How to Keep New Field Service Technicians Engaged

By Carolyn Krokus, contributor to 365 Business Tips.

A big part of keeping your new field service technicians engaged is by setting them up with the right tools and resources. The goal is to enable them to learn and set themselves up for success.

Starting Out Right

Keeping new team members engaged will take more than just putting them through a generic training program and hoping they do well. You’re going to need to walk them through the process and be open to their feedback about their personal onboarding experience.

Why is this so important? Keeping your team members engaged increases profitability and decreases turnover. For example, 49% of millennials say they want a better onboarding process. By understanding your new employees’ professional needs and doing your best to support them, your team will end up being more resilient.

The best way to build employee engagement is to begin the day you present them with their offer letter.

Make an Exciting Introduction to the Team

One thing to avoid is bringing new hires on without officially introducing them to the team.

If you can manage it, a more fun welcome activity outside of the office with other colleagues is an opportunity to shake off the nerves and meet people in a more casual setting. Giving new hires a ‘wow’ welcome will give them a positive taste of the company culture.

When work starts to pick up, this is something the new hires can look back on to help them stay motivated and they will be more familiar with their workmates.

Onboarding: More Than Just Training

Onboarding your new hires is the next step. Before you jump into it, give them some time to get settled in with their new equipment and workplace.

An impressive onboarding process has the power to improve your employee retention rate. The best way to do this is by creating an outline or timeline that will keep your new team member informed of the process. This will ensure that each new hire will be following the same plan and receiving consistent training.

Initially, training should go over the company’s mission and values along with information on company structure and team culture. Go above and beyond to start the employee off on a positive note.

Answer Their Questions

After they’ve been completely onboarded, you should check in with them regularly to answer any questions that might come up.

Once they’ve finished their first job or project, you should be providing them quick feedback to set expectations. This will either course-correct your new hires if they’re not up to speed or encourage them if they’re doing everything right

Make a Great First Impression

Hiring managers should make a point to keep the onboarding process as exciting as possible.

Aside from the recruitment process and their interview, this is their first impression of the company.

Instead of sending an offer email, consider calling them with the exciting news. Following up with the personal touch of a call will ensure they feel welcome and aware of the incoming offer letter. This is also a good time to share information on the next steps.

Assign a Point of Contact

Since hires may be nervous before starting their new job, it’s important to give them a point of contact they may communicate with prior to their first day at work. This will help them know exactly who to address their questions to instead of feeling left in the dark.

Introducing new hires to relevant resources gives the impression that the company is welcoming and ready for their team addition. It also gives new hires comfort knowing that people are aware of their new employment and available to answer questions or address concerns.

Another way for the company to make a positive first impression is by bringing employees into an environment that is equipped with everything they need to excel. Prior to the first day, make it an absolute priority to prepare the new hire’s tools, training materials, vehicle (if applicable), and supplies to make sure everything will run smoothly.

Give and Get Feedback

Management should treat new team members’ feedback like their own report card. Set aside some time to allow new hires to give feedback on how they feel their employee onboarding process is going.

Early feedback can prevent new hire failure and drive employee proficiency. Set up a casual meeting and ask how they feel about their role and their performance.

Schedule Check-ins

After your initial conversation regarding feedback, it’s important to check-in regularly. During onboarding, new hires experience an immense amount of information directed at them. Many managers would like to hope that their new hires will remember everything, but this just isn’t always the case.

Having a good attitude while providing feedback to new hires during their first few months is a great way to engage employees.

Encourage Professional Growth

You should want to help your new hires reach their career goals as much as they do. Ask your new hires how they want to grow professionally and help them set achievable goals.

You should also include goals that will encourage employees to help them get where they want to go. Depending on the job role, a personal development budget might be worth it for your company. This way your new hires and current employees can be actively learning and developing their skillset through courses and training. Setting a budget for personal development will make your new employees feel self-motivated and confident that the company encourages growth.

New hires will have an idea of what they want to do, and you should help them create a path. As a leader, you’re able to use your experience to steer them in the right direction.

If they feel like they’re not being challenged, the risk is that they may become bored and look elsewhere.

Have Fun!

Last but not least, make it fun! Having business outings like happy hours and networking with colleagues is known to increase productivity and enhance employee satisfaction.

Work is stressful enough, so keep new employees enthusiastic by having activities to look forward to as a team. This will also help your new hire get to know some of the current employees. If you want to save money, you can always get your employees together by doing volunteer work. Give back to the community by participating in local events, like beach or park clean-ups.

In Conclusion

There are many positive effects of engaging new hires. The hires will become happier and more loyal employees. Encourage managers onboarding new hires to treat them how they wish they would have been treated.

Leaders should continually strive to improve the ways they engage with new hires in the office. Employee engagement can do wonders for your organization and your team members, so begin inspiring their participation and feedback the day your new hires get their offer.

Want to learn about how to manage and grow your company using field service software? Book a free, private demo of Vonigo.