Branding can Impact Hiring and Retention (Part 1)

Hiring an engineer for your Managed Service Practice (MSP) can be extremely difficult and the fact is that branding can impact hiring and retention.  Hiring and retaining talent is important for any business; but for MSPs, it is something that can oftentimes make or break an operation.  In this series, we will go over some ways that Managed Service Providers (MSPs) can develop effective hiring processes to ensure they get the best person for the job and how they can, retain team members.

For many MSPs, at least during their initial phases, the initial engineer is the owner/founder.  Because of this, it is important to quickly identify what skills you are great at and what skills you can use to help with addressing.  This can be either technical, social, or business skills. Either way, it is important to inventory them all. Once the assessment is complete, then you can begin developing a process for hiring talent and more importantly creating a way to ensure that you can retain them – not in perpetuity; but for a length of time that is beneficial to both parties.  

One of the first items to consider when developing a hiring process is to identify your organization’s brand. If you had not considered either of these items before formally launching, that’s perfectly fine, please, take a moment now to consider it  They are important, as the next person you bring on board either as a team member, partner, or contractor will also be representing your company. They may not necessarily have face-time with your clients; however, they may interact with them via email, phone, or chat.  How would you want that interaction to go?

Branding determines the words, tone, actions, and even appearance of your organization and who you should look to hire.

Additionally, with this, it also helps set the expectations, immediately for how this particular individual should add value to your clients and their experience with your company.  

We had discussed in a previous post the importance of creating an experience that drives your customer’s success.  Ensuring that you hire team members that will drive your brand and culture to your clients will only help further those efforts.     

Once your brand has been determined, the next step would be to begin answering 4 relatively simple questions to answer as they will further assist with ensuring that you can attract the right talent.  More importantly, it will also help in allowing your organization to begin developing a strategy that consistently addresses the 5 items that will assist with retaining talent.

If you have not given thought to your brand’s presence in the market or haven’t the slightest idea where to begin developing a process that helps your brand attract top-tiered talent, feel free to contact us by filling out the form below.  60 minutes with us, can do a lot for your practice!