Talent Shortage Ripple Effects Continue to Create Headaches for Partners
As many MSPs deal with continuing hiring shortages, there is a growing need to find and retain the right talent.
May 13, 2022
![Given the large and rapid influx of service providers selling Versabased services as well as several new reseller partners Given the large and rapid influx of service providers selling Versabased services as well as several new reseller partners](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/blt82d1fe0234556679/65242abf8db4a05581aa282c/Frustration_Thinkstock_4_0.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Given the large (and rapid) influx of service providers selling Versa-based services, as well as several new reseller partners, my biggest challenge is scaling and integrating strong channel-smart talent at the rate that our business is growing.Thinkstock
Stronghold Data’s Jason Rincker: “At the Stronghold level, we’ve been partnering with local universities and colleges to try to help develop talent. The problem we face, though, is that by the time they’re writing the curriculum and educating the talent, the information is already outdated. It’s a cruel reality.”
Approyo’s Christopher Carter: “The staffing issue is my big thing right now. We’ve got staff around the globe, and are trying to find those right technical resources. They need to have the ability to be able to have a conversation with our client, and to be able to have it at a technical level and an executive level on the business side. This has proved very difficult because within SAP activity, the only place I can go to brace and manipulate the curriculum is to their SAP universities, such as University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Houston, for example.
“We are finding that their people don’t know how to talk business. That needs to be brought together. People at the university level have no clue because no one is properly teaching them those business conversations and those business standards in the way we need them to be taught.”
Meriplex’s Neil Medwed: “The other piece of the talent side is standardization. It used to be that the MSP would sell pretty much whatever the customer wanted. What we’re doing now is being very thoughtful in which vendors we partner with because it’s going to touch finances and profitability. With managed services, we have to manage which professional services are being installed, sales needs to have people trained and be very, very thoughtful on what vendors they work with, and then we empower that relationship.
“What we insist on is a training regimen to be able to raise the level of talent within the organization as part of their staff, and then do that better than others. And it’s not easy.”
Approyo’s Christopher Carter: “I know our customers are finding shortages; that’s where they’re hiring us. But we are also finding those shortages. So, we’ve got three HR directors in three different regions of the world that do nothing but have a dedicated team looking at resumes, going on LinkedIn and doing research, trying to find the best people.”
Meriplex’s Neil Medwed: “We have been in the position of thinking that we had quality cybersecurity talent in-house, but it turns out we didn’t, looking at the big picture. And that’s a difference between small and big companies. Big companies have a better ability to rake in the in-house talent. And that’s a significant discrepancy as well.”
Meriplex’s Neil Medwed: “We have been in the position of thinking that we had quality cybersecurity talent in-house, but it turns out we didn’t, looking at the big picture. And that’s a difference between small and big companies. Big companies have a better ability to rake in the in-house talent. And that’s a significant discrepancy as well.”
The endless quest for talent — it’s a time-honored shortage and subsequent headache for partners. Many MSPs are still dealing with the hiring shortage, an ever-present issue made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, partners increasingly are feeling the squeeze to find the right talent. Not only that, but to retain employees and provide growth opportunities as well.
Will this shortage get worse before it gets better? There are many theories on this, but one thing is for certain: The rate at which technology is evolving, and being able to fill the talent gaps to keep up are at odds.
This presents an ongoing and very real challenge for not just MSPs, but their clients as well. Investments in evolving technologies will continue to rise, but will the workforce be able to adapt?
Channel Futures once again invited partners to join its MSP Roundtable at the 2022 Channel Partners Conference & Expo. The inaugural roundtable took place last November, featuring several key partners.
This spring’s MSP Roundtable participants were:
Ron Connelly, vice president of technical operations, DP Solutions.
Christopher Carter, CEO, Approyo.
Ron Lovern, executive vice president, Triton Networks.
Jason Rincker, sales director, Stronghold Data.
Charmis De Boer, chief operating officer, Innovation Networks.
Matthew Humphries, managing partner, Allied Technology Group.
Neil Medwed, executive director of strategic partnerships, Meriplex.
In part two of this three-part series, see our slideshow above to find out what participants had to say about MSPs’ most pressing issues in terms of the pervasive hiring shortage.
Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email Allison Francis or connect with her on LinkedIn. |
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