We often think about technology in terms of what it can do to make our businesses more efficient, more responsive, and more customer-centric. But what about helping us attract and retain good employees and the knowledge that they possess?
The Use of Technology is Now Expected
Studies show that the workers that you’re trying to attract today don’t just think technology is important, they think it is essential. The people entering the workforce these days have grown up with ubiquitous access to cell phones, online shopping, and mapping applications that get them from point A to point B without really looking at a map. They don’t know what a Thomas Guide is, never made a mixtape on a cassette, nor used a public payphone. So, if you’re addressing some of your company’s inefficiencies through technology, kudos to you! Just keep in mind that technology continues to evolve and will continue to address an ever wider range of business issues. To make sure your organization looks attractive to your best job candidates, keep the technology for your business evolving, too!
Capturing the Collective Intelligence
If the standard life plan plays out appropriately, most workers will get to retire someday. When that person is the last guy on your team who knows how to open up and fix the thermonuclear regulator on a TX-365-G, it can disrupt your ability to deliver the level of service and first-time fix rate that your company strives for. The beauty of a good field service management tool is that it captures key information about customer job sites and the equipment that needs repairing or maintenance. So, when the new tech shows up, they can look like they’ve been there before. This also creates a knowledge base that each tech contributes information to, and retrieves insights from, as they go about the responsibilities of the day.
Job Satisfaction = Retention
You’ve attracted the right people to your field tech team, trained them, and they’re doing a great job. Don’t lose them because you aren’t investing in the tools that allow them to be as efficient as possible. Employees using productivity-boosting tools that dispatch effectively, deliver the right information to them in the field, and allow business processes between the office and the field to flow smoothly are sure to experience a heightened sense of job satisfaction. Being satisfied at work means that employees are more likely to stay and the business can avoid the expense and aggravation of employee churn.
Mobile Workforce Solutions = Unseen Benefits
Again, congratulations on embracing some of the key technologies that help keep your employees happy and your business running smoothly! The benefits described above are not always the obvious ones, but these additional perks are sure to contribute to a work environment that attracts, motivates, and retains quality employees. For the sake of your workforce, keep an eye on technology trends, and don’t stop evolving.