How to Obtain, Train, and Retain Millennial Field Service Technicians

Your Baby Boomer technicians are retiring--what are you doing to fill the gap?

In 2018, tens of thousands of field service experts are leaving the workforce. But field service organizations aren't just losing staff -- their mission-critical industry knowledge needs to be captured (and passed down to Millennials) before it goes, too.

The Service Council highlights three primary challenges that field service leaders need to address moving forward:

• Loss of field service knowledge and expertise with a retiring workforce
• Retention of service knowledge and transfer of knowledge to current workforce (and customers)
• Acquisition of new talent to replace retiring workers

The Field Service team strives to learn everything there is to know about getting young people into field service roles. Fortunately, based on our most recent reports , they are the best fit employees to take on the newest, biggest challenges in the industry: customer experience, employee satisfaction, technology adoption, and accountability.

Consider the following as you build out your strategy for a new generation of field service success:

What Millennials Want

Field service work doesn't necessarily require a bachelor's degree, which may turn off the 40% of U.S. Millennials who want to put theirs to use. But a career in field service has countless benefits--both professional and personal--which you must be prepared to share in order to successfully recruit.

According to Gallup Business Journal :

"Millennials want to understand how they fit in with their jobs, teams and companies. They look for work that fuels their sense of purpose and makes them feel important. Seventy-one percent of millennials who strongly agree that they know what their organization stands for and what makes it different from its competitors say they plan to be with their company for at least one year."

Perhaps the trickiest part is getting prospective technicians through the front door. According to Field Service News (FSN) , Millennials demand more than benefits and pay.

Perhaps the most desirable benefit to Millennials is growth potential--according to Gallup Business Journal, 87% of Millennials say development is important in a job. But what better motivator than to have Millennials interface with a veteran technician? For young people, authenticity is a high-powered motivator; your seasoned team members can tell them just how rewarding a field service career can be.

Passing Down 'Tribal Knowledge' in the Digital Age

Your veteran's hard-won 'tribal knowledge' lubricates the fast-turning gears of your business--it's something you can't afford to lose. But according to our recent white paper, Future Trends in Field Services , 65% of field service companies use outdated training methods like classrooms, lectures, and traditional media, even as the industry enters a technology revolution in the field.

Fortunately, new field service technologies can connect dozens of millennial technicians to a single industry veteran, even when those technicians are out in the field. It's not only an efficient channel for knowledge transfer, it gives new technicians the hands-on experience they need to thrive, even when they're physically alone.

Young people don't want scripts. They want exposure, access to mentorship, and one-on-one time as part of their training. "Bring technology into the mix to enabling one-to-one time, as millennials value learning from others," says ServiceMax's Patrice Eberline to FSN.

Again, you're lucky--Millennials tend to have desirable characteristics in an industry whose priorities are shifting greatly towards improving customer experiences.

Millennials Stick with 'Good Corporate Citizens'

Young people are notorious for abruptly leaving jobs . Whether or not there is any truth to that claim, if you're losing good employees you have yourself to blame.

That's because young people have demands that go beyond good pay and benefits. In addition to training and personal growth, common demands include company values, purpose, and social responsibility, according to 81% of Millennials . Identify how your or company represents these attractive qualities to earn young people's dedication.

Successfully delivering your new employees to the front lines might require a change in your personnel strategy; and though it will likely require adoption of new technologies as well, it's not so foreign in principle. Take responsibility, think of what's best for your employees and your company, and consider your long-term values. Your sure to inspire the same dedication as your veterans.

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New talent acquisition is set to be a hot topic at Field Service USA 2018, taking place at Palm Springs, California, this coming April.

Download the Field Service USA 2018 Agenda to learn more.