses looking to do the same. On this concept of risk, he says, “When you sell a customer a product, the accountability and the risk for the value that product creates immediately transfers to the customer. In this model, there is an onus on the service provider to deliver that value. This means they're likely to have to make some sort of upfront investment in technology and they're going to have to think about putting capacity ahead of demand, especially if they're able to provide some level of flexibility to the customer. So the customer is not making an upfront investment, but the service provider is. That's a risk,” he explains.

“Then they've got to think about all of the lifecycle activities to sustain the service and deliver the outcome over the contractual period, which could be up to 10 years. When you think about all of the updates and changes and recalibrations and replacements that have to go on over that period, you've really got to be thinking about what does that look like and costing it accordingly,” says Alastair. “The benefits for the service provider are they get a long-term annuity stream with almost certainly a higher rate of return. Over that contractual period, they're going to get service on everything over a very long time and they're going to end up with a very loyal customer.”

You can listen to each of these interviews in their entirety to gain additional perspective from Dave, Alec, and Alastair and each of their journeys. How much risk has your organization taken, and how has it paid off? I’d love to hear from you!

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Bridging the Gap Between the Remote Service Vision and Reality

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Bridging the Gap Between the Remote Service Vision and Reality

The Service Council published some interesting data over the past several months that emphasize some opportunities and challenges in field service management in general and in shifting to a remote service model specifically.

One infographic highlights the role that field service management plays in service innovation. According to the Service Council data, top planned tech investments for 2024 are artificial intelligence (AI), business intelligence (BI), and field service management. FSM is outpacing CRM and ERP in market share. The top focus areas for digital transformation across service organizations are currently technology interoperability, customer touchpoint management, and worker enablement (including training process efficiency). These insights indicate there is still a lot of work going on behind the scenes to get data and technicians aligned in useful ways.

Their State of Remote Support report includes some additional insight into technology priorities and challenges. For example, two in three companies lack the dedicated resources to achieve remote support efficiencies by innovating through IoT-based machine learning models or AI.

Related to that, the inability to predict and prevent why remote support was necessary was the second most common reason for challenges in this area, and there was generally an indication of low success with more proactive approaches to field service and support.

According to the report, “The motivation for shifting left is the simultaneous improvement in customer experience, asset uptime and service costs by resolving events earlier in the process and with less touch points – essentially removing waste. However, the reported challenges and the top 3 focus areas going forward (Knowledge Management, Employee Training, AI-Assisted Diagnostics) are geared to mitigate the impact from customer-triggered events. Best-performing organizations will be the ones that integrate data, processes and technology to understand the reason for service events, anticipate their occurrence and proactively influence the resolution path.”

The Service Council also noted that data is being underutilized. Many companies cannot use IoT data at scale, and roughly a third noted that they could not really consume their own knowledge base effectively to help solve problems. Asset proliferation is making this worse.

A Bold Vision

Reading these numbers brought to mind my recent discussion with Clinten van der Merwe, SVP and Head of Global Service and Project Management at TOMRA Recycling.

Clinten mentioned a pretty bold goal during that interview, relative to service sustainability: “[W]e set the strategy that by 2035 will be fully digital, which is very ambitious. I know … but as I mentioned before, the challenge is that … we don't want to sit in 10 years’ time selling machines, but unable to support our customer.”

Clinten described a potential future where technicians are working remotely, fixing machines from coffee shops while wearing flip-flops. This was part of what he called the company's North Star vision. You can question how aggressive or realistic this goal is, but if you are a field service organization ramping up digital transformation, hoping to shift toward more proactive and remote service, and working to become more attractive to today’s talent, that description is not entirely off the mark.

The obstacles outlined in the Service Council data can stymie that vision. As he put it, you need the right digital tools and processes in place, along with a lot of automation. Putting a strong foundation in place – technologically, process-wise, and culturally – is critical to making that remote service vision a tangible reality.

Moreover, that type of vision requires not only the means to provide remote troubleshooting and remote service, but also the ability to pull useful insights from those service encounters, and do so in a way that can help service organizations illustrate their value to customers in a service delivery model where they may not physically encounter the technician (often or at all). On the bright side, customers are primarily focused on whether or not a machine is running, and if you have the right tools in place, you can more easily sell them on that idea of paying for uptime rather than break-fix.

“And that's what it comes down to, is really saving money and cost to our customers, that overall total cost of ownership, but getting to a place where you can actually put on a piece of paper that you're guaranteeing a certain level of uptime availability,” Clinten said.

The warning in the Service Council data is that companies are having trouble getting useful information out of their existing systems, and that they still have integration work to do. If your technicians are remotely recalibrating machines to get ahead of problems that would otherwise result in downtime, you must be able to show what they did, why they did it, and why that is important and valuable to the customer. Without interoperable tools in place that can generate those reports easily, a remote service or digital transformation initiative can struggle to gain traction.

My conversation with Clinten covered a lot more ground, including the importance of getting management to see field service as a key revenue stream and the cultural changes involved in this type of transformation. You listen to the entire conversation here.

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6 Factors to Consider for Your Talent Strategy, Featuring Input from an Ideal Candidate

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6 Factors to Consider for Your Talent Strategy, Featuring Input from an Ideal Candidate

My husband and I have a running joke when one is complaining to offer a solution and then say, “or do you just want to complain about it?” The way I roll my eyes at him when he says “yes” makes me think of how I feel about the field service organizations making a very half-hearted effort to address the challenges of today’s talent landscape.

Should we change our job descriptions and recruiting practices? Nah, let’s just complain. Shall we finally accept that we have to work harder than we used to by – gasp – training capable but inexperienced workers rather than expecting they drop from the sky with 10+ years’ experience? Let’s resist (and complain).

All the complaining about what’s changed and the pining for “how it used to be” is wasted energy that would be better put toward adapting to the current circumstances, because they aren’t changing anytime soon. So, yes, you do need to change your approach to attracting and recruiting – and, yes, you do need to put more effort into not only training and enablement, but culture and leadership. But if you do the work, the talent is there – and they’re telling you what they want and need if you’re just willing to listen.

Take, for instance, Teresa Carneiro, Field Service Engineer at STEMCELL Technologies, who recently shared her story on the UNSCRIPTED podcast. Teresa is 24 years old, from Portugal, and after finishing her master's degree in biomedical engineering set a goal to work in Germany. Having landed in a Field Service Engineer role in Munich for Vancouver-based STEMCELL, Teresa had a lot to share about her experience seeking said role.

Having had the opportunity to meet Teresa in person at the Future of Field Service Live event in Cologne this past June, I can attest to her appeal in terms of field service talent (the various job offers she received throughout the day are further proof). Most organizations are seeking greater diversity, including bringing more women into roles, and far more importantly than that she is intelligent, engaging, well-spoken, and passionate about her work. The insights she shared during our podcast are food for thought for organizations across industries looking to break free from the status quo and take action to modernize their talent approach.

#1: The Field Service Branding Problem Persists

I wrote an article a while back about the field service branding problem, and the premise endures. There isn’t ample representation of field service careers and, therefore, it’s a sort of unknown category of career opportunity that varies greatly by industry but overall falls victim to being “under the radar.” Kids in school talk about wanting to be doctors or teachers or athletes or businesspeople, but they aren’t aspiring to lead a global service organization (or a regional service company).

“One thing that I felt that was really lacking throughout my whole university experience was having some real examples of what it is possible to do after you finish your studies,” says Teresa, “And of course, you can do your own research, but having real life examples and people to talk about how their daily life actually looks like gives you a much clearer idea of what your own life can look like if you choose that path.” She came across the opportunity of becoming an FSE because she had a friend working in a similar role and felt it was an opportunity she’d enjoy.

While it’s a long-game approach vs. a real-time fix, it's important to consider how we work to make the world of field service more visible and the career opportunities within that world better known to children and students.

#2: We Don’t Have a Talent Gap, We Have an Experience Gap

Many service organizations have been accustomed to hiring FSEs or technicians with previous experience and are really struggling to accept that hiring based on experience is a practice of the past. We talk about the “talent gap” but in reality, there isn’t a shortage of talented candidates – there’s a shortage of candidates that have already done the job.

Companies that are taking the initiative to revisit requirements, finding ways to offer additional training or certifications or apprenticeships so that they can seek capable and teachable employees rather than those who have been in a similar role are opening up a far broader realm of possibility. “I think it is very curious because ever since I actually joined the industry, I have heard all sorts of companies saying exactly how hard it is to get young talent in their teams,” shares Teresa. “But I must say that having very recently searched for a job, I felt exactly the opposite. I felt that I was always behind because I didn't have any previous experience in this industry. Even when you come across some entry-level jobs, they often ask for years of experience. It can be a bit discouraging. And especially in this type of role, you need a lot of training regardless of your previous experience because of how specific it is. I truly believe that recently graduated students can bring a lot to the table. We are used to learning so many different things in such short timeframe.”

#3: Many Field Service Job Descriptions Are Hindering Efforts

There’s the need to evolve to a point of not requiring previous experience, but that particular issue aside many field service job descriptions are deterring potential candidates. Everything from inaccurate or outdated requirements (such as needing to lift 50 pounds when, in reality, no FSE has lifted more than 15 in history) to highly technical or niche terminology to poorly articulated descriptions of what the work and opportunity looks like are causing massive challenges.

It's important to consider: when is the last time you really updated your job descriptions? When you did so, how critically did you examine not only the criteria but the unconscious bias and the appeal to candidates? Many organizations haven’t updated as recently as they should, and even more haven’t truly reflected on what could help them cast a wider net of applicants to have more potential talent to choose from.

Let’s also remember that evidence shows that women are far less likely to apply for a role if they do not meet all requirements, which is important to consider if you have the goal of increasing diversity. “At first, if I didn’t meet all requirements, I would not apply. Then I started to understand that this simply wouldn’t work; I needed to apply and then prove myself in the interviews. If they meet me, I might change their minds. And that's what happened,” says Teresa.

It's fortunate for Teresa, and her employer, that she was given an interview despite not meeting 100% of the criteria. But this is a lesson for companies to consider the talent they are missing out on by not revisiting how they position the roles they need to fill. “I applied anyway, because I figured, what do I have to lose? And I encourage young people to do the same. Whenever I'm talking with friends that are searching for new jobs, I always say, apply even if you don't fit every requirement. Because it might change their mind when they meet you and talk to you,” Teresa says.

#4: Know Your Audience: What Appeals to Younger Talent about Field Service Roles

Tied in to creating more awareness appeal of field service roles and updated job descriptions to reflect what matters most to today’s talent, you first must understand what it is younger candidates are seeking and will find attractive about the FSE role. For Teresa, the appeal began with the sense of purpose she feels as an FSE. “I have found a job that allows me to keep in touch with the research environment I studied. For me, being able to bridge the gap between industry and research makes me feel really accomplished and that I'm doing something meaningful,” she shares.

Many younger workers are drawn to the opportunity to travel, which is common with field service roles. “I was excited for the opportunity to travel, to be exposed to different environments,” says Teresa. “I do love traveling and having the opportunity to visit not only places in Germany but also other countries in Europe.”

Teresa was also excited for the opportunity to hone her communication and people skills. “I also like to talk to people and establish communication with our customers. I see this job not only as servicing machines, but also listening and understanding our customers, which in my case are researchers,” she says. “I can relate to them and I can understand their urgency.”

Field service holds a lot of potential in offering variety as well as flexibility, if the company embraces doing so. For young talent that hugely values work-life balance, this can be an advantage. “I like that not every day is the same and I appreciate the flexible work hours,” explains Teresa. “In the same week, I can have some days working from home, others traveling, and also some days in the labs. Not always being in the same place for a nine to five job is also one of the reasons this role is so appealing to me. The younger generations are definitely more focused on work-life balance than previous generations.”

#5: Understand that Improving Recruiting is a Small Piece of a Much Bigger Puzzle to Solve

If you really want to create a winning talent strategy, it must reach beyond the recruiting and hiring phases. Companies can get wrapped up in these areas because of the acute need to fill roles, but the reality is if you aren’t creating a working environment that this talent wants to be a part of, retention will be poor and you’ll constantly be trying to catch up.

