The current MSP (Managed Service Provider) industry is highly competitive. As MSPs try to grow and upscale their business, a common problem they face is the need for a more capable workforce. As a result, many IT MSPs have turned to MSP IT staffing agencies, which provide smart staffing solutions for a cost-effective and reliable recruitment process.
In this blog, we will discuss the challenges IT MSPs face in scaling the business, what competent MSP IT staffing is, its role in scaling MSP operations, and much more. Keep reading to learn how your IT MSP can scale most effectively.
A] Challenges Faced By IT MSP For Scaling The Business
1. Cost Management and Resource Distribution
One of the biggest challenges that IT MSPs face while scaling their business is resource distribution. As IT MSPs start to acquire more clients, it is expected that resources like infrastructure, personnel, equipment, and finances will be further divided into new clients. However, with the increasing requirements for such resources comes a higher cost. MSPs need to ensure that they do not overextend themselves trying to fulfil the demands. Hence, it is essential to have the infrastructure, team, and technology ready in place.
2. Quality Control And Service Consistency
As IT MSPs take on more clients, maintaining the same level of service quality and consistency becomes difficult without a strong team. As a smaller business, IT MSPs can assign multiple IT professionals to a few clients. However, with increasing responsibilities and deliverables, it becomes difficult to do so. If IT MSPs are unable to hire and train the necessary number of staff in time, they could see a significant drop in service quality. This can not only hinder their scalability but also affect their relationship with current clients.
3. Lack of Manpower And Increased Workload
Hiring skilled and talented candidates and training them according to their job requirements and company culture takes a significant amount of time and resources. As a result, growing IT MSPs often struggle to keep up with the rising demand and workload. In such cases, IT MSPs often face a lack of manpower to provide services. Additionally, the existing IT technicians, system administrators, and engineers also feel overworked and burnt out, leading to a decline in productivity.
B] What Are Smart MSP IT staffing services?
Competent staffing is a modern approach to fulfilling human resource needs through strategic planning and advanced tools. Smart staffing strategies often align seamlessly with business growth objectives, boosting the business’s growth. It plays a critical role in the MSP’s efforts to scale. It allows IT MSPs to source and hire the most suitable candidates in a short period of time while filtering out candidates that do not align with the business’s model or goals.
Smart staffing leverages experienced recruiters and the best and latest MSP IT recruitment tools. This can be a resource-intensive process and IT MSPs often do not have the time to implement these strategies without hindering their core business. As a result, outsourcing recruitment to a dedicated IT staffing agency is the recommended path.
C] Role of Smart Staffing In Scaling MSP Operations
IT MSPs relying on smart staffing have access to the best recruiters, recruitment processes, and tools. This makes the recruitment process significantly easier and faster. Additionally, MSPs outsourcing their recruitment needs to a staffing agency specialising in smart staffing for the IT industry can get all these benefits at a lower cost.
With smart staffing solutions, IT MSPs can reduce their backlogs, onboard more clients, and improve productivity. IT MSPs trying to scale can also afford to put more resources and time into their work rather than spend them on building recruitment infrastructure and interviews.
D] Staffing And Recruitment Tactics For Scaling MSPs
1. Timing Your Hiring to Match Growth Phases
Learning to recognise your growth phases is extremely crucial. Hiring candidates right before the growth phase allows you to maximise your scaling progress. Hiring too many employees when business is stagnant can increase your labour costs. On the other hand, beginning the hiring process during the growth phase means you cannot entirely focus on improving your services and acquiring clients. Hiring at the right time can ensure the quality of services does not drop due to a lack of manpower or employee burnout.
2. Having A Large Talent Pool
Having access to a larger talent pool ensures you can source a wide array of talent with different experiences and skill sets. However, it is not efficient to interview such a large pool of talent. As a result, an effective screening process must also be established in place. Outsourcing the hiring process often provides you with a large talent pool to source from.
3. Sourcing The Top Talents
This may seem obvious, but some IT MSPs often let go of the best talents in the industry due to their higher salary expectations. Sourcing the top talents often gives your business a much-needed boost during times of growth. Individuals with technical skills and customer service abilities who are also a cultural fit are the perfect candidates.
4. Leveraging The Latest And Best Technology
Technology and automation can significantly reduce the time and resources required for staffing. These resources can then be used in other more important matters like improving service quality or hiring more experienced candidates. Using the latest tools and technology can also help to maximise your reach.
Conclusion
The number one problem that IT MSPs face while scaling is a lack of manpower to maintain the quality of services and meet deadlines. Smart staffing solutions aim to solve this problem by ensuring IT MSPs have the right number of well-trained and experienced staff during the scaling process.
However, it is to be noted that smart staffing is a complex process and requires a lot of time, infrastructure, and resources which could divert the organisation’s focus from scaling. Hence, it is recommended that you outsource the recruitment process to an agency offering smart IT Staffing for MSPs. VTS is a leading MSP IT staffing company In the USA. Contact us today for more information.
Ted White is the President & CEO of Vertical Talent Solutions and has over two decades of IT recruiting experience. Specializing in assisting Managed Service Providers in securing their ideal roles, his expertise navigates career paths precisely. Connect with Ted White for tailored recruitment solutions today.