By: Guillermo Salazar • 25 February 2021

Remote visual assistance can help teams capture organizational knowledge

Over half (53%) of field service companies are concerned about replacing their workforce as people retire. For decades, knowledge was gained in siloed environments due to many field workers going to sites alone. Now as many experienced technicians think about retirement, young newcomers are ready to learn but fear being left out in the cold. Thankfully though, as challenging as the transition will be, new technology is enabling it more than ever.

Remote technology goes beyond sales

Studies are clear that customers want more technology and service experts are ready to adopt technology. But it’s more than just a sales tool. Technology can be a democratizing tool for learning, career transitions, and even extending the careers of senior technicians that can’t do in-person appointments anymore.Purpose-built secure visual assistance platforms are opening up even more opportunities for intergenerational knowledge transfer. Here are the top four:

1 - Self-service options for customers means knowledge capture for field workers

Every service expert has seen a problem the customer could have solved by themselves with the right training. Service providers can leverage their experts' knowledge to build a video library of self-service options. Not only will this produce better customer service, but can also help younger service agents learn “on the job” in a scalable way.

2 - AI helps issue diagnoses and increases mentorship opportunities

New advancements in AI mean that technology platforms are getting better at automatically diagnosing simple problems so experienced technicians don’t have to waste time. The result is two-fold: one, younger technicians learn about simple things more quickly from the AI itself. And two, there are increased mentorship opportunities from experienced service experts because they will have more time to educate newcomers.

3 - Video onboarding resources help field workers and customers alike

Another benefit of experience is knowing what a customer or colleague needs to have ready in order for a technician to work efficiently. For example, making sure an area is unblocked or having some plastic set up to avoid dust spreading. This kind of knowledge can be captured in onboarding videos, and used as a knowledge resource for younger technicians learning on the job.

4 - An internal insights hub helps new workers get up to speed

Recording and storing customer interactions empowers companies to make the best use of their data while enabling senior experts to build an internal insights hub for the company. Experienced workers can use visual assistance platforms to offer live coaching to new workers without having to go on-site, and the knowledge is easily captured for anyone else facing the same challenge in the future.

The digital workforce transition

The vast majority (80%) of service experts want purpose-built technology. Unfortunately, only a fifth (21%) of service providers have started adopting technology. As the waves of retirement begin - or as older workers want to continue working in a modified way - technology will be a critical component of customer service. But like many other innovations, this is not about replacing people. The right technology makes everyone more efficient, delivers better customer service, and helps employees of all experience levels.

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