1. Automated document generation improves operational efficiency 

With findings from a Zapier study highlighting that a significant portion of workers spend hours daily on data-related tasks, the whitepaper underscores the critical need for document automation. By adopting automated document generation, organizations can save resources, minimize errors, and enhance productivity. 

2. Analysis of Microsoft and third-party tools 

The paper presents a guideline for using Microsoft’s native tools versus third-party solutions for document generation. While Microsoft tools offer the advantage of having one supplier, potentially reducing compatibility issues, they may lack the specialization and ease of use provided by third-party solutions specifically designed for document automation on Power Platform. 

3. Advantages of third-party add-ons 

Third-party add-ons bring customization, advanced features, scalability, rapid deployment, and dedicated support to the table. These solutions are built to address the evolving and complex needs of businesses, providing advanced functionalities that enhance Microsoft’s native options. 

4. Key considerations when choosing a solution  

The whitepaper emphasizes the importance of considering factors such as the procurement process, data storage and handling, additional data management costs, and potential performance issues when selecting a document generation solution. These considerations are vital for aligning with regulatory requirements, ensuring cost-effectiveness, and achieving desired operational efficiencies. 

5. Highlight on Resco Docs+ 

Among the third-party solutions, Resco Docs+ stands out for its integrated Document designer, offering a no-code, point-and-click environment for template creation. Its performance, ease of use, and mobile application compatibility make it an ideal choice for organizations seeking reliable and complex document generation capabilities. 

In conclusion, the whitepaper serves as a comprehensive guide for organizations navigating the complexities of document generation on the Power Platform. By evaluating the pros and cons of Microsoft and third-party tools and considering essential selection criteria, businesses can make informed decisions that will aid them in their document automation efforts. 

Download the whitepaper

Príspevok Document generation in Microsoft Power Platform [5 key takeaways from the latest whitepaper]   zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Fieldworkers rely on good tools for data collection, and Resco’s Inspections+ and Forms+ are the go-to solutions. But the real challenge isn’t just gathering data – it’s making sense of it. 

Thanks to our partnership with Microsoft, we’ve made this process straightforward. By integrating Resco’s data collection with Microsoft’s visualization tools, we’ve created a streamlined solution for businesses to harness their data effectively. 

This guide breaks down the steps for using Power BI to not just view but truly understand your questionnaire responses. It’s time to move beyond the basics of data collection and tap into the full potential of your information with the power of Power BI. 

Use case: Working with questionnaires in Power BI 

Using sample data from elevator inspections, we create visual reports to identify patterns.  

For instance, filtering inspections by account reveals variations in problematic accounts. Those variations include:

• Asset-specific insights, like identifying recurring issues with specific elevator brand component.
• Analyzing specific time frames, such as comparing season to season.
• Asking why we did fewer inspections this season compared to others
• Visualizing meaningful data to offer valuable insights. 

Technical integration

Importing data into Power BI Desktop: Data extraction 

Let’s start with the actual report.  Begin by importing data from your backend using the “Get Data” option. This connection serves as the foundation for your Power BI report, allowing you to pull in data from sources like Dataverse or Salesforce. 

Entity selection 

You don’t have to import the whole organization. Select only the relevant entities that you intend to visualize in your report. Once you have selected all the entities that you need, click Transform data. This imports the entities and starts Power Query Editor right away. 

Data transformation and cleaning 

Data refinement 

Use the Power Query Editor to clean up your data. This involves removing unnecessary columns and shaping the data to match your reporting needs. In this use case, unnecessary columns can be questionnaires we don’t want to visualize or questionnaires with serialized answers columns that are empty. Cleaning your data ensures that only essential information is included in your report.  

Parsing JSON 

After you are finished with data cleaning, create a new query (table) that contains only the questionnaires you want to visualize. Remove all but the serialized answers column (containing questionnaire responses in JSON) and transform (parse) it. This step is crucial for isolating the key columns that hold the answers you want to visualize. 

Managing relationship model 

Defining relationships 

The Model View is used to set relationships between various tables in the report. That includes a newly created table, like the one where we’ve transformed questionnaire data.  Establish relationships between the different tables in your dataset. These relationships create a unified data structure, allowing you to connect and analyze data across various entities. 

Building the report (final step) 

Creating visualizations 

In this phase, your data is ready to be visualized. Pick visualizations that convey your data insights the best. You can choose from many visualization types. Here is one of the most basic: A card displaying the number of questionnaires collected. You can modify each visualization by editing properties, adding filters, etc.  

Key takeaways

• Resco’s Inspections+ and Forms+ are essential for precise data collection, answering the challenge to derive meaningful insights from massed data 
• Our collaboration with Microsoft enhances this process by integrating Resco’s data collection with Microsoft’s visualization tools, providing a streamlined solution for businesses. 
• This guide briefly explores displaying and interpreting questionnaire responses with Power BI, unlocking your data’s full potential. 
• In our use case, working with questionnaires in Power BI unveils patterns and valuable insights for decision-making based on actual figures. 

Conclusion

Efficiently transforming questionnaire responses into a robust Power BI report empowers data-driven decisions and becomes a catalyst for knowledge acquisition, strategically equipping field workers for inspections and enhancing overall efficiency. This is how data visualization transforms the mobile workforce. 

Explore more with a Power BI deep dive on the Wiki. 

Príspevok A step-by-step guide to visualizing questionnaire responses with Power BI zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Resco Docs+ is a solution natively integrated in Power Apps that allows you to design your template and choose what data to add. It uses a Power Automate connector to automate the creation, sending, and saving of your documents.

Resco Docs+ is fully integrated in Power Platform. This opens the door for you to use all the tools the low-code platform offers, including the latest innovations.

Design your document

First, you need to choose what document you want to create and how it will look.

Resco Docs+ makes it easy to turn your idea into reality with an intuitive drag-and-drop designer.

