After coming off of a week of stimulating conversation in the Field Service medical world, it was the aging workforce and talent gap that stole the show. This “silver tsunami,” as someone so eloquently put it, is getting the attention from Service Organizations worldwide as related training gaps in their workforce exposes business continuity risk. The good news is, now that Service leaders are finally getting a seat at their executive tables, this challenge is being addressed by Human Resources and Operations Teams alike.

Companies are finding innovative and engaging ways to close the knowledge gap by using technology that is already widely available (and expected) by younger generations. For example, they are using YouTube to post internal training videos captured with their GoPro cameras. While some balked at this idea, practically hearing their compliance officers’ concerns in their ears, others found this to be a viable solution that would be easy to implement. Other companies found that hiring back retired workforce as part time or consultant-type employees also served as an interim solution while they onboarded or ramped up other employees into the role. But this still doesn’t solve the “tribal knowledge,” that by and large lives in the heads of your seasoned veterans.

To capture this information, companies are investing in company portals or searchable knowledge bases in the cloud, where content can be segmented by articles, categories and tagged with relevant information, while still passing security standards.

Many efficiencies can be gained by documenting and centralizing standard operating procedures into a repository where information can be queried on-demand in a moment of need. Not to mention, modeling successful behavior and rewarding it through employee engagement programs can also reinforce your company’s commitment to career advancement and workforce continuity.

companies who invested in internship programs or even Vo Tech schools were able to nurture students longer and see quicker returns on these next gen leaders.

Another consistent motif brought up in conversation was the hidden cost of turnover. Companies found that hiring college graduates yielded a smaller ROI as a consequence of student debt and their continuous search for higher paying jobs that resulted in job hopping. Instead, companies who invested in internship programs or even Vo Tech schools were able to nurture students longer and see quicker returns on these next gen leaders.

Service leaders are gaining stronger recognition for driving service revenue within their organizations. But without the proper career advancement, training and workforce continuity programs, the institutional knowledge that drives customer service and satisfaction will be as quick to leave your company as the folks who retire.