Written by With any field service business, there are times when your business runs slow. Season highs and low may depend on the type of field work your field technicians do. For instance, HVAC contractors may experience a slow season during the fall or winter months, while plumbers may experience a slower influx of calls from field service customers during the dry summer months. A slow season also means less money for your field service technicians, which can lead to a less motivated field staff. But even if your field service staff and technicians are experiencing a slow season, you can take several steps to help them get by and stay engaged. Here’s how:
1. Focus on Learning New Products and Skills
A slow season is the perfect time to help field technicians acquire new skills and learn about new products. Learning about new products and building skills have long-term benefits for your field service business, too. Research supports that employees who develop skills boost their job performance by 16 percent.
There are several options you can use to help your team learn new skills and products, too. For instance, a slow season is an ideal time to teach your home service technicians how to use a new field service app or work automation software, which can enable easy scheduling, job management, real-time communication with customers and your team and much more.
By having your team learn new products and skills, you can keep your team motivated and engaged when your peak season arrives. Your field service business may also benefit from your team’s improved skills and knowledge by helping your field technicians become more productive and efficient at what they do.
2. Be Selective About Jobs
It’s important to be selective about the various projects you take on to keep your field staff motivated during a new season. Sometimes taking on a $5 million project can turn out to be a business-ending event due to the amount of time you have to invest in the project. That’s because larger jobs often require more labor, time and resources.
3. Be Emotionally Supportive
When paychecks aren’t coming in, it can stress out your field service technicians, but it’s important to provide your team with emotional support even when paychecks are at a standstill. Your business’ cognitive culture is crucial to its success. Provide emotional support by demonstrating the emotions you want your team to follow. If you’re leading your team with a sense of fear, they can take on that emotion, too. Research supports that emotions experienced in groups have a ripple effect. You can also provide emotional support by taking time to listen to your field service technicians’ issues and frustrations.
4. Keep Goals Realistic
When the season slows down, it’s also time to re-evaluate your sales goals. If your home services technicians are expected to complete 30 home service calls within a week during your peak season, consider lowering that goal based on the workload that is coming into your business. By setting realistic goals, you can keep your field service staff motivated when requests from field service customers begin to drop.
5. Celebrate Incremental Wins
When a field service technician solves a problem a homeowner has been having for months, take the time to celebrate these small wins. Plan a special outing with your team to celebrate the winner, such as a night at a concert or a company barbecue. Recognizing your field technicians for small accomplishments makes a difference in boosting employee morale, which is critical to the success of your company. You can even help your field technician staff stay motivated during slow seasons by running a contest and providing small rewards, such as a gift card to their favorite store.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of your field service technicians are experiencing a slow season, you can apply a variety of strategies to keep your field staff engaged. By using these tips, you can keep your field technicians motivated during the slow season.
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Last modified: August 14, 2019
