When Good Techs, Go Bad

A tech, or technician – is most commonly seen in a specific field where a set of skills and professional training have been completed by a human being, who fosters curative actions with a set of difficult variables and environmental pressures that, only a higher skilled professional – would attempt.

Keep reading bro, it gets better.

In some circumstances, a tech is managed by a poorly trained manager or supervisor, who on a daily basis extols the virtues and principles of armchair leadership- in criticizing and engaging in subversive dialogues of ‘I just wish you were faster’ and ‘You know you’re staying late, right?’ among their staff members.

I just can't take it anymore..

As appalling as that may sound, it is happening to techs around the United States of America – and an exodus is occurring in the IT Service Industry.  Great technical talent that’s been beaten up, is leaving or preparing to leave environments where the singular, explicit sentiment is being heard in that awkward conversation, where a two-week notice is being handed across an HR desk.. “I just can’t take it anymore.”

It would be easy to blame the armchair leader, who we’ve all either known or experienced in some capacity – and yes, I personally have been handed two week notices – with the sentiment being expressed to me, “I just can’t take THEM anymore” and that’s the version that always bothers me the most.  “THEM” meaning a bad boss, or supervisor has turned a team member, into a robotic, uninspired pawn in the Service Environment.

So, in order to identify where this all turns bad, I want to show you a few completely mistaken warning signs for how to spot when Techs, are stressed out and what will happen next..

1.) An Individual Tech’s Ticket Count Drops, by 25-50%

Your tech is burned out, and is physically distancing themselves from the work of the day.  You will also see that they’ll remove themselves from social activities, and from their supervisor.  It’s not accountability they’re dodging, it’s the fact that they are out of bandwidth and need a break.  They need to learn how to calibrate their minds, and hearts – in not giving everything to the workplace, to the client and to others.

2.) A Tech is Getting Downright Rude with Clients

Techs are a unique human being, in that they take the variables that others would quickly dispel and wrap their hands around it, consume it and spit out a cure.  No tech can do that on a consistent basis, without having all of the negativity and wind tighter around their necks and eventually leach into the words, phrasing and tonalities of their conversations with clients.  Every Tech is an Intellectual Performer, wherein 90% of what they do on a daily basis - is conveying mental tactics to cure a physical ailment or series thereof.   Techs need time to decompress, and calibrate their minds.  DISC Profiling is an exceptional utility in revealing the hidden truths of your team members in whole, but a trained resource can tell you more about what each person needs, when it comes to mental calibration.  

3.) A Tech Starts to Fail Certification Expectations

Let’s face it… if you’re a Tech, you certify to accredit your knowledge base.  Car Techs, have ASE Certification.  IT Techs, have MCSE, Sophos, CompTia A+, and the list goes on and on.  However, when a Tech starts to fail to meet certification dates, it stems from two predominant sources of contention.  One, the Tech feels like their efforts don’t have a real, quantifiable reward or return on investment,  Or Two, the Tech knows that they can get away with not having to commit to earning Certifications, as the environment will still throw money at him, year over year- just to retain him.  Either way, perceptions require effort to retain as much clarity and value as possible.  Either reward your best techs now, and hold fast to Certification Milestones as a minimum standard of performance in your company – or face the certain doom of ‘recruiting musical chairs’ in your Tech Departments.

It's not about what you're doing.  It's about what you're NOT doing, right... now.

Ultimately, doing something today and tomorrow.. is a lot more valuable than indecision and inaction.  I’ve taught, like many professionals who Develop Organizations, that for Every 9% Increase of Employer Commitment and Action, the Organization as a whole will receive a 10% Decrease in Employee Departure Probability.

It’s time to re-think, your status quo.  The truth is, your competition is banking on your inaction and complacency.  Prove them wrong.