A Maelstrom of Disruption for the Field Service Sector, With a Workforce Shortage Crisis at its Heart
We are arguably in the midst of the most significant period of disruption within the field service sector ever…
Radical, disruptive forces are driving change from almost every corner of our industry. Supply chains are shifting to a post-globalization era. Remote service is rapidly becoming an accepted approach to providing maintenance. Sustainability initiatives are forcing major rethinks of tried-and-tested methodologies.
And yet, it is perhaps the issue we have seen coming from the furthest away that is at the heart of most service leaders’ nightmares, keeping them up at night.
That is, of course, a global aging workforce crisis, hitting many industries but field service, in particular, is feeling the pain harder than most.
No matter where in the world you go or what industry vertical, there is a scarcity of skilled field service technicians and engineers. This issue is magnified by an increasingly aging workforce and the uphill battle to attract fresh talent into the sector.
Of course, we can do more to increase the pool of talent we are exploring, Field Service News has championed the need for seeking to diversify our talent pool for the best part of a decade. Not just because bringing gender parity into the field service sector is long overdue, but because as an industry we face an existential threat if we do not.
However, no matter how successful we may become with new recruitment drives, we will likely never achieve the balance of employing (and retaining) enough field workers to keep up with demand, particularly as we step more boldly into a service-led economy.
Quite simply, we will need to work out how we can achieve more with less.
Yet, a significant workforce shortage is not the only pressure we face that requires us to achieve more with less.
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"It is no surprise that since the pandemic, we have seen field service organizations, out of necessity, lean into digital transformation projects en masse..."
Indeed, many field service leaders will know all too well the somewhat perennial challenge of doing so.
However, as the aging workforce crisis reaches breaking point, we are concurrently faced with an ongoing economic contraction while customers’ soaring expectations for quicker, higher-quality, and more personalized services seem to continue each passing day.
It is no surprise that since the pandemic, we have seen field service organizations, out of necessity, lean into digital transformation projects en masse. The field service sector, which has often been accused of moving slowly to embrace change, largely due to a natural conservatism underpinned by its mission-critical nature, is now boldly stepping to the forefront of innovation, adopting new technologies and service models in a bid to not only survive today but thrive tomorrow.
As traditional service models begin to fracture under the weight of such widespread and variable industry disruptions and evolving consumer preferences, the need for digital transformation for many companies is now simply essential. Digital solutions, remote service offerings, and self-service alternatives are prompting a major re-evaluation of age-old strategies, urging businesses to adapt and embrace this new paradigm of service delivery or risk being left behind.
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