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Why can't I see?


Cynics may say that they just don't give a crap, I have a really hard time with that statement. Although it sometimes becomes difficult to explain how a worker can be walking to the service calls repair and stumble right past other obvious issues. Could my lifelong assumption that "everybody wants to do the right thing" finally met its match? As with many of you I have struggled to solve this riddle, here are some perspectives through different lenses:



Insecurity (reinforced by weak company culture) | regardless of the workers experience they will run across conditions which are out of their wheelhouse. Those organizations which encourage questions and embrace failure will yield stronger workers.  You should sincerely reflect on your culture to ensure it is positioned to support your workers in every capacity.



Time |  we are in the service business to make money, and depending upon the contract and client sometimes time pressures will influence the decision process.  The absolute best field results will come from high levels of focus by the worker on the value they are creating for our clients. Time should not be a factor for the service call, instead should be a point of reflection and reviewed during service performance analysis.



Knowledge |  when I started in the field I was always taught to look at the entire site.  So many things are interconnected, especially with mechanical and electrical systems. These points of dynamic integration, which when orchestrated properly can really make a location "sing", are only getting more complex. Take every opportunity to encourage your workers to think holistically when formulating service responses.



With all that said, it could boil down to an individual's desire to give the bare minimum required to maintain their employment.  If that's the case how unfortunate for both our clients and workers. When was the last time you spent time in the field?  It's amazing how clear things become when you descend from the clouds and experience what is going on at ground level.



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Next post:  changing workforce

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