In the fourth part of this series looking at the grown-up gig economy in field service we explore the win-win benefits of the older gig worker being utilised within the field service sector...

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What the More Experienced Field Service Engineer Brings to the Table...

So, let’s take a look at why the gig economy can be of benefit both for more seasoned engineers and for field service organisations themselves.

Flexibility

The frequent travel of a field service engineer can be an exciting life for a younger worker. Indeed, this variety is something that field service organisers are starting to leverage as they seek to employ from the millennial labour pool.

However, it is a work-life balance that is perhaps less attractive for the engineer who has settled and doesn’t want to spend time away from their family so often.

Equally the older engineer, who is perhaps entering into semi-retirement may not want to (or be capable of) climbing up pylons or squeezing down cubby holes everyday but whose technical skills can be leveraged in less demanding roles.

Additionally, as our society adapts to newer thinking towards work, the entrepreneurial approach is becoming increasingly common amongst older workers as they have the necessary diligence to continue to seek out the work needed to provide them with financial support, but relish the freedom of being able to set their own agenda.

Experience On Tap:

For the field service organisation, the ability to tap into a pool of experienced engineers, on demand, allows them to minimise the risk of unnecessary costs while still being able to meet any peaks in service requirements.

Whilst this is of course true of any gig-worker, regardless of age, field service companies are seeking out more seasoned engineers for a number of reasons. 

Experienced with the Assets

The engineer that has been there, done it and got the t-shirt is likely to hit the first-time-fix rates.

Not only are they likely to have vast experience on multiple assets within the industry segment, but also their experience will shine when it comes to fault identification as well. This is crucial considering that no fault found is one of the over-riding biggest causes for costly second visits.

Good Under Pressure

When every second of downtime is costing your client money the front line of the service cycle can be a high-pressure environment.

In such pressure, mistakes can be made which can be costly for both you and your client. The experienced engineer is likely to be able to draw on a well of experience to help them get the job done as efficiently as possible.

Indeed, this is the reason that so many field service organizations actively seek out ex-military personnel.

Good with the Customers

Of course, if the customers problem is resolved nice and quickly then they are likely to be happy.

However, a confident and well-mannered engineer can then be the link in solidifying their relationship with your organisation and potentially paving the way for renewed or upgraded service contracts in the future.

The gig-economy engineer doesn’t need to be part of your sales process to achieve this, but they are the representative of your brand and the quality of their interaction with your customers will impact your sales teams conversations at some point in the future.

The experienced engineer is more likely to understand the wider business processes and be more comfortable engaging with customers whilst also naturally carrying a more authoritative tone.

Would You Like to Know More? There is a Field Service News white paper on this topic available exclusively to fieldservicenews.com subscriber. Click the button below to access it now! 

This premium content is sponsored by: 

Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this content.

NEW! If you would prefer to access our full premium content library without having to submit data to our sponsors you can opt for a paid subscription for as little as £15/month find out more @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/subscription-tiers