MSPs On ... Struggles with the Skills Shortage

It’s definitely a job-seeker’s market these days. With rock-bottom unemployment in the IT sector, finding and recruiting the right talent is a big challenge for managed service providers (MSPs). You have to make sure the candidate’s skill set is a match, that they fit into your company culture and that you can actually afford their asking salary. It isn’t an easy undertaking.

John Davenjay

“The biggest pain point when it comes to staffing in the 2019 channel is being able to successfully attract and hire the top talent that has both of the ‘holy grail’ job requirements; a pristine client-facing presentation/communication style coupled with a well-rounded SMB technology skill set,” says John Davenjay, CEO of MSP staffing firm Bowman Williams. “This is because channel partners have continued the industry transition to more of a centralized support model, while limiting client interactions to a key select number of employees that excel at being a liaison to their clients.”

This creates a huge demand for those candidates that have technical chops while also being able to easily communicate with clients. The result? MSPs wind up competing for the same top candidates — and when they finally nab one, the average starting salary ranges can price some partners out of the running.

We asked 10 MSPs from our 2018 MSP 501 rankings what their biggest struggles are when hunting for talent and convincