How to Reduce the Field Service Talent Shortage with Visual Assistance and AI Technology
The field service sector is booming with innovative technology and business models.
Automation, artificial intelligence (AI), visual assistance platforms, and generative AI are completely transforming how field service organizations (FSOs) do business, promising unprecedented efficiency improvements, cost reductions, and elevated customer experiences. After a period of significant disruption and inflation that has forced the industry to push forward and expedite transformation, this is a much-needed change.
However, beneath the surface, the recruitment crisis within the industry threatens the success of FSOs that have worked hard to transform their business. Despite there being early signs that warned against the crisis and the pandemic contributing to alarmingly high rates of layoffs and turnovers, FSOs are only now realizing just how challenging it has become to onboard new talent for technical roles.
Millennials and Generation Z struggle to keep up with the level of hands-on expertise and experience of their seniors. And as the aging workforce is now on the brink of retirement, the significant knowledge gap between generations is becoming much more threatening.
Moreover, newcomers are nothing like their seniors when it comes to workplace expectations. Theirs are different and ever-evolving, forcing FSOs to come up with a modernized approach to recruitment and retention.
Attracting and retaining the next tech-savvy generation requires making the job less physically demanding and aligning it with continuous learning and skill development needs—and this can only be achieved through innovative strategies and AI solutions that combine the experience of aging workers with the potential of their younger counterparts.
Overview of the Current Field Service Talent Shortage
A recent IDC report revealed that 60%-80% of organizations in the Asia-Pacific region find it challenging to fill IT roles, which are in high demand in the field service sector as well due to digital transformation. According to the same report, organizations in that region are also taking longer to fill technology roles, with 53% experiencing delays of 3-4 months compared to the previous year.
This data shows that the service talent pool is shrinking by the day.
And more and more FSOs are finding it increasingly challenging to maximize their technology investments and digital transformation when they lack skilled professionals to fill crucial technical roles.
4 Factors Driving the Workforce Crisis
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The consequences of this workforce crisis are far-reaching, significantly impacting an organization's productivity, competitiveness, and potential for further innovation.
The activity of inexperienced and overburdened technicians in the field translates to decreased productivity, lower first-time fix rates, customer dissatisfaction, and financial strain as more and more resources are spent on traditional talent acquisition and training.
The Importance of Retaining Aging Talent and Recruiting Younger Talent
The importance of retaining aging talent cannot be emphasized enough—the knowledge and expertise of seasoned technicians and engineers are invaluable assets in the service industry and can be used to inform and develop the next-generation workforce.
However, the aforementioned IDC report also indicated that 55% of organizations witnessed a higher number of employee resignations in the previous year, contributing to the talent shortage.
This led 37% of organizations to delay tech initiatives and 36% to change the direction of these initiatives.
This means that addressing the field service skill drain is a very time-sensitive issue that requires an innovative approach that relies on technology to bridge the knowledge gap between generations in a timely manner and at lower costs than traditional training methods.
Leveraging technology for knowledge transfer, such as AI, visual assistance, and augmented reality (AR) ensures that the know-how of experienced technicians is shared effectively across the organization whilst also being preserved in a repository available to newcomers. This not only aids in retaining senior workers but also expands the skill set of the junior workforce.
Meanwhile, the junior workforce, consisting of Millennials and Generation Z, can bring fresh perspectives and tech-savviness to the field service industry, relieving the burden placed on their seniors.
Employers can appeal to them more easily by fostering a culture of collaboration, offering flexible work arrangements, and actively involving them in planning processes. This makes technology the main solution for attracting, retaining, and nurturing talent across generations.