Reinventing Service Technician Training with Gen AI

Getting new technicians up to speed shouldn’t take forever. If you’re relying on old-school training methods, you’re wasting time and money—and straining your best people. It’s time to rethink how you train your team.

Implementing generative AI (Gen AI) into your training processes can help you reduce training costs, get your new hires onboarded faster, and keep your team running efficiently.

Why current training methods aren’t working

The traditional methods many field service organizations rely on often fall short. Whether it’s the cost, the time required, or the strain it puts on your expert techs, these approaches can hinder rather than help your team’s development. Let’s take a closer look at why these methods aren’t working:

Time-consuming

Training takes time—time that you might not have. It can take several months to a year for a new technician to be fully prepared to handle tasks independently.

Imagine trying to bring a new hire up to speed on complex electrical diagnostics in the middle of a busy season. The disruption to daily operations can be significant, delaying when new technicians become fully productive members of your team.

Training costs

New hires require significant investment in training to reach the competency levels of their more experienced counterparts, which can strain budgets.

Beyond the obvious costs of training materials and programs, there are hidden expenses to consider. The time spent on training is time away from the field, affecting productivity and potentially leading to delayed service for your customers. These costs can quickly add up, making it challenging to balance training needs with budget constraints.

Draining on your experts

Your most experienced technicians often shoulder the training burden. While their expertise is invaluable, pulling them away from their regular duties to train others can strain your team. Not only does this impact their productivity, but it can also lead to frustration as they juggle their work with the added burden of training.

Using Gen AI to train your technicians

Bringing new technicians up to speed quickly and efficiently isn’t easy, but this is where Gen AI can make a real difference. Gen AI can accelerate the onboarding process for new technicians by providing AI-powered troubleshooting and guidance. These tools help reduce the time it takes for new hires to become competent in their roles.

This means your new techs can learn at their own pace and in real-world situations without constantly needing to rely on more experienced colleagues, freeing up valuable time and resources across your team. Here are three ways Gen AI can improve your training processes.

Faster onboarding

Training technicians is a perennial challenge in field service. The faster new technicians reach independence and competence, the quicker they can support your company’s growth and success. Gen AI tools can speed up the onboarding process by giving new hires access to an expert resource that can answer any service question at any time.

Gen AI accelerates the training process for new technicians, significantly reducing the time it takes them to become competent in their roles. For instance, instead of waiting for a supervisor to explain how to troubleshoot a faulty circuit, a new hire can quickly access that information through an AI-powered interface.

This training for technicians is crucial for reducing the learning curve and enhancing job performance, making support as accessible as consulting a seasoned expert beside them.

Give your experts back their time

Your expert technicians play an important role in driving your business’s revenue. Their time is incredibly valuable, not just for solving complex issues but for driving profitability. When these seasoned pros are tied up answering basic questions or training new technicians, they’re not out in the field generating revenue.

For example, if your top technician spends half their day answering questions about routine tasks like calibrating equipment, that’s half a day of lost revenue opportunities.

Instead of asking the experts, new technicians can take their questions straight to a Gen AI tool. By acting as a first line of support, Gen AI allows your expert technicians to focus on more complex issues that require their specialized skills.

This not only improves the efficiency of your team but also reduces the likelihood of burnout among your top techs. Instead of spending their days answering basic questions, they can dedicate their time to solving critical problems and improving service quality, ensuring that their skills are used where they can have the most impact.

Better access to knowledge

One of the biggest challenges for any technician is accessing the right information when they need it.

Imagine trying to get familiar with the 100s of service bulletins, operator manuals, and other service documentation your company has accumulated. That’s the challenge that most new hires experience during their first few weeks.

Gen AI tools can simplify this by providing an AI-powered interface where technicians can ask questions and receive immediate, accurate answers. No more digging through manuals or trying various keyword searches—everything they need is at their fingertips.

Unlocking Gen AI with Service AIdvisor

Service AIdvisor brings Gen AI into your training program in the simplest way possible—through an intuitive chat interface that’s easy for your teams to access.

Powered by the latest in Gen AI, machine learning, and natural language processing, Service AIdvisor offers real-time guidance and expert troubleshooting that helps new technicians become competent and self-sufficient faster. Whether they’re in the field or on the go, even without internet access, your new hires can quickly get the guidance they need.

With Service AIdvisor, you can speed up onboarding, reduce the burden on your expert technicians, and ensure essential knowledge is easily accessible. Get started with a no-risk Proof of Value today.