I recently spoke to a large consumer products manufacturer about their field service challenges. I was surprised to learn that at any given time they have 100,000 open service tickets in the US alone.
As in any field service operation, the goal is to match the skill level of a dispatched technician with the complexity of the customer’s problem. More complex issues should be routed to a more senior technician (who is more expensive), while simpler issues can be routed to a more junior technician (who is less expensive).
The challenge this manufacturer faces is that there simply are not enough contract technicians on the market to execute this simple strategy. As a result, they are forced to dispatch expensive senior techs to solve problems that an inexpensive junior tech could address.
Many companies with large field service operations are in the same situation. It’s compounded by the fact many companies are fishing from the same pool of skilled contract labor. That pool is much smaller when it must include contractors who have workers’ compensation or general liability insurance; without it, many companies do not consider those workers “qualified” even if they have the technical skills to solve their customers’ issues.
1099Policy expands the qualified labor pool by ensuring that every contractor secures the level of coverage that contracting entities specify at the time of their assignment. By doing this, contractors who would otherwise be considered unqualified due to their lack of insurance become qualified when they are sourced through online labor platforms.
Solving the skilled labor shortage in America will require significant investment and focus on multiple fronts. But moving previously uninsured workers into the qualified labor pool moves the needle on solving contracting entities’ staffing challenges.