For companies who are bringing in more diverse candidates, consideration of the employee experience is even more imperative. If your new employees are different in any way from the “typical” employees, think ahead about what work is needed to ensure they are welcomed, treated fairly, and feel comfortable communicating any challenges.

“So far I've not really faced any big challenges. However, all of my visits so far have been joint visits as I'm still in training. And I guess that another thing that might make me feel more comfortable and secure is that I work mainly with research labs where, in contrast with field service, there are a lot of women working. Compared to other industries, I feel this one might be a bit easier to fit in as a woman, even though all of my field service colleagues are men,” Teresa shares.

Teresa not only felt very respected and supported by her manager from as early as the interview process, but she has felt welcomed by her peers. “I feel my company's culture is overall very welcoming. One thing I really appreciate is that everyone is super available to include me and have me join customers visits. They always take extra time to explain and train me properly. They never make me feel like a burden or like I'm delaying their work or making them stay longer or anything,” says Teresa. “The other thing that was also reassuring is that I was never given a time limit to when I need to be ready to start going alone. My company has always reiterated that I will only go alone when I feel comfortable and ready.”

The employee experience begins with onboarding and initial training, both of which demand proper focus. “With all the training [two intensive training weeks in Canada at headquarters and subsequent joint visits], I feel really equipped. As I've said before, the training is so specific that even if I'd had previous experience, it would not help me necessarily with this equipment. I don't think that would make such a difference,” Teresa says.

Of course, the quality of leadership and type of management plays a fundamental role in employee satisfaction and retention – this is another area of evolution and significant differentiation for some companies. “So far, I’ve been really lucky with my current manager because there is no micromanagement whatsoever. There’s a sense of ownership that comes from, of course, being given the tools that you need, but also having the freedom to explore the way you're most comfortable doing things and tackling issues in your own way,” says Teresa. “Instead of just being told how I need to approach services, I have been given space and highly encouraged to find the way that is best for me.”

#6: Check Your Bias and Assumptions

As younger workers enter field service and diversity improves in other areas as well, it’s more important than ever for us to be very aware of our biases and assumptions. As companies work to evolve to today’s talent landscape, knowing that you don’t know what you don’t know is imperative. Get curious, ask questions, seek to understand.

This importance was illustrated when I asked Teresa how she feels her draw to field service might evolve as she progresses into other phases of life. “Of course, I have no idea how my life is going to look in a few years. And I don't know if I will enjoy traveling as much as I do now,” says Teresa. “These questions about balancing this type of job with parenthood are often framed as exclusively a woman's problem, such as how do you see yourself managing this lifestyle when you become a mom? And, of course, you did not frame it that way, nor did you assume that I do want to have children, which is also not an assumption that should be made for every woman. But this balance is not just a woman's problem. This might be a concern for anyone who wants to start a family and knows how much time we spend away from home in this type of job. So, companies should tackle this problem and get creative, having everyone in mind and not just women.”

As we work to modernize our approach to talent, we have to understand that there are deeply embedded assumptions, norms, and unconscious bias that must be mined and mediated.

In conclusion, Teresa shares some thoughts on her recent experience seeking, obtaining, and starting a FSE career: “A young person's perspective is that the companies that are investing in creating flexibility and creative environments and that are promoting professional but personal growth as well and that provide a safe space for learning are definitely on the right track. Believing in young people and their skills is crucial as is giving them a chance, even if there are other candidates with more experience. Everyone needs their first opportunity to show their work. And ultimately, the companies that are working hard to attract this new talent hold significant power in including the younger generation.”

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Don’t Miss This Vital Element of a Customer-First Strategy

August 19, 2024 | 5 Mins Read

Don’t Miss This Vital Element of a Customer-First Strategy

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, the concept of customer-centricity is not just a buzzword—it's a strategic imperative. But while many organizations focus intensely on customer satisfaction, there's a critical element that often gets overlooked: the employee experience (EX). A customer-first approach is intrinsically linked to the experience of the employees who serve them, and businesses that appreciate and leverage this connection can drive transformative outcomes.