You can design your document using a header block, a footer block, and grid blocks. Grids ensure that your data won’t overflow and your layout won’t break down. It will stay exactly as you intended. We call this pixel-perfect design.

Choose what data to use

Choose from a list of fields and variables and simply drag them to the document.

Add data from Microsoft Dataverse/Dynamics365 or those collected in the field. Use data from related and unrelated tables.

Take advantage of the rules engine to show or hide parts of the document.

The no-code system makes it easy for all business users to make changes. More complex requests from partners and skilled users can be satisfied with advanced tools.

Automate document generation, sending, and saving

When you are done with the design stage, use Docs+ to generate your document.

For this, you can use a Power Automate workflow. The Resco Report Connector fetches the document template, fills it in with up-to-date data, and generates a document in your preferred format automatically.

Power Automate also lets you set up what will happen with the document. You can either save it on your SharePoint or send it via email.

Need to schedule documents in advance? You can choose when the document will be created. For example, a monthly report can be automatically generated and sent to the stakeholders once a month. A service report can be stored on SharePoint and sent to a customer when the field technician finishes collecting data and hits a dedicated button. And an invoice can be automatically generated when an order lands.

How to try Resco Docs+?

Resco Docs+ works in a Power Platform environment. To use it, you need an appropriate Power App and Power Automate license, along with Resco Docs+ license.

Learn more on Resco Docs+ landing page and read detailed guidance on Resco Docs+ wiki.

Start a free trial and download the two solution packages from our website. Add these packages to your Power App project, and you are ready to go.

Start free trial

Príspevok Improve your business processes with Resco Docs+ on Power Platform zobrazený najskôr Resco.

In this article, we will delve into:

Understanding Power Platform, the democratization of app development

The Microsoft Power Platform is a low-code / no-code platform designed to simplify the application development process.

It makes digital transformation accessible to both tech professionals and business users. By enabling app development without coding, more people can be engaged in transforming their business in less time. This opens a world of new opportunities: any member of an organization can come up with an idea, develop it, and integrate it seamlessly with the existing framework.

How Resco Power Solutions enhance the Power Platform

The best suggestions for digitizing workflows can come from anywhere, not just the front office. They often come from the frontline, where business meets the world.

Frontline workers, always on the move, require efficient tools regardless of where they are: on the rooftop, in the basement or on the outskirts. They can’t afford to use tools that don’t align with their daily tasks. Simply put, workflows need to be tailored to fit their operations.

This is where Resco comes into play.

Resco is the product of 20+ years of experience, accumulating decades of frontline know-how and turning it into software solutions attuned to the needs of mobile workers.

And now, we are bringing the best of it to Power Platform.

Watch Trevor Metcalfe, Resco’s marketing manager for North America, deliver the news live from the Microsoft Power Platform Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada

As a seasoned ISV partner of Microsoft, Resco is built to natively fit Microsoft Business Applications portfolio – whether with Dynamics, Power Platform, or Business Central.

By using our solutions, businesses can satisfy the needs of their frontline workforce quicker, at a lower cost, and make their projects easy to maintain.

Exploring Resco Forms+, Docs+, and Steps+

We proudly present three inter-compatible solutions for Power Platform. Designed as modular building blocks, you can just reach out and use them whenever needed.

Resco Forms+ enables frontline personnel to collect data – from conducting surveys, audits, and inspections, to using guided workflows, to getting customer signatures. Everything can be done seamlessly within Power Apps and Power Pages. You can use simple drag-and-drop tools to make the form align with the needs of frontline workers. This maximizes user adoption, which in turn means higher data quality.

Resco Docs+  combines Dataverse and field data to automatically create invoices, contracts, and reports in PDF or any format you choose. Users can design pixel-perfect document templates in a drag-and-drop editor and use Power Automate to build flows for automatic document creation, data population, and distribution.

Resco Steps+ allows businesses to share knowledge in a simple, accessible form. You can create step-by-step instruction guides with text, images, and videos to prevent errors and speed up onboarding, making them available exactly when and where frontline workers need them.  

Why choose Resco Power Solutions

Let’s look in more detail at how the new solutions can cut your costs, reduce maintenance and pave the way for the future.

Watch Marek Sitar, Resco’s Product Marketing Manager, explain how Resco Solutions for Power Platform work

Use the advantages of Power Platform and the ISV community

Building in the Power Platform ecosystem means you can count on its longevity in futureproofing your projects.

The partner community is one of the biggest competitive advantages of Microsoft, providing a smart solution to almost any of your challenges.

Leverage native integration

With Resco, you can leverage Microsoft licenses and connect through Active Directory. Resco is not only natively integrated with Microsoft architecture but is also a part of the ecosystem it enhances.

Ready-made solution thanks to our focus on customers

Customers have always been our singular focus. Thanks to countless conversations with organizations that rely on hundreds of frontline workers, we know what the industry needs and have designed ready-made solutions for pressing problems.

We implemented the insights of clients working in the most demanding conditions and armed our solutions with advanced features to cater to their needs. Even if you won’t need every feature from the onset, you can take advantage of them as your company grows. Need new features? Deploy them instantly without any additional costs.

Cut time to market and cost to market, increase ROI

Having a ready-to-go, scalable solution means you don’t have to invest your time and resources in building. You can simply start using it.

When using Resco Power Solutions, you can get prototypes ready for testing within weeks, not quarters. This reduces your time-to-market, and consecutively cost-to-market, over a solution built from scratch.

By using fewer resources, your initial threshold for calculating ROI (return on investment) is lower.

Simplify Maintenance

Implement stakeholder suggestions without discarding your existing code. You can even re-use parts of your projects. Not having to maintain custom code lowers the cost of maintaining your whole project and the risks that come with it.

