Integrating AR smart glasses into your field operations could be the most beneficial thing you do for your business this year. Augmented Reality glasses aren’t just tech novelties anymore; they’re increasingly advanced resources perfectly suited to helping enterprises enhance productivity, efficiency, employee safety, and customer service.
But augmented reality adoption isn’t without its challenges. Our proprietary research found that countless companies are still struggling with the technical complexity of augmented reality integration, the challenge of driving adoption, and more.
- If you need more help making the most of AR glasses for field operations, we’re here to help. Use our top AR smart glasses features guide to identify the components you should be looking for in the best wearable tech. Alternatively, find out how to compare vendors and glasses with our guide to choosing AR glasses for field workers.
Fortunately, embedding AR glasses into your workflows is just like implementing any new technology – a little planning and the right strategy will help you overcome all kinds of hurdles. Here are our top tips for a successful augmented reality implementation.
Integrating AR Smart Glasses into Field Services: Best Practices
On a broad scale, integrating AR smart glasses into field operations is just like adopting a new AI tool, or software solution. It starts with identifying your augmented reality tech’s core use cases and objectives, finding the right AR glasses vendor based on your needs, and building a deployment strategy. Based on our years of experience in the AR space, here are some best practices to focus on throughout your journey.
1. Creating Comprehensive Onboarding Strategies
Effective onboarding is a crucial part of a successful approach to integrating AR smart glasses into workflows – but it’s something many companies overlook. Onboarding isn’t just about training (more on that later); it’s about introducing your employees to the benefits of AR technology and how they can use it to work smarter and safer in the field.
A great way to get started is to identify your AR champions – the enthusiastic individuals who feel confident working with cutting-edge tech. Ask them to participate in pilot programs so you can gather feedback about technical issues, operational challenges, and strategies for your onboarding process. Consider making these employees a part of your technical support team for field workers.
2. Integrating AR Smart Glasses with Existing Systems
Next, you’ll need to ensure you’re effectively integrating AR smart glasses with the tools and software your team members already use. Conduct a thorough analysis of existing processes and resources your teams rely on, such as field service management software, collaboration apps, knowledge bases, and Remote Assistance tools.
Make sure all of these applications are easily accessible through the smart glasses your team members are using, and add tips on how to use them effectively to your onboarding and training documentation. Be extra cautious to ensure integrations between apps and hardware don’t cause potential data security gaps you’ll need to navigate.
3. Developing Ongoing Employee Training Initiatives
Your onboarding strategy should introduce employees to the initial resources they need to understand how AR glasses work. However, integrating AR smart glasses into workflows, and encouraging business-wide augmented reality adoption demands a holistic approach. Develop a comprehensive plan for ongoing training.
Show staff members not just how to set up and use AR glasses and accompanying applications correctly, but how to take advantage of unique capabilities, minimize security risks, and overcome common technical challenges (like network issues). Foster a culture of continuous feedback, asking staff to share experiences and suggest improvements to training workflows.
4. Leverage Ongoing Support
As extended reality vendors increase their focus on enterprise use cases, many are going beyond simply offering access to cutting-edge tech. World-leading vendors from Rokid to RealWear, XReal, Vuzix, and beyond, offer extensive support to business leaders. They can help you with developing training initiatives, monitoring device performance, applying updates, and more.
Take advantage of the assistance these vendors and their partners can provide. Ask the companies, in advance, what they can offer in terms of technical assistance, or educational resources, and work with them to scale augmented reality adoption across your enterprise.
5. Measuring ROI and Productivity Gains
A successful plan for integrating AR smart glasses into field services workflows doesn’t just focus on “empowering teams” to use new technologies. You should also be constantly looking for ways to improve your return on investment.
Define clear metrics based on your use cases and goals. For instance, you might focus on reductions in task completion times or error rates, or improvements in first-time fix rates. Use analytical tools, and request direct feedback from team members for a clear view of your results. Using that data, identify areas for potential improvements to augmented reality implementation, use cases, training strategies, and onboarding techniques.
Integrating AR Smart Glasses into Workflows: Challenges
Although augmented reality adoption is soaring across organizations, integration still has its challenges. Here are some quick tips on how to overcome common issues when integrating AR smart glasses into workflows:
- Resistance to Change: Smart glasses are extremely popular today, but some employees are still skeptical of new technologies. Address this issue with transparent, consistent communication. Involve employees early in the augmented reality implementation process, explain the benefits to them clearly, and respond proactively to their feedback.
- Skill shortages: Not every employee will automatically know how to use AR smart glasses effectively. Make sure you implement robust onboarding sessions, training strategies, and even hands-on demonstrations into your integration plan. A commitment to consistently upskilling and training your team will help boost adoption rates.
- Technical Issues: Even the most advanced AR glasses can encounter technical problems. Companies can struggle to integrate hardware with existing tools, overcome common errors, and more. Taking advantage of vendor support or assistance from partners can help you sidestep these issues and minimize disruptions.
- Unclear ROI: Justifying your investment in augmented reality tools, and scaling adoption can be difficult without clear metrics for success. Make sure you identify the outcomes you need to measure in advance. Track improvements in productivity, creativity, employee safety, and engagement, and pay attention to potential cost savings too.
Maximizing the Success of Augmented Reality Adoption
Integrating AR smart glasses into field service operations can be challenging, but the results of a successful implementation strategy are incredible. Immersive technologies can improve the efficiency, productivity, and safety of your team. They also introduce new cost-saving opportunities and even improve customer experiences.