I spoke on this topic at last week’s Field Service East event in Orlando. The day’s theme was around customer centricity and as I reflected on what within that theme I wanted to surface, the need to better respect and reflect the role of EX in driving CX was my immediate thought. Further, because the event was a technology-centric event, I wanted to showcase how companies can expand their view of technology’s role to encompass how it benefits employees and can drive EX.

The Business Case for Prioritizing EX

At the heart of any successful customer-first strategy is a workforce that feels engaged, valued, and empowered. Research from the MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR) underscores this point by defining EX as the extent to which employees are enabled or constrained by organizational capabilities and practices. This includes both the digital and physical environments that allow employees to adapt their work to meet changing needs, and the collective work habits that foster knowledge-sharing, collaboration, and empowerment.

Research shows that companies investing in great EX are more innovative and deliver better customer experiences more efficiently. MIT researchers found that organizations in the top quartile of EX not only developed more successful innovations but also doubled their revenue from these innovations compared to companies in the bottom quartile. Additionally, their industry-adjusted Net Promoter Scores (NPS) were twice as high.

Gallup has reported that companies with engaged workforces are 21% more profitable and 17% more productive. McKinsey’s findings echo these sentiments, revealing that more than half of employees who left their jobs in the past six months did so because they didn’t feel valued by their organization or manager, or lacked a sense of belonging.

Technology as an Enabler for Better EX

We recognize technology as a powerful enabler, but most commonly that recognition is tied to how it can help the business, both in optimizing operations and in improving CX. What is far less considered is how technology can serve as an enabler for the EX.

This is an oversight; technology should be seen as an enabler not only for business productivity and customer benefit, but for transforming the employee experience. Instead of asking how technology can be used to get the most out of employees, organizations should consider how it can be used to create the best possible work experience for them.

I’ve seen some powerful examples of how companies are broadening their view of technology’s impact to include employee benefit. Here are a couple of illustrations:

Using Automation to Create Autonomy: One company is using IFS Planning & Scheduling Optimization, a powerful AI-based tool that will auto-adjust using various criteria, to offer employees the autonomy to select their start and end times each day. Rather than dictating their schedules, the tool will accommodate the technicians controlling their own. Some employees want to drop their kids off at school and start a bit later; others want an early start and an earlier finish. The technology can account for any of this, and this company has put focus on work-life balance and employee wellbeing by sharing in the benefit of the increased productivity by giving its workforce choice.
Sharing the Time Savings of AI. Another company has incorporated AI into its field operations to automate reporting. This saves each technician three hours per week of manual reporting, and rather than take the mentality of “How much more can we squeeze out of that three hours,? they instead opted to share that return by absorbing two of the hours gained into the technicians’ productive time but giving one hour back in the form of an hour shorter work week (for the same pay, of course).
Offering Flexibility with Remote Capabilities. I have a couple of examples of companies that are using Remote Assistance and other remote service capabilities to get creative about how service is delivered in their organizations and introduce far greater flexibility – which we know is important to today’s talent. Some are using remote to offer hybrid schedules, where technicians do remote work from home a few days a week and travel the others. Others are creating new roles where remote is the primary duty and therefore for those whom travel is a barrier have more options. Finally, some companies have been able to keep older, knowledgeable workers around longer to mentor newer talent by allowing them to support in a “hands-on” manner from home.
Using AI to Transform Knowledge Sharing. Many companies are making strides in how they’re using AI to capture, store, and intuitively share knowledge. This equips employees with the insights they need to be successful, easing burdens of the job and making them heroes in the eyes of the customer. It also helps alleviate the magnitude of onboarding and initial training needed when the tools are sophisticated enough to deliver accurate insights as they are needed.

Now I’m not suggesting companies take an entirely altruistic view on this topic (although I do believe treating people well is a worthwhile initiative in and of itself); this perspective isn’t to minimize the reality or importance of driving the familiar business metrics of efficiency, productivity, and the like.

I’m simply saying that when today’s technologies are leveraged well, they can accomplish those business objectives organically without the focus of “wringing the most we possibly can” from our employees being the narrative. In fact, when you broaden your view to consider how technology can benefit the EX, you may find you derive greater business benefit – because the two are inextricably linked.