Use the offline mode of Resco mobile app on Power Platform

Resco is well-known for its mobile app with full offline mode. With an advanced sync engine, it is the mobile app of choice for businesses in the most demanding industries.

When offline is needed, you can always use the Resco Mobile App on top of your Power App license. Your users benefit from our offline-first architecture to avoid increased internet traffic/consumption, latency due to shaky reception (even in urban areas), or even shortened battery life.

If you want to learn more, you can visit the Power Solutions landing page, or watch a recording from our Power Platform masterclass webinar.

Príspevok What are the new Resco Power Solutions? zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Resco Steps+ serves as a practical tool for gathering and maintaining knowledge, enabling employees to access work instructions seamlessly and standardize processes. As a reliable helping hand, it empowers users with the information they need at their fingertips.

While the creation process still requires some manual work, a dedicated AI team within resco.Labs has been actively exploring the advancements in AI technology. This has led to an idea for simplifying the process of creating work instruction guides just by leveraging user descriptions.

We talked to Matej Končal, developer, about the process of implementing AI within Steps+ for the generation of work instructions and benefits that comes with it. 

In this article, you will find out: 

• more about the idea of ​​generating guides with AI 
• how it works 
• the benefits of AI generated digital guides 
• what’s next

Simplifying work instructions

The idea to implement AI into Steps+, freeing our customers from the manual creation of work instructions, began during brainstorming sessions by the AI team at resco.Labs. This initiative aims to drive the process to the next level and transform the way work instructions are generated. 

Currently, if a user wants to create a work instruction guide, there are several manual steps that must be followed. However, there is a way to skip these manual steps by integrating AI with Steps+. This can limit many human errors, easily standardize the form of work instructions, and more importantly, it saves a significant amount of time for users, allowing them to focus on more critical tasks. 

How AI generates work instruction guides 

Thanks to this idea, users no longer have to think about how to structure clear and easy-to-understand instructions.

Let’s have a look at how it will appear in practice and generate a guide for the Lockout-Tagout process, a safety method used to ensure that the hazardous equipment is correctly shut off. 

Users simply need to click a single button and provide a description of the information they want the guide to contain. In this case, we are simply requesting a Lockout-Tagout guide consisting of five steps. 

In response, a draft guide is automatically generated, providing a solid foundation.  

Users can then make additional edits, tailoring the guide to their specific needs. This approach empowers users to create an outline in their own words, freeing them from the limitations of standardized structures and supporting a more personalized and flexible guide creation process. 

How is this possible? The foundation lies in the way our guides are stored in a JSON database structure, which allows for flexibility and easy manipulation of the data. Leveraging the power of OpenAI, our AI team is working hard to implement its API, making it an ideal tool for our guide creation process. 

Beyond just user input, this system goes a step further by tapping into ChatGPT’s own extensive knowledge base. This knowledge base acts as a valuable resource, providing plenty of information that the system can draw upon. By accessing this knowledge base, the system can leverage its own “creativity” and generate helpful suggestions. 

Combining user input with ChatGPT’s own knowledge allows for a more comprehensive and insightful guide creation process. The system not only considers the user’s specific instructions but also includes its own understanding and context, resulting in more accurate and valuable suggestions.

This interaction between user input and the ChatGPT’s knowledge base improves the overall guide creation experience, ensuring that the generated guides are informative and tailored to meet the user’s needs. 

More ideas on the way 

Powered by AI, Steps+ saves time, simplifies the creation process, and collaborates with intelligent suggestions. But that’s not all. There is more to look forward to. At Resco, we are continuously exploring additional ways to integrate AI into our products, aiming to further improve customer experiences and simplify their lives. 

Discover Resco Steps+ 

To find out more, visit the Steps+ landing page and start a free trial.

Príspevok Generating work instructions with the power of ChatGPT in Resco Steps+ zobrazený najskôr Resco.

When you want all your employees to be on the same page, you need a communication channel that is easy to reach and understand. Read how Resco uses its own product, Resco Steps+, to communicate the company’s benefits and sales processes to its staff, harvest feedback, and implement improvements.

At Resco, we have recently launched Resco Steps+, a module that lets companies gather knowledge in the field, review it, and publish it. It is available for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.

Resco employees recognized the module’s potential and started using it immediately. We talked with Internal Communication Specialist Slavomir Chovanec and Sales Manager Michal Kubala about how they chose, implemented, adopted, and used Steps+ within their teams.

In this blog, you will learn, how Steps+:

• helped the internal comms team close knowledge gaps
• helped the sales team keep their data tidy
• supported the onboarding of new sales team members

All employees can easily access information

Steps+ were first used in Resco’s internal Resco+ system, which allows employees to claim their benefits and upload receipts for reimbursement. Resco+ is built entirely on the Resco platform and customized for the use case.

The new Resco+ benefits app has brought a need to let people know what they can claim, how to ensure they have uploaded the correct documents, and what the next steps will be.

Everything in one place

At first, Slavomir Chovanec, Internal Communication Specialist, considered putting all the documentation on SharePoint or in a Word document. But when he learned about the benefits of Steps+, he concluded that this module would be a much more effective solution for employees.

“Steps+ not only make it possible to have all documents related to claiming benefits directly in the app itself. You don’t need to leave the benefits app to get the information you need. The guides look nicer and are more user-friendly. They even allow us to collect statistics and feedback,” explains Slavomir.

Thanks to Steps+, we were able to deploy a whole new app and process after just one online company meeting instead of having to do dedicated training with people in the office.

Four guides for two groups 

The Internal Communications department has created four guides for the users of the Resco+ benefits app.

The first two guides are aimed at all users. One contains instructions on how to use the app. The second guide lists the types of benefits that will be reimbursed by Resco – for example courses, trainings, sports cards, etc.

The third and fourth guide are for administrators. They describe the workflow to employees involved in the approvals process. Only users with the right permissions can see them.

