Passing the Baton to the Next Generation of Field Service Leaders

by Ellisen Wang

In the next decade or so, the field service industry is going to experience some massive changes. Baby boomers are approaching retirement age, which means the seasoned field service technicians and leaders will be leaving the workforce.

The baton will then be passed onto the next generation of leaders who will continue to drive the industry forward, specifically the Millennial and Gen Z workforce. These groups come with their own perspectives about the workplace that service organizations will have to learn to appeal to (Including social impact, diversity, work-life balance, embracing digital tools, and upward career mobility). In fact, we had 美国德克萨斯A&M大学 engineering students speak on the Gen Z Keynote Panel at Field Service Connect 2024 to share their thoughts on what they’re looking for at their next workplace.

Of course, like all changes, having the next generation of leaders take over will come with unique roadblocks. However, lasting positive changes can come out of this as well.

Pros

1. The field service industry will be driven forward by, arguably, more tech-savvy leaders. In other words, they’re more likely to keep up with new technology and more willing to be early adopters of that new technology. And although adopting new technology early tends to come with road bumps, bugs, glitches, and other annoyances, jumping on the bandwagon early on will help their service organizations stay ahead of their competitors.

2. Adding onto #1, having new technology to work with also means there’ll be more data available. Predictive analytics, data visualization, and tracking systems are a few examples of the types of tools that provide real-time data for field service leaders to use. And the more data to work with, the more opportunities they’ll have to make informed decisions to help their companies achieve higher service excellence.

3. The next generation of leaders will come with unique experiences. They’ll bring new perspectives and innovative ideas that’ll bring changes to service in ways that haven’t been thought of before. Sometimes the best ideas come from the people who just stepped into their new position rather than having been in the game for many years.

Cons?

1. The next generation of field service leaders may have to deal with a knowledge gap that the previous generation carried into retirement. They’ll potentially have to re-accumulate years of knowledge and experience to pass onto their new workforce. Even though establishing a mentorship program of some sorts isn’t out of the question, there still may be potential challenges of cross-generational communication.

2. Millennials would be making up a large percentage of the next generation’s field service workforce. Unfortunately, they tend to change jobs more frequently, so leaders will have retention challenges to deal with. Having to constantly backfill positions, retrain and develop new hires will lead to a lot of time and money being spent.

3. Although there are upsides to being tech-savvy, it is possible to be too reliant on technology and forget the human side of the business. With customer expectations at all-time highs, it’s difficult to not turn to technology to alleviate the pressure. So another challenge that new field service leaders may face is how to implement technology while still maintaining the human touch. After all, field service is a people-centric business; the face-to-face interactions are what drives service organizations forward.

Fortunately, there are tools out there that complement, even enhance, the customer experience. Some examples (That I mentioned in the second issue) are (1) Augmented reality that allows customers to virtually work with their technicians, which reduces workflow inefficiencies and streamlines troubleshooting, and (2) Self-service tools that provide transparency and real-time information to customers.

However, there are some things that technology simply can’t provide, one which are the soft skills that the new field service leaders will need when it’s their turn to run their service organization. Becoming a leader that people won’t want to leave, having the ability to build a strong team and company culture, or being able to lead your team through unforeseen changes are things that have to be developed through experience and mentorship.

That’s why at our next Field Service Palm Springs event, our first day will be dedicated to developing the next generation of field service leaders so they can adapt to the new workforce realities. Some topics will include (Though they’re subject to change):

? Thriving in Times of Disruption and Change: Lead Yourself First

? Leadership Development: Building a Team That Can Survive a Succession Event

? How To Be the Leader That People Don’t Want to Leave

? How to Seismically Change the Culture of Your Service Organization and Teams

Check out the event's website if you’re interested in learning more and I hope you’ll be able to join us then.

Until then, happy Thanksgiving!