5 Methods for Motivating Your Field Service Technicians

19 June 2018

Fieldmagic

It can be a real challenge finding field service talent who have both the technological background and customer-facing skills necessary for succeeding in today’s market. In fact, you’ll be amazed that a whopping 55% of service employers report having a hard time filling open positions!

To add to the conundrum, field service professionals are aging, with 70% of service organizations reporting they will be facing a gap in their field service teams from retiring workers in 5-10 years.

So, the question then remains, how can field service managers ensure their business continues to thrive and attract talented technicians? Here are 5 tips that should help in getting you on the right track.

1. Work alongside your technicians

Spending some time with your team in the field is often an overlooked, yet incredibly effective way of building rapport and attention with your field techs.

Chances are, you have years of experience and can provide invaluable advice and tips that your team will appreciate. This doesn’t mean you need to spend all of your time away from the desk, just a couple of hours a week is enough to really make a difference. Give it a go, you’ll start to see the results!

2. Invest in Training Time

Training is an essential part of your technicians’ means of growing their skills. Everyone wants to improve, grow, and feel that they are moving forward in some way. Stay static for too long, and it can become a motivation-killer.

If you aren’t setting aside up-skill plans or thinking about refresher courses, then you are likely missing out on one of the most vital means of keeping your staff. Sure, with more skills they may go elsewhere, but combine the tips in this article, and they will be hard pressed to leave your business.

3. Focus on Your Company Culture

The way your company operates internally needs to be an area of your utmost focus. Treat your staff like you’d want them to treat your customers, and you’ll foster a strong domino effect.

Recognise staff for great work publicly, and ensure it is rewarded in some way. It’s also important to set aside team building exercises or outings throughout the year, a chance to unwind, and spend time on a personal level as a team. All work and no play, makes field teams run away!

4. Create Incentives

Incentives are a great way of keeping staff motivated. We all want that little ‘extra’ bonus or freebie at the end of a month of hard work.

It’s important to make incentives with realistic KPIs, so your team will want to all give it a go.

5. Create Healthy Competition

Use a scoreboard, share survey results among the team, try different means of placing your team in healthy competition with each other to create a ‘game’ of delivering great service. This can also be tied to incentives to hasten the level of competition, creating a positive environment for technicians to compete in.