Thanks to setting up user roles in Steps+, people see the content relevant to them, specifically. Anyone in HR or administration, even newcomers, can get all the information without needing to ask.

Easy iteration

Slavomir describes the advantages of working with Steps+ to capture and distribute knowledge: “It was very easy to create the guides. My colleagues and I could cooperate and add images, links, PDFs, and videos.”

Tweaking the guides was smooth, too.

“When we wanted to go for another iteration, we simply made a new copy of the whole guide and tinkered with it. It was pleasant to work with different versions of the guide before publishing the final,” Slavomir adds.

Notepad for new ideas

Steps+ makes it very easy to collaborate on creating content. Slavomir’s team took advantage of this feature.

“We are just getting started with the Resco+ benefits app and we have many ideas for the next steps. We asked ourselves, why not brainstorm in the app and use it as a tool to collect ideas? This allows our app admins to keep track of content ideas that will be used in the next application versions.”

Steps+ in CRM help keep the sales data tidy

In Resco, guides are not only used in the benefits app. They have also found their way into the internal CRM, for which we use our own product – Resco Field Sales+.

Before explaining how Steps+ help the sales team, let’s look at how the CRM works. It is Resco’s hub for the entire sales process from lead generation to customer success and retention.

People in four departments rely on the CRM data: the sales department records the entire sales process, the financial department processes invoices and orders, the marketing department provides leads, and the product department gathers data on the use of products by customers and partners.

It is salespeople who enter most of the data into the system. Sales Manager Michal Kubala explains: “In the CRM, we try to keep all the data as tidy as possible because many processes and plans depend on it.”

Setting a basic standard

Why is it so difficult to keep the data up to date? Michal Kubala sees salespeople as individuals with specific personalities. Everyone has a different approach. Some may be super organized, while others might give lower priority to the administrative part.

“CRM is a problematic tool if everyone uses it differently. If at least a basic standard is set, we’ll immediately have more accurate numbers and better data to work with,” Michal adds.

Michal and his colleagues felt a need to create a best practice guide that would explain the process to all salespeople: “We needed a guide that reflects a single point of truth. All salespeople should look there whenever something is unclear.”

At first, they started tinkering with a text document. “We put together a CRM guide in a text form. The problem was that it has been quite text-heavy. Some salespeople were reluctant to look into it. It was on our SharePoint site, and it took time to find where it was kept.”

“Our CEO Andrew Lorraine introduced me to Steps+. We saw it as a way to make our sales manual easier to access and understand,” says Michal.

Onboarding new sales representatives is easier

The sales team started documenting three parts of the sales process that have had the most significant impact – opportunities, quotes, and leads. These have already been transformed into guides. “We want to start working on pricing and licensing as well. Then we’ll collect feedback and see what will be needed.”

“When completing their work, salespeople now know what should go where and what is important. They see warnings for tricky or complex areas of the process. They are provided with tips and tricks on how to work with CRM. It is especially helpful for new salespeople. It’s much easier to onboard them now,” says Michal Kubala.

The plan is to make the entire documentation for CRM reachable from the CRM itself. Individual guides will link to the right places in the CRM. When a user creates a new opportunity, they will see an icon that will open the guide describing opportunities.

The new guides are already boosting the productivity of the whole sales team. On average, our sales teams used to collectively spend about five hours a week on CRM topics, which we’ve now reduced thanks to including Steps+ directly in CRM.

Try Steps+ for yourself

Steps+ can help you fill knowledge gaps in many areas – not only in internal comms and sales, but also in the field.

Our customers and partners are already piloting Steps+ in various scenarios. They appreciate that the text, photos, or videos for the guides can be added by employees, on any mobile device, even with limited or no connection. The guide can then be completed, approved, and published by employees in the Head Office.

If you can imagine Steps+ solving your problem with knowledge gaps caused by an aging workforce, the high cost of onboarding newcomers, or inconsistent use of information in your organization, start a trial for free.

We will be thrilled to help you get the most out of the tribal knowledge.

Príspevok Using digital guides makes internal communication and sales more straightforward zobrazený najskôr Resco.

What is a skills gap?

A “skill gap” is effectively an absence of necessary business skills in your pool of employees, which prevents them from filling in new open positions or fulfilling their current responsibilities.

Often, people incorrectly think that skill gaps only relate to so-called “hard skills”, but the truth is that soft skills are just as important.

However, this article will primarily focus on skill gaps in traditional hard skills, like maintenance and manufacturing.

What causes skills gap?

Skill gaps in the workplace are the result of multiple factors. The COVID pandemic resulted in the 4.9% peak of US jobless unemployment rate in November 2020.

Job loss was most prominent in lower-paid industries, like maintenance, manufacturing, and construction.

Junior and senior workers alike were let go en mass, and despite the pandemic being all but over, many are skeptical of returning to work. This can partially explain the skill gap seen in the industries.

The second issue these industries suffer from is a lack of “fresh blood”.

In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about the so-called “silver tsunami” (sometimes also known as the grave wave) – the aging of the workforce.

The truth of the matter is that maintenance and manufacturing workers aren’t the most attractive career choices.

High school and college attendance is high, but vocational skills have all but been removed from the curriculum.

Due to that fact, finding a qualified new hire as an employer is becoming continually more difficult.

Finally, the third reason behind skill gaps in the workplace is the changes in business needs and technologies we mentioned before.

Thanks to automation, older positions are disappearing, and even hands-on careers like the ones described in this article demand a higher level of computer proficiency.

This is turning out to be an issue, as according to a study by McKinsey & Co., 87% of companies worldwide claim to have skills gaps or expect them in the next few years.

What are the consequences of skills gaps?

There are three main consequences of skill gaps in the workplace that affect a company’s bottom line.