The organizations that will lead the future of business are those that recognize that both people and technology are critical to success and must work hand in hand. By fostering an environment where employees feel empowered, valued, and engaged, companies can drive better outcomes for both their employees and their customers, paving the way for sustained innovation and success.

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How Much of Our Labor Challenges Could We “Retire?”

August 12, 2024 | 4 Mins Read

How Much of Our Labor Challenges Could We “Retire?”

The shortage of skilled labor is a problem that has been hanging over the field service sector for years, and only got worse in the aftermath of the pandemic. We’ve talked about this challenge from a variety of standpoints – how technology can help maximize resource utilization and speed the onboarding of new hires, how we need to change recruiting practices, and how we must work harder to collect and democratize the institutional knowledge of retiring techs.

But are we overlooking an opportunity to find better or different ways to work with our older technicians? The Harvard Business Review ran an article earlier this year exploring the ways that companies can keep older workers engaged on some level to help fill in the labor gaps they face.

Through at least 2030, one of the biggest challenges is going to be the retirement of Baby Boomers, all of whom will be at least 60 years old by the end of this year. Each day, 10,000 of them hit retirement age. The article also cites a ManpowerGroup survey that found the share of companies reporting a talent shortage rose from 35% in 2013 to 77% in 2023.

In response, many companies are finding new ways to approach the graying of the workforce, including attempting to keep older workers around past age 65 in full-time, part-time, or hybrid positions to help keep staffing levels up while training and mentoring younger co-workers.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 10 million Americans over the age of 65 are still employed. That figure could rise to 15 million by 2032, and 27% of senior citizens are actively looking for jobs.

Of course, field service work is not the same as, say, being a doctor, a teacher, or a software programmer. Depending on the industry segment, technicians can be expected to do a lot of very physical labor and/or to work in harsh conditions. Some technicians would likely bristle at working past retirement age while others would love to stay involved in some capacity.

There are numerous ways that field service organizations can benefit from working with their older technicians to optimize the timing and degree of their retirements. They could, for example, encourage older technicians to stick around as mentors, supervisors, or support staff. They can help get new hires up to speed and keep projects on track. Some companies may be able to keep older technicians involved on a part-time or contract basis handling basic troubleshooting or light-duty service calls or pitching in during peak demand times. With remote assistance technologies, there are more and more opportunities for older technicians to aid in service resolution from an office or even home, or to give “hands-on” support to a mentor, from a distance.

There may also be opportunities for companies to recruit older or retired technicians from adjacent industries. A tech may have passed the point where they can safely work on an offshore oil rig but could still be an asset in a less arduous service environment in an industrial or residential service field.

HR departments at service organizations could look at the existing pool of technicians and start having open conversations about their retirement plans and try to coordinate that with the onboarding of new hires. Those discussions are going to vary a lot based on age, health, family situation, and industry. The point is not to start pushing people out the door or trying to get them to stay past the point they want to work, but to find common ground that helps them meet their retirement goals and still make sure the business can support its customers. Just like a good company has paths to career advancement, they might want to create formal paths to (for lack of a better term) de-advancement – shifting into less-demanding roles as they reach or pass the typical retirement age.

There are ways this can be appealing or helpful for technicians, too. They may need to maintain company health benefits, for example, or they could use the extra income. According to the HBR article:

“If older people have more years to enjoy purposefully, they also have more years to fund. Many Americans approaching or in retirement do not have nearly enough savings. The Boston College Center for Retirement Research has found that nearly half of working-age households are at risk of not being able to maintain their current standard of living in retirement, even if the people in them work to age 65. Our recent research found that more than 40 million workers were thinking of retiring later than planned (by an average of five years), most often for financial reasons. Working longer is prudent for many—and necessary for some.”

Don’t get me wrong, that’s not a great scenario. People shouldn’t have to keep doing hard, manual labor into their 70s because the cost of living is too high. But there is probably an opportunity for employers to work with older technicians to ease that burden, address some labor shortage issues, and better protect institutional knowledge by taking a fresh look at how retirement works.

Has your company found novel ways to keep older techs engaged and involved in a way that’s mutually beneficial? Send me a note and let me know what you are doing!

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