Battle the talent shortage with remote after-sales service

What brought on the tech talent shortage

Businesses across various parts of the technology sector are currently struggling to find skilled talent.

This is due to several reasons, but a key factor is a mismatch between the skills needed by employers and the skills offered by candidates.

Constant technological advancements lead to a rapidly changing demand for skills. In fact, the average half-life of technology-related skills today is less than five years — meaning that half of what employees know now will be obsolete by 2029.

At the same time, we’re confronted with an aging workforce. As today’s employees retire, fewer people are entering the workforce due to a global decline in birth rates.

Another issue is that certain groups of potential skilled workers are excluded from the labor market. For instance, a lack of childcare often prevents parents — who may possess the sought-after skills and experience — from working full-time.

In addition, women, people from the BIPOC community, and people with disabilities are systematically underrepresented in technology-related fields. This means that companies are missing out on a sizeable pool of untapped talent.

Read more: The IT skills gap, explained (article)

What this means for technical after-sales service

Providing reliable after-sales service is crucial for the success of many companies in technological fields like original equipment manufacturing (OEM). Excellent customer service is the most important factor for 83% of customers when making purchase decisions. And dissatisfactory customer service costs U.S. businesses more than USD 62 billion per year.

However, meeting customer demands can be difficult in the face of a talent shortage. For instance, 83% of customers expect an immediate response when contacting your company. Yet, responding to an incoming service request may take longer if your service team is understaffed.

And when your team members experience burnout from being overworked and decide to leave their jobs, this exacerbates the problem, creating a vicious cycle.

Plus, with technology constantly evolving, you need to ensure your team isn’t left behind. But employee training takes time and can be expensive, so this can become an additional challenge.

Three ways to overcome the talent shortage in after-sales service

#1 Create a modern, flexible workplace

An engaging workplace is key to attracting new talent and retaining existing employees. Here’s how you establish one.

Work with the latest technology

Tech professionals across all generations, from Boomers to Gen Z, love using new technology. They get excited about the latest gadgets, both at home and at work. So, having to deal with outdated tech at work can lower their morale, especially if they’re already used to working with more advanced tools.

By investing in the latest technology, such as augmented and mixed reality, you keep your facilities up to date. At the same time, you create an interesting workplace that engages your current employees and attracts new talent.

Plus, you can use technology to streamline your team’s day-to-day work. For instance, using automation technology and AI for repetitive, tedious tasks frees up your employees for more critical, value-added activities. This helps avoid boredom and fatigue at the workplace.

Enable remote work

Remote work is another key lever to creating an attractive workplace. In fact, a staggering 98% of employees want to work remotely at least some of the time.

Previously, after-sales service was associated with manual on-site troubleshooting — there was no way for service technicians to work from home. But things have changed.

With remote access technology, experts can connect to customers’ machines and solve issues without needing to be on site. AR assistance makes it possible to guide customers through complex troubleshooting processes remotely. Some AR solutions even include real-time captions and translation which eliminate language barriers, making it easy for your team to communicate with customers worldwide. 

By enabling remote work, you gain access to a much larger pool of technical service experts. The increased flexibility attracts employees who need to balance work and family responsibilities. And by making it possible to work from anywhere, in any language, you can recruit talent on a global scale.  

Read more: Supporting gender equity with flexible remote work (article)

#2 Tap into your employees’ full potential

Since new skilled employees are hard to find, focus on those already in your workforce. Below are some tips for realizing their full potential.

Save time by reducing travel

In the face of a talent shortage, it’s crucial to allocate your employees’ working hours wisely.

Traditionally, service technicians spend a lot of their time on the road. They might travel hundreds of miles to troubleshoot a customer’s machine, and if the machine requires a spare part or additional expertise, they’ll need to make the same trip again.

With remote technology, technicians can solve problems without needing to travel. For instance, they can remotely access a faulty machine and appraise the issue. Some problems can be solved directly using remote access, while others require physical intervention. In this case, technicians can guide on-site workers through the troubleshooting process remotely via AR-enhanced video calls.

That means they can use the time otherwise spent traveling to respond to customers immediately, handle more service cases, and ultimately provide a better customer experience.

Read more: Coffee machine maker Cimbali uses TeamViewer to cut travel costs and boost efficiency (case study)

Reduce stress and burnout

Think about what your team needs to be happy and healthy at work.

According to the American Psychological Association, workers who regularly interact with customers are at a high risk of fatigue, cognitive weariness, and emotional exhaustion. These are typical symptoms of burnout, a leading cause of employee turnover.

With remote technology for after-sales service, you can create a work environment that reduces the risk of burnout.

For one, by reducing travel, you give your technicians more time to work productively. If they can get more done during business hours, they’re less likely to have to stay late or work on their days off, which is a common cause of workplace stress.

Flexible hours and the option to work from home also make it easier for employees to balance work with parenting or other caregiving responsibilities. Exhaustion and burnout are common among parents, so it’s important to give them the flexibility they need.

Streamline customer interactions

Finally, make sure to simplify your technicians’ work processes to help them use their time productively. Customer interactions are a great place to start.

Look for a platform that covers all customer touchpoints and creates a consistent service experience. For instance, this platform should allow customers to easily create a ticket and attach all the technical details your team needs. Ideally, your team can connect with them directly through the ticket — either via remote access or an AR video call.

Or, you can provide customers with interactive AR workflows that empower them to solve common issues themselves.

This helps your team work more efficiently, shortening wait times and reducing customer frustration. Plus, you avoid the constant back-and-forth of calls and emails, which frees up your technicians’ time for more critical tasks.

Read more: Driving service efficiency with remote technology (eBook)

#3 Train employees on the job  

Providing continuous training not only helps you fill skills gaps in your company but also boosts employee retention. Here are a few things to consider.

Provide better training  

According to McKinsey, tech companies that invest heavily in learning and development retain more employees than those that don’t. Plus, on-the-job training is a great way to become more inclusive of people with non-traditional academic backgrounds. This gives you access to more brainpower and helps you build a more diverse workforce.

But it’s not just about offering training — how you deliver it matters, as well.

Your service experts need to fully understand the machinery they support. That means their training materials need to be up to date, accessible, and easy to understand. Printed manuals and classroom sessions don’t always meet these requirements.

That’s why organizations are adopting immersive AR technology for employee training. These technologies include 3D visualization, interactive instructions, and immediate feedback, which help you create an easy-to-follow training experience.

Read more: How augmented reality is redefining training (infographic)

Encourage learning and knowledge sharing

Immersive AR guidance creates an environment that accommodates individual learning styles and the fact that each employee learns at a different pace.

With interactive step-by-step instructions, you can empower your service technicians to undergo training independently, using a mobile device or smart glasses.

Or you can enable them to receive real-time guidance from experts anywhere in the world with AR remote assistance.

Plus, you can use remote technology to facilitate knowledge sharing within your team.

For instance, when a newer employee needs help fixing a customer’s machine, they can connect with their colleagues using see-what-I-see technology. By sharing their view of the machine, they can troubleshoot together, drawing from their colleagues’ knowledge and experience.