At the N-able Empower partners event in Las Vegas this week, IT Europa was able to speak to MSPs about the challenges they are now facing in the market.
At a round-table attended by both N-able execs and a number of their MSP software and systems customers, it was clear that MSP leaders saw the challenge to find and retain staff was a major one.
Catherine Wendt, president of MSP Syscon, said: “We’ve always had low employment in the IT industry, and now it’s got worse. Last year, someone asked what we could do to make people stay beyond 18 months, but that was the wrong question.
“It is about keeping people for 18 months and taking it from there. It’s not about golden handcuffs, and keeping people who don’t really want to stay and who don’t want to do the work.
“It’s about trying to recruit people who want to do the work and stay, as a result of a better recruitment process by targeting the right people.”
Stephanie Clouser, chief branding officer at PCA Technology Solutions, said: “Sometimes it’s about emphasising the benefits that staff already have and which they don’t take. They have to be encouraged to take advantage of them, including taking time off when they’re entitled to it and not being made to feel guilty about taking it – I want my staff to feel fresh.”
N-able CEO John Pagliuca said recruiters should consider community colleges to find talent. He said: “They are a good place to use to find enthusiastic staff. And it’s not just about pay either. It’s about making sure good performers don’t see a glass ceiling and realise they can progress with new skills.
“At N-able, we allow them to experience the technologies they are interested in, such as Azure skills for instance, even if they’re not currently involved in that area as part of their existing job.”
More coverage from the event will follow.
