By capitalizing on their technical knowledge, they are becoming technical service specialists, sales personnel, and customer-service telephone operators. In addition, more are becoming chemists as a result of the hands-on knowledge they have accumulated. Before discussing what skills technicians need to capitalize on recent business trends, let's briefly review these trends. Successful companies of the future will be those that anticipate customer needs and provide products and services that go beyond satisfying customers. Technicians, chemists, and engineers will have to develop the same focus on customer needs.
Some technicians work for internal customers.
Examples are analysts performing tests for process chemists and process lab technicians developing new, more cost-effective processes to be used in their employer's production facilities. Other technicians work directly with companies that purchase their employer's products and services. This may mean working with the customer's laboratory personnel and performing tests using mutually agreed-upon procedures. This work requires oral presentations and written reports. It may also mean working with the customer's manufacturing personnel in plant evaluations of new products.