More specifically, these include:

Quality

With fewer people employed and the same amount of work to go around, corners have to be cut somewhere. And oftentimes, these are in the quality department.

In manufacturing, this can tarnish companies’ reputations, lose customers, and decrease profits. In maintenance, it increases the risk of unscheduled downtimes and health and safety violations.

Work Inefficiency

Due to skill gaps, employees regularly need to tackle tasks they’re not trained for. This results in work being slower and of lower quality.

Sometimes, the only way to fulfill a specialized responsibility is through the combined efforts of multiple untrained workers, which only compounds the issue.

Costs

So, if work takes longer to do and employees need to work more, that reflects in your costs. If you want to train your employees to keep them viable, that costs money too.

And finally, thanks to the limited pool of qualified personnel, hiring a trained employee is now more expensive than ever, as they’re in such high demand and you need to outbid your competition.

How to bridge the skills gap

As we mentioned previously, there are two main ways a company can try to bridge its skill gap. Namely, they are:

a) Training

This includes three vital procedures you need to master if you wish to succeed – initial training, reskilling, and upskilling.

Initial training ensures that your latest hires properly grasp the necessary information and effectively contribute to company efforts.

Reskilling and upskilling are the processes responsible for helping your staff evolve past their current roles and either take on more responsibilities or transfer into a new position.

One way to aid these three is through effective collaboration.

However, as the pandemic has shown us, you can’t always count on the possibility of face-to-face explanations. Thankfully, new tech developments mean that you don’t have to.

By leveraging digital assistance tools like work instructions, you can outfit your field technicians and workers with a lifeline to their senior colleagues, which allows them to see step-by-step instructions in real-time.

To that end, it’s also imperative you capture tribal knowledge in case of churn.

If you haven’t heard of it before, it is the culmination of your senior staff’s knowledge regarding best work practices.

Unfortunately, it tends to be limited to the headspace of your more experienced workforce, meaning it leaves with them when they do.

However, it can be a powerful resource for training and onboarding, so you should put in extra effort to get and write down as much of it while you have the chance.

b) Hiring

As we mentioned above, hiring comes with its own set of issues. The financial costs of it are just one of them.

You can try to outbid your competitors for the best employees or offer them a better quality of life to win them over. However, all of that will be in vain if you don’t know what skills you actually need.

That’s where a skill gap analysis comes in.

To do one, you’ll need to identify future work trends for your industry, determine future-ready skills which you’re looking for, and assess your current workforce’s skills.

Once you have a solid idea of what you have and what it is you’re looking for, you’ll be ready to start hiring with the knowledge you won’t pointlessly invest in people and skills you don’t need.

That being said, training should be your main focus. And to help you with it, we created this e-book on the topic of Training a Workforce at a Time of a Global Skill Shortage.

Download it today for free, and prepare yourself and your company for the future.

Príspevok What is a skills gap? zobrazený najskôr Resco.

What is tribal knowledge?

The term tribal knowledge, or tacit knowledge, depicts information, experiences, and skills about operational processes that remain undocumented and vastly inaccessible within the organization. By the definition, it is possessed by an individual or a group and often transfers via word of mouth – not through official communication channels.

An example of tribal knowledge would be a senior technician that has been with a company for fifteen years. During that time, he has collected various nuances about the organization itself and their field of work. It is the guy that knows that specific equipment operates differently in winter and summer or is the only one trained to carry out corrective maintenance when a machine fails. Great to have him – right?

Tacit vs. explicit knowledge: what is the difference?

In simple terms, there are two forms of knowledge in an organization: tacit (tribal knowledge) and explicit knowledge. To improve your knowledge management, it is crucial to know how the knowledge behaves and the differences between them.

Tacit knowledge

Tacit knowledge is one of the most precious and underappreciated assets an organization can possess.

As mentioned before, tacit knowledge consists of employees’ experiences, skills, and ideas that stem from years of practice. As the holder carries it in their mind and can even be unaware of its potential, it is harder to transfer than explicit knowledge. At a company without proper knowledge management, the only way tacit knowledge is shared is via personal contact and teaching.

Tacit knowledge often remains an untapped source of knowledge. However, when utilized right, it is what keeps organizations afloat even after their senior workers leave.

Explicit knowledge

Explicit knowledge is a codified set of information that has been recognized and recorded. An example would be the objective and technical expertise documented in written documents, guides, and manuals. It is easy to store and share with others.

It is also what you want your tacit knowledge to turn into to reach its full potential.

Is tribal knowledge good or bad?

As a result of learning and continuous improvement, tribal knowledge possesses valuable information that can bring your operations and training processes to the next level. However, it may also present several issues if it’s left unretained.

• Tribal knowledge is not institutionalized knowledge – You may have procedures written down on paper. However, tribal knowledge does not reflect the official manuals of the company, and workers may operate in a way you’re not aware of. Maybe they found a genius way of cutting production time in half, but in a way, it presents a safety hazard.
• It may mean your training is inefficient – A lot of practical, tribal knowledge goes undocumented. Failing to capture it results in skills gaps and insufficient training. Furthermore, the fact that employees rely on tribal knowledge may mean that your onboarding processes are inefficient and do not prepare new hires properly for their tasks.
• It is not shared among everyone – Tribal knowledge comes from personal experience, which means not everyone in the workplace has access to it. Employees depend on the kindness of co-workers – otherwise, they have to figure out job nuances by themselves. This makes onboarding and reskilling processes harder. Not to mention the time spent figuring out something that’s been done before.
• It is not always correct – Another problem is that, as many things transfer via word of mouth, tribal knowledge doesn’t always have to be accurate. While new ideas are always appreciated, some employees may be, in good faith, performing procedures incorrectly. This may result in inconsistencies and wasted time and resources.
• When employees leave, the knowledge goes with them – The industry already dealing with skill shortages has been hit by the “silver tsunami”. One-fourth of the manufacturing workforce is 55 or older and ready to retire. So, it couldn’t be a worse time to waste precious knowledge. If there are techniques that only one of your employees is familiar with and you haven’t captured it yet, that’s a disaster waiting to happen.

