Best Practices for Hiring Field Service Technicians

If you want a successful field service organization, it requires a lot of parts to come together: 

Above all that, though, you need good people. In short? You need to find and recruit the best field service technicians possible. 

But how do you do that? 

1. Define What You Want in a Field Service Technician 

This is a crucial first step that some field service organizations skip over, which can make the rest of the process a challenge. Essentially: what core skills and aptitudes does a field service tech in your organization need? Most companies set a goal of “He/she needs everything!” but that, oftentimes, isn’t realistic. The person may not exist. So think about what is most important. 

Do you want someone with: 

Because each field service organization is different and operates according to different models and brand guidelines, what you need is very different than what a competitor might need. Take some time and define what an ideal hire would look like. If you have that sketched out, the next steps become easier. 

2. Use Word of Mouth  

By some estimates, 70-80% of jobs are acquired through networking. Begin with your existing field service technicians, and/or anyone you’ve worked or contracted with in the past. Do they know people who would be good fits? Have they worked with others they were impressed by? Getting candidates who are already known to people you trust (your current workers) is much more effective than simply cold-posting jobs and getting resumes without context. Word of mouth should be your first major strategy. That said… 

3. Post the Job Online and Use Social Media  

Use popular recruiting sites such as Indeed, Monster, LinkedIn; also use niche sites for your area and industry. Use social media, especially Facebook (where people’s real connections tend to reside) and LinkedIn (which people associate with job searches). Have your current employees post about openings; this is a form of employee advocacy, which tends to be better-received than traditional posting or marketing efforts. 

4. Make Your Website Easy to Navigate from Any Device, Especially around Careers 

Many companies miss the boat here, but it’s important to have your ‘Careers’ section be: 

If people can’t find your Careers section, they’ll depart your website without applying. Right there, you lost a potentially good candidate. 

5. Make the Process as Easy as Possible 

In Step 1, you determined what qualities you need from this new hire field service technician. Design the application process around learning about those qualities. Many companies use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), which requires candidates to fill out dozens of boxes about their personal information and past jobs. While that can be helpful for you to see, it’s also been shown to turn off truly qualified candidates for any job (too much busy work). If you know the skills you want in your field service technicians, then: 

That’s it. Keep it simple. 

What other ideas have you used to recruit and hire the best field service technicians for your organization?