Nearly 80 Percent of Cisco VARs Are Hiring

Sure, the Federal Reserve Chairman recently said the recession is likely over.  But is the channel feeling the rebound?  How has the recession impacted channel hiring? Here are some clues from Cisco Systems.

A few weeks ago I was invited to hear Celia Harper-Guerra, senior director of worldwide channels, Partner Talent Acquisition, and several Cisco Partners talk about their current HR strategies.  Not only was I thrilled to hear partners are actively hiring, I was also impressed with process partners now go through to find the right candidates.

Per Cisco’s Talent Survey they do twice a year, 78% of partners are still hiring and 92.8% expected at least 11-20% growth in the next fiscal year.

But how has hiring changed? Are channel partners hiring only from the pool of unemployed, because you know there a few people out there?  The answer surprisingly was not as much as you would think.  It’s more about strategic hires rather than volume hiring. Partners are doing much more due diligence and are focused on hiring the “right” person, not just a body. An overwhelming 75.6% of hires come from referrals while 5% come from Cisco talent events.

Do other vendors help their partners recruit talent?  We didn’t when I was at EMC or EqualLogic but what a great initiative for partners and vendors.  Not only do the vendors build loyalty by helping the partner but also place a salesperson/systems engineer who already knows their product lines.

I’m happy to see companies hiring more and also impressed that Cisco works to help their partner make strategic hires.  I consider this an above and beyond benefit to partners.  What are other vendors doing to help partners acquire talent?  What other “above and beyond” benefits are out there?

Contributing blogger Heather K. Margolis, the Channel Maven, has led channel programs for major IT companies. She also has extensive lead generation and marketing experience. Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center.