How to capture tribal knowledge

1. Find those with tribal knowledge

It is more likely it will be your senior employees, but it can be anyone with extensive knowledge about their tasks. Maybe there is someone already in your mind, a name that often comes up when troubleshooting.

Data collection and analytics software can also help you find employees with tribal knowledge. The chances are that those with the best performances have some tricks up their sleeves that would be worth capturing.

2. Identify which knowledge to keep and which to toss

As we mentioned before, not every piece of tribal knowledge is correct. Look into your findings and analyze whether it’s benefiting your processes. Find what’s working and get rid of procedures that don’t.

3. Organize and document the knowledge

Who knows the most about your operations than the ones that carry them out? Engage your workers in building your knowledge library. They can write down their daily tasks and specify each step, and you can use their input as a base for SOPs.

Utilize good knowledge management software. The software will address tribal knowledge retention and make the process easier for the workers. It may require some investment initially, but it will pay off later when you are reskilling and training new hires.

Making work instructions more appealing and easier to understand also has its importance. Different media types, such as PDFs and videos, can encourage workers to read and follow standard operating procedures rather than relying solely on tribal knowledge.

4. Encourage knowledge sharing and defy the knowledge gap

Try to find a solution that would enhance knowledge-sharing and collective wisdom in your organization. For example, creating a platform where workers interact with their peers, experts, and management can encourage collaboration.

The ideal type would be a cloud-based platform where documents can be updated in real-time. This way, employees can share their knowledge and ask others for advice. And after they resolve the problem, information can be easily stored and retrieved.

Interested in building your knowledge base?

The knowledge management solution Steps+ will help you keep up with the competition. All your tribal knowledge, guides, manuals, instruction are available in a single app. Empower staff to share expertise in real-time and improve your operations with knowledge at your workers’ fingertips.

 Find out more & book a 30-minute demo here.

Príspevok What is tribal knowledge and how to capture it? zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Our brains motivate us to find shortcuts, skip steps, and cut corners. All those things present possible difficulties and dangers, especially in jobs that require precision and adherence to policies. So – how can an organization in the 21st-century help recruits follow expertly designed procedures?

Provide precise work instructions

Don’t fight evolution by overcomplicating your processes – if it is hard to understand, it is also hard to do. Creating straightforward, accessible and easy-to-follow SOPs is the key. When supported by exact guides and knowledge, our brains don’t have to spend energy and time figuring out each step and instead focus on the task. 

Treat workers with respect

Try talking to them about your policies instead of ordering them to follow. Make sure they understand the reasoning behind the procedures. Some are required by the law, some are unique to your organization to upkeep safety and quality.

Explain everything and get them on board. Be it workers or managers, everybody does a better job when treated with respect.

Communicate what happens if processes aren’t properly followed

Are there health risks? Is productivity at stake? Some outcomes are less drastic but still very relevant. Maybe not following a policy increase safety risk, makes your company less inclusive, or makes it harder to get a new customer. At the end of the day, it can negatively reflect your organization.

Don’t disregard questions or ideas

If someone questions your processes, don’t take it personally. Good policies make sense – show your employees your methods are meaningful. Use it as an opportunity to explain further or even use their feedback to improve operations. You’ll gain workers’ respect much easier.

Regular reports

Keeping records allows you to see the trends in your operations. Maybe products repeatedly come out faulty, or you are always behind schedule – reports help you analyze performance, find bottlenecks and implement changes right where it is needed.

Help your new recruits get on board with resco.Guides!

Now, all these recommendations may seem challenging to incorporate into your operations. But fear not, there’s a way to make the process easier, both for you and your employees.

resco.Guides is a knowledge management app to capture, standardize and apply tribal expertise.

It allows workers operating in highly specialized industries to be supplied with instructions, manuals, process descriptions, and potential risk assessments remotely.

Give your employees the information they need when they need it, and sign up for a free 30-minute demo today!

Príspevok How to ensure recruits follow company procedures? Use this online tool zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Knowledge management is the process of acquiring, organizing, and sharing information throughout an organization. With the right information flow, employees are allowed to become more engaged in their workplace.

They can better grasp their roles, improve training tactics and manuals, and your operations in general. So let´s have a look at three ways of including employees in your knowledge management process.

Include employees in guide creation

Decentralization of the creation of instructional materials and guides can be a great way of including employees in knowledge management. It is also one of the most straightforward ways of doing so, as they can simply document their day-to-day tasks and practices.

There are several ways of handling such documentation. One of them is simply writing it down on paper and then putting it into physical binders.

However – who would nowadays pick up a binder sitting somewhere on a shelf and search for information? While it is a start, there are more progressive ways.

A popular choice is a “day in the life” type of video that presents employees’ typical daily tasks in a more approachable way.

For detailed information, guides or instructions in digital form can be used. Workers can write each step into an app and attach media files, such as videos or images describing the entire process.

Another great way is to give them opportunities to be authors on your blog and share usable information using highly attractive images to bring attention to other readers.

Those can be later used as they are or as a base for manuals further edited by a dedicated knowledge manager. Such a tactic produces an easily understandable and realistic reflection of actual tasks that is easy to replicate.

Allow employees to give feedback

Who should have the right to comment on work practices? People who have years of experience under the belt and perform the tasks daily should be heard.

Usually, guides and manuals are made by professionals sitting in an office. They could be working out in theory; however, they do not necessarily accurately reflect reality.

Manuals can get quickly outdated and are often overly complicated, which results in unnecessary mistakes and longer reaction times.

They may not include tips and tricks and tiny nuances that workers and technicians in the field would already know or benefit from.

