3 Tips for Hiring IT Staff at Your MSP

Hiring qualified employees is crucial for all businesses, which is why those that can afford to do so invest heavily in recruiting. Smaller businesses, like MSPs, don’t typically have the resources to dedicate to such efforts as do larger companies. As a result, many MSPs struggle to bring in the talent they need to grow their businesses. To get the most out of recruiting efforts, without exhausting your budget, here are some methods to try.

• How to Find the Right People: When searching for talent, referrals can be an effective way to find the right candidate. They can come from current employees, clients or other trusted acquaintances. Research suggests that referral hires are a great source because they tend to stay at companies longer. Specifically, 46% of referral hires stay for more than one year, 45% for over two years and 47% for over three years. Networking is also vital in the search for qualified candidates. Today’s networking occurs at industry events, career fairs and across social media platforms, like LinkedIn. Tech meetup groups can be particularly useful in finding potential employees because they are highly focused on specific skills. Networking should be an ongoing effort, rather than limited to when you have an open position.
• Hiring Experienced vs. Clean Slate: Every business needs a balance of experienced and novice staffers. Experienced employees will be independent and have the technical skills necessary to perform their role. However, their salary demands will reflect this. It is also important to note that depending on their background, they may have ingrained habits that don’t mesh with the way you run your business. Less-experienced employees will demand lower salaries but will require more guidance. However, these hires will pay dividends in the long-run because you can mold them into the ideal employees for your business.
• All About the Interview: The interview is your chance to fully vet candidates. You need to find out if they are able to do the job, how interested and passionate they are about the company, and whether or not they are a culture fit. You can find out a lot about candidates by asking a series of basic questions and seeing how they respond. For example, you can ask interviewees what interests them about your company. If candidates are passionate about the work, your company and learning new skills, it will come through in their answers.

In the end, the more knowledgeable you are about a candidate, the better your chances will be of making a good hire. Referrals from trusted sources are the best candidates to recruit. Referred employees are more likely to be a good fit with your company culture and become loyal employees. However, referrals are hardly the only way to find good employees. Other methods can yield great results, as well—especially if you conduct interviews that give you all of the information you need to make a good hire. You need to go beyond verifying that candidates have the required skill set, and focus more on if they are a good fit for your company, your culture and the role you are trying to fill.

For more tips on finding quality employees for your MSP business, check out Datto’s eBook: IT Staffing Made MSPeasy. This eBook identifies the top sources for finding potential employees, how to identify good candidates, interview questions you MUST ask,and more! Download it today.

Eric Torres is Channel Development Manager at Datto.

Guest blogs such as this one are published monthly and are part of MSPmentor’s annual platinum sponsorship.