MSPs have always struggled with hiring top talent. One reason is many IT professionals aren’t comfortable with working in fast-paced environments. They are used to working in a single-tenant environment and can’t handle what’s required of them when there are several environments to manage. But since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the labor shortage has gotten out of hand.
Finding top talent has been a struggle for many MSP owners over the past couple of years. About 57 percent of surveyed tech executives said the labor shortage was their top concern, CNBC reported in October 2021. Even though there are signs of the tech jobs boom beginning to cool, finding top talent will continue to be challenging in 2022. From my experience, there are a few critical components to filling these hiring gaps.
Three keys to hiring top talent
What’s your defined hiring process?
What’s your defined hiring process? If you’ve been a TruMethods member for a while, you’re aware of the overwhelming attention we put on having processes in place with whatever we do. (It’s the core of the TruMethods framework.) Even when you’re hiring, you should follow a process.
There are typically four aspects to a defined hiring process: job description, application management system, interview steps and questions, and objective measurement. Building a virtual bench of talent requires you and your team to always be interviewing, managing past applicants, and social networking.
What are your organization’s core values?
While you’re interviewing talent for your organization, they are also interviewing you. Without a doubt, candidates in today’s job market are in the driver’s seat and employers are having a challenging time finding top-quality talent. Candidates have plenty of options and the luxury of being choosy. The burden is on you to pitch why they should join your organization instead of one of your competitors.
What differentiates you from your competitors? Most candidates want to be part of something larger than themselves. What can you offer them? What are your guiding principles and core values? Do your candidates share those guiding principles and core values? (Remember: Knowledge and skill can be taught, but core values cannot). Discuss core value questions with candidates early and often, as a poor cultural fit can turn a team upside down.
Define roles and responsibilities within your organization.
It’s important to clearly define roles and responsibilities within your organization before going through the hiring process. You must know what you need before you start looking for it. While it may sound obvious, many people skip the prep work and dive right in, which usually proves to be disastrous in the long run. When roles and responsibilities aren’t defined, it is a lot harder for leaders to make hiring decisions. Further, increased management is typically required, there is less consistency, and oftentimes, there are culture and morale issues.
Today, finding top talent in any industry isn’t easy, but the tech space has been particularly hit hard. Knowing your processes, what you need, and what you stand for makes all the difference.
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