The fourth industrial revolution is in full force and with it, both the construction and utilities industries are seeing rapid changes in processes. From automation technologies in construction and cloud-based collaboration tools to deep fiber deployment and digital twins for water management, the pace of change is almost jarring.
Most agree that industry evolution is being driven by technological advancement and as technology changes, company policies, best practice and legislation all change too. Ensuring your field technicians and engineers are up to speed on these rapid changes requires training that can be deployed quickly, accessed easily and completed efficiently.
The need for fast and flexible training has never been greater and with a competitive market, the battle is on to recruit and retain the best talent. As a recent Deloitte report on talent in the utility industry highlighted, utility companies, now more than ever, need employees who can “adapt to change” if they are to stay competitive in the future.
This adaptation is only possible when your employees have easy access to the right kind of training, that is, training which is dynamic, relevant, and up to the minute.
The construction industry is facing similar issues. The World Economic Forum’s action plan to address the industry’s talent gap, in light of rapid technological changes, lists “fostering employee development and continuous learning” as one of its 12 steps.
The need is clear: your field technicians and engineers need continuous learning opportunities presented to them in an easily digestible format, so rather than taking away precious time from their day-to-day tasks, this learning supports their daily work.
The benefits of providing fast and flexible training to your field technicians and engineers are substantial. According to the Service Council, first-time fix rates in field service jobs hover at around 77%. This means almost one in 4 tasks requires a repeat visit from a field technician or engineer, significantly cutting into a company’s profit margins. Faster learning on the job means errors are picked up sooner, ultimately leading to higher first-time fix rates and a significant boost to profits.
It isn’t just your bottom line that stands to benefit, but your reputation too. Your technicians are the public face of your company. If they can get the job done quickly and effectively that says a lot about your company. In fact, a recent customer survey revealed that more than half of customers were left with a more positive opinion of a company after a service visit.
You already have a clear idea of what your standard of service should be. An improved training experience for your field technicians and engineers is about upholding this standard irrespective of what technological, legislative or organizational changes arise.
Now to the task of deploying your fast and flexible training, so that your workforce are ever-ready to handle:
As we mentioned earlier, this requires the quick deployment of new training, easy access to said training, and efficiency in completion, in terms of time to competency.
On.Board is designed to help with each of these 3 aspects:
You don’t need an IT expert to create your own tailored training program via On.Board due to our user-friendly builder interface. This makes it quick and easy to create effective learning modules, allowing you to put together question forms, embed online resources and videos, upload documents and images, and create customized quizzes.
To deploy your training program across your entire workforce is as simple as a few clicks. What’s more, you can amend existing training modules that have already been deployed, enabling up to the minute changes.
Every aspect of your training program, from updated guidance on new policies or practices to on-the-job training activities, is securely stored and disseminated from one central platform hosted on the Cloud. This saves your company resources at a local level but also means your field technicians and engineers can access their training from any digital device, anywhere, any time.
Efficient training ensures your field technicians and engineers get up to speed as quickly possible, so your customers don’t experience a drop in service level as new technology, methods or guidance come into force. This is made possible via training that translates knowledge into application.
Training activities built using On.Board place theory in the context of everyday tasks, which makes new or unfamiliar practices or processes easier to pick up and retain for hands-on learners.
For example:
A water utility technician is assigned the task of installing a new kind of leak sensor recently rolled out across the company’s network. An On.Board training activity prompts the technician to consider how they will carry out the installation before they begin.
Photographic evidence of the task in progress and on completion are uploaded, after which the technician is once again prompted to reflect on the task, highlighting any challenges they faced installing the new sensor.
This entire training activity is then verified by their technical coach, who receives instant notification of its completion.
Timely verification of completed training activities by a technical coach ensures any issues around compliance, efficiency, and safety are picked up sooner rather than later. Technical coaches are able to provide digital feedback in the context of a specific task resulting in more effective learning.
This feedback also gives coaches the opportunity to share their own experiences with less experienced technicians and engineers, thus improving speed to competency by tapping into undocumented knowledge with the company.
Managers can easily track the progress of their field technicians’ or engineers’ training and the performance of their coaches in supporting them with digital feedback using On.Board’s reporting feature.
Everyone involved in the training program at every level, technician, coach, and manager, accesses the same consistent, accurate, and up to date content via On.Board. The result is a more streamlined, effective training program.
To keep up with the pace of change in your industry, ensure you can adapt and expand your training program just as quickly with On.Board. Request your free demo here.
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