December 19, 2025 Why Retention Is Critical for Small Field Service Firms

Employee retention is a literal survival mechanism that determines whether small field service operators can keep their doors open tomorrow.

By Curtis Forbes

Imagine a scenario where an injection molding unit goes down at 3 a.m. in a manufacturing plant, but the only technician a field service operator could call quit the day before. With no backup available, the entire production line stays dark.

For small field service operators, a crisis like this challenges their ability to stay alive. Enterprise companies can easily find and dispatch another operator from their regional roster within hours. In the face of mass turnover, they can absorb the financial shock through redundancies and capital reserves. But smaller companies don’t have that same luxury.

The technician talent shortage has a bigger impact on smaller field service operators than on larger enterprises, making them more vulnerable to operational failure. Retaining field service workers turns from a way to save on recruitment costs into a matter of survival.

Why field service talent is so hard to retain

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 172,000 people quit jobs in manufacturing in August 2025. Another 146,000 left construction and 130,000 exited roles in transportation, warehousing, and utilities. But these numbers only tell part of the retention story.

Veteran field service workers are aging out of the workforce, their retirement causing a massive wave of departures in construction and manufacturing. Fewer skilled workers are available to fill open roles, and the institutional knowledge that field service experts developed over decades of experience in the field leaves the workforce with them.

For current field service workers, the long hours and heavy workload pave the way for burnout. They travel to customers on-site at all times of day and night, some in remote or unfamiliar locations. When they arrive, they work in isolation to figure out complex problems, pushing through harsh environmental and weather conditions, and handling heavy machinery to get the job done.

The work is challenging, but the disconnect gets worse with a lack of recognition. Data from Gallup shows that only 11% of surveyed manufacturing employees say their organization has a formal employee recognition program. Demanding work conditions with no support usually means high turnover, and small field service operators disproportionately face the consequences.

The cost of technician turnover

Replacing talent is expensive. Turnover can cost small field service operators tens of thousands of dollars in direct costs, including advertising, recruiting, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and certifying. Not to mention the cost of productivity lulls as the new hire gets up to speed. By SHRM’s estimates, it can cost anywhere from 50%-200% of their salary to replace an employee.

The more technicians field service operators lose, the harder it becomes to fulfill service contracts. Customers lose trust when there’s no technician available to maintain or fix their expensive equipment, and they don’t hesitate to demand refunds or find other operators. In one fell swoop, companies permanently lose major clients, and cash flow comes to a halt.

Not all costs have line items. The loss of morale, stress of burnout, and reduced service capacity all have a massive impact, not just on finances, but on the ability to retain enough staff to stay open.

Retention as a survival strategy

With smaller margins, fewer backup technicians, and thinner cushions to fall back on, small field service operators that hemorrhage employees are at risk of permanent operational failure. Strong employee retention strategies allow small operators to bridge the survival gap and compete with larger companies.

In our recent survey, 46% of workers said they’ve already quit jobs where they felt disconnected and unsupported. Compensation is important to job satisfaction, but 36% say they value regular appreciation and feedback. The numbers diverge across generations, as 47% of Gen Z and 43% of Millennials crave recognition, while only 14% of boomers do.

Personalized retention strategies that cater to workers’ professional and personal lives are key to attracting and retaining top talent, especially as younger generations enter the workforce. Meaningful benefits that employees actually want make them feel cared for and let field service workers, who typically work alone, feel more connected and less likely to leave.

Keeping field service workers engaged

An engaged workforce is a strong foundation for every business. One-size-fits-all benefits aren’t enough to keep employees truly engaged, and may instead convince them to jump at a better opportunity when it arrives. Engagement is essential to retention, and small field service operators can’t afford to ignore it.

Two tactics that can help boost engagement and retention are leveraging predictive analytics and offering personalized benefits.

Use predictive analytics to spot disengagement early
Manufacturers rely on data and analytics to optimize the supply chain, so why not use them to optimize their workforce? Employee data can clue in leaders to their level of satisfaction. By connecting the data within scheduling tools, payroll systems, communication channels, employee surveys, and other sources, small field service operators can glean insights into who’s thriving and who’s at the brink of burnout.

Using predictive analytics, operators can spot these trends in the data and draw actionable conclusions that help preserve their field service workforce. With the right tools, operators can generate risk profiles that highlight which employees need additional support and the best ways to provide it.

Provide personalized benefits to improve engagement
This data also provides insight into what benefits employees actually find meaningful. The same MustardHub survey also found that 53% of surveyed employees say life-aligned support (e.g., student debt help and elder care) is very meaningful and makes them feel seen. For them, that’s even more important than traditional recognition programs and even a sense of purpose in work.

By extension, employees welcome targeted intervention programs that address burnout early and directly. About 59% of respondents reported that they’re open to leaders reaching out when they see signs of approaching burnout. They interpret this as care, which can help them feel more engaged.

Employee retention is essential for survival

For small field service operators in manufacturing and construction, employee retention is the difference between fulfilling tomorrow’s service calls and permanently shutting their doors. Larger operators have the resources to weather mass turnover, but small companies with fewer technicians and little to no reserves face operational failure.

Rather than trying to compete with enterprise businesses, small field service operators can make employee retention their competitive advantage by identifying burnout patterns and addressing them before they cause bigger problems. With predictive analytics and a pool of available employee data, small operators have the information they need to retain skilled talent and address disengagement before it even happens.

About the Author:
Curtis Forbes is the founder and CEO of MustardHub, a workforce engagement platform that helps companies reduce turnover, build stronger cultures, and unlock predictive insights into employee well-being. A serial entrepreneur with a background in both technology startups and education, Curtis previously built and scaled Forbes Music Company and later expanded into a roll-up portfolio of education businesses before exiting in 2025.

With more than two decades of experience leading distributed teams, he has seen firsthand how trust, recognition, and flexible support systems shape whether people stay and thrive, or burn out and leave. At MustardHub, he is pioneering approaches to employee engagement, predictive workforce insights, and portable benefits that align with the realities of modern work. Outside of work, Curtis stays active in music, enjoys traveling, and advocates for social causes, particularly initiatives supporting foster youth in Central Texas.

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