So, be it a box for ideas or a more sophisticated system for collecting feedback, it is a good practice. Having an option to report inaccurate instructions and offer feedback on existing guides helps your workforce get engaged and your organization to identify bottlenecks.

Give workers a space to collaborate

Another compelling way of including employees in knowledge management is empowering collaboration when solving issues. A collaborative platform where workers interact with their peers, experts, and management will easily do the job.

Being a part of a community can make workers more connected to their role and engaged within the organization. This includes voluntarily taking part in building a knowledge base.

After all, the goal is not to force workers to create guides on top of their daily tasks. It should work in a way it enhances their workflow and performance and, in the end, makes their work-life easier.

An informal way of communication allows free and seamless knowledge flow: no obstructing protocols and unnecessary steps.

When facing issues, technicians can simply ask others for advice. After they resolve the problem, information can be shared, stored, and later easily retrieved.

And if people work on a similar issue in the future, they can retrospectively search for the answer.

Interested in building your knowledge base? Try Resco Steps+     

The knowledge management application Resco Steps+ will help you keep up with the competition.  

All your tribal knowledge, guides, and manuals are available in a single app. Empower staff to share expertise in real time and improve your operations with knowledge at your workers’ fingertips.  

Find out more & book a 30-minute demo here.

Príspevok 3 ways how to include employees in knowledge management zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Benefits of standardized work instructions

While standardization defines the best way of performing a task, its effects come a long way in lowering costs and improving product quality.

By applying clear guidelines, you always know how processes will unwind and minimize human errors. It also ensures consistency in results – no matter how skilled a worker is – so it is easy to meet quality standards.

Eliminating variability and human error

It is human to make mistakes. In fact, more than 80% of errors on manufacturing sites are human errors. Standardized instructions eliminate their occurrence, as workers follow instructions step-by-step and carry out tasks with absolute precision. SOPs should produce consistent results without unpleasant surprises.

Meeting quality standards

Standardized work instructions collect the best possible practices that are developed to adhere to various standards, certifications, and requirements. When every worker performs a task in the exact same way every time, it ensures that quality expectations are being met.

Retaining knowledge

Aging workforce, staff fluctuation, and skill gaps are challenges countless organizations face. Creating standardized instructions includes recording daily procedures and documenting tribal knowledge to draft the best work guides.

Knowledge stays within the organization long after workers decide to retire or move on. Furthermore, by documenting performed tasks, it helps organizations to identify bottlenecks and come up with solutions that can improve operations in the long run.

How does it work in practice?

Standardizing your processes is a significant step on a way to leaner operations. However, there are several factors you should take into consideration. How should the instructions look like? What format workers prefer? And what to do when a better practice comes along?

When it comes to standardized work instructions, they should be:

• Accessible and stored conveniently, so they won’t slow workers down when solving problems
• Clear, easy to follow, and complete
• Easy to update to keep them accurate and relevant

Digitalization of instructions

In case of an issue (e.g. an unexpected machine shutdown), work instructions should be easy to find and access. Busy frontline workers shouldn’t be required to walk up to the production office and search through paper binders. You can streamline the information flow by giving them a digital version.

Set up standardized digital instructions nearby workstations, where workers can access documents by using search engines or QR codes. Less time spent on looking for information means shorter downtimes.

Digitalized standardized work instructions can be put into great use also in the field. Technicians can have all the necessary SOPs and manuals in a single mobile device. With step-by-step instructions guiding them through their work, they can carry out tasks autonomously and efficiently.

Easy to follow guides

Instructions that clearly describe each step without unnecessarily difficult and technical language help workforces to grasp what´s expected of them. No errors or accidents on the shop floor – only increased productivity and quality of product.

Furthermore, work instructions enhanced by images, animations, videos, or other multimedia files improve retention of information. Showing workers what to do and how exactly to do it, they are a great tool for training and overcoming language barriers.

With visual instructions, reskilling and onboardings can be completed faster – while providing organizations new opportunities to identify and close skill gaps in the workplace.

Updating and collaboration

If something ages quickly, it is work instructions – which is a good and a bad thing at the same time. It means that processes keep evolving and improving, but also that SOPs can fast become irrelevant. More than 70% of manufacturers use instructions that are outdated.

That’s is why it’s important to keep your knowledge stored on a platform where it can be efficiently edited and updated, e.g. a dedicated knowledge software.

Many organizations also decided to decentralize the creation of instructions by enabling their workers to give feedback on current practices and document their tasks. This way, they can participate on improving and building an organization´s knowledge base and retention of tribal knowledge.

Use work instructions and boost your operations with Resco Steps+

Resco Steps+ is a knowledge management application that will help you keep up with the competition.

All tribal knowledge, guides, and manuals are packed in a single app. Empower workers by sharing expertise in real time and improving your operations efficiency with knowledge at your teams’ fingertips.

Discover Resco Steps+

Príspevok How to make standardized instructions work for you zobrazený najskôr Resco.

And industries such as manufacturing and industrial production have also been suffering from skill gaps – as experienced workers are retiring, there is no one to replace them.

The silver tsunami

The phenomenon describing the high retirement rate and aging workforce has also been called the “silver tsunami.” It is estimated that in the US, nearly a quarter of manufacturing workers are over 55 years old.

As they are getting closer to retirement, the tribal knowledge they have accumulated over decades might get lost, making it harder to train new employees and maintain production levels.

Generally, the younger generations tend to “job hop” if underappreciated and when the employer fails to motivate them or grant them a certain level of responsibility. Interesting employee appreciation gifts can be beneficial for highlighting the importance of employee recognition and motivation.

In addition, manufacturing and similar fields struggle significantly more with appealing to new job-seeking applicants, as their public perception is outdated and misleading.

But being fast-growing fields heavily influenced by Industry 4.0., their facilities are often the ones adhering to health and safety requirements to a T and using the newest technology. That is far from the stigma of manufacturing being hazardous, dirty, or unstable due to increasing automation.

These obstacles can result in higher training costs, loss of tribal knowledge, and underwhelming production quality. So – what can an organization do to retain precious knowledge of experienced workers for generations to come?

Adopting new technology

Adopting new technologies to retain and share knowledge is one of the most straightforward ways to fight aging workforce challenges.

This usually means leveraging Industry 4.0 technology such as workforce knowledge software, utilizing augmented reality, and digitazing standardized work procedures.

Knowledge retention

Up until now, technical knowledge has been usually stored in complex manuals and bulky guides that technicians had to carry around and look into every time a problem occurred.

However, that does not reflect the current state of technology which can ensure lean operations and support workers’ needs. Especially “tribal” knowledge – covering practical know-how gained through on-site experience and accumulated wisdom – often goes undocumented.

Knowledge software serves as a platform that allows workers to document their tasks quickly, plus enables to provide feedback on work instructions to improve them.

It is essential to have a platform where you can store and maintain records of daily operations, but also update and improve on them when something new comes along – because it always does rather quickly. That is hard to do with physical manuals, but workforce knowledge software can be an easy fix.

Opportunity to learn

While capturing and storing the knowledge is important, it also must find its way to the workforce. On-the-job learning, for example, has been proven to cut down on passive classroom learning time and it increases retention of knowledge. Workers can learn through real-life use cases instead of reading complex diagrams from paper manuals.

They will be supported by various media such as images, animations, or videos that will keep them on track. Some solutions also enable to record work operations or troubleshooting, making it even easier to capture and replicate processes or maintenance again in the future.

Digital training solutions utilizing mobile devices and new technologies can help attract the generation that grew up with it. It allows them to learn and carry out tasks autonomously and take on responsibility, making their day-to-day more intuitive and engaging.

As the instructions are visual and easy to follow, it also minimizes issues concerning language barriers. However, don’t forget that older workers may need training as well.

Want to fight skill shortages efficiently? Try Resco Steps+

Resco Steps+ is a knowledge management application that will help you keep up with the competition.

All your tribal knowledge, guides, and manuals are available in a single app. Empower workers to share expertise in real time and improve your operations with knowledge at your workers’ fingertips.

Discover Resco Steps+

Príspevok What can you do about the ageing workforce challenge? zobrazený najskôr Resco.

A natural hazard

The last decade saw a boom in public and official concern over offshore oil and gas mining operations. The boom can be attributed mainly to the corresponding explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig located in the Gulf of Mexico and just off the coast of Louisiana on the 20th of April 2010.

According to experts, the explosion and consequent sinking of the rig resulted from 8 different failures, which ultimately resulted in 11 deaths and approximately 4,900,000 barrels of oil spilling into the sea.

Unfortunately, Deepwater Horizon was just a single of many rig-related environmental tragedies. Forty-four major oil spills were documented in the last 50 years in just the US waters alone. And tens, if not hundreds, of minor spills, occur every year. Caused by equipment failure and human error, these incidents destroy immeasurable counts of sea life and can destroy entire underwater ecosystems.

A cost on human life

While certainly the most dramatic, explosions and fire-related fatalities constitute only 15% of the total death toll.

According to OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Administration), an average of 100 people loses their lives while working on offshore mining rigs every year. The most common cause of fatalities, somewhere around 60%, is a consequence of what the OSHA dubbed “struck-by, caught-in, and caught-between” accidents. They are closely tied to heavy machinery, standard in all forms of mining operations.

The second most common cause of death is by falls. Around 7% of all fatal injuries are due to slippery surfaces, a lack of anti-skid plating on deck, holes, missing railings, or improper ladder use. However, a shocking 22% of all deaths result from employees dropping their tools on their coworkers’ heads.

The remaining percentage of fatalities are associated with electrocution, typically a consequence of damaged extension cords, extension cords missing grounding prongs, or failure to follow the proper lockout/tagout (LOGO) procedure.

Understanding the Underlying Causes

All the accidents mentioned above can be sorted into two categories depending on their cause – human error or equipment malfunction.

As humans, we all make mistakes. Unfortunately, we cannot always afford them, especially in a workplace where you must withstand the sea’s harsh elements on 12-hour shifts. The two most common actors in human error are fatigue and complacency.

Fatigue has been said to affect a person much the same as alcohol, leading to shorter attention spans and slower reaction times. Complacency is equally alarming and stems from people doing the same work repeatedly, resulting in them not paying the same attention as they should.

Similarly, equipment malfunctions are caused by the wear and tear of everyday use and element exposure as well. However, it cannot be solved with a good night’s sleep like its human equivalent and mandates frequent inspections and repairs.

Helping Your Employees Perform Under Pressure

One way to ease your inspectors’ burden is to provide them with a simple step-by-step guide to lead them through the process of their necessary duties without leaving up too much to their weary minds. And luckily, we have just the right tool to help you do that.

Our oil and gas rig checklist is a free tool you download and incorporate into your routine inspections in just a few moments. Modular in nature, it is easy to tweak and customize to suit your company’s and workers’ specific needs. And it is entirely digital-friendly to boot.

Meaning, none of your inspectors will have to struggle with a pen and paper while being splashed with the sea’s salty spray anymore. To add to that end, they will also conserve their energy, not having to worry about things irrelevant to their inspection. Our checklist will walk them through the entire process, step by step, enabling them to fully concentrate on the work at hand.

Explore and download the oil and gas rig checklist below or find other great solutions for your inspectional needs in our Resco Digital Template Library.

Oil & Gas Rig Inspection

Download a free Oil & Gas Rig Inspection template and improve the safety at drill locations by going through this step-by-step guide

Download template

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