Technicians represent your company. That means when they do a good job your company is seen in a good light, and a bad job results in a negative light. You may shrug and say these things happen. But, thanks to the digital age, one bad job can go viral and do serious damage to your reputation. A good reputation can literally take years to build and be destroyed in minutes on social media.
That is why it is essential that you take the right steps to ensure your technicians are field-ready.
Get Qualified
It should go without saying but a field technician needs to be qualified and insured. As a business, you will insure them but you need to be happy they have the skills they say they have. The easiest way of ensuring your employees have the right level of knowledge is to recognize specific qualifications and make sure your technicians have them.
They can arrive trained, all you have to do is check the qualification is valid. Or, you can pay for their training while they learn the ropes in the company. Either way, you know they have completed the proper level of training.
It is particularly important to ensure they are conversant with all types of testing methods, such as dye penetrant testing.
Experience
Training is great for the theory behind the science. But, in order for technicians to excel, they need practice. The best way of assessing their skill level in a real situation is to shadow them for a set period f time. You will need to pay new technicians with established ones. This will allow their skills to be assessed and for them to learn from experienced technicians.
It also improves bonding through the company which helps with morale and loyalty. You will benefit from knowing that all your technicians have the best skill set possible to represent the company and get the job done.
Customer Skills
Having the knowledge to get the job done effectively is only part of the battle. The customer also needs to feel appreciated and looked after. You need to take the time to train your technicians in dealing with customers, especially those that are disgruntled. Regular training and role-playing scenarios can help your technicians become experts at handling customers.
This will make it easier to deal with issues and to keep your customer happy, even when things aren’t going as smoothly as you would hope.
Feedback
While most of getting your technician field ready is about ensuring they will represent your company in a good light. You should also allow time for them to feedback to you, both in training and during general work. You never know when a good idea can save everyone time and money. The people most likely to have the best ideas are those on the front line; your technicians.
In addition, this will help your technicians to feel valued and part of the company. That boosts loyalty and saves you the time, hassle, and cost of constantly replacing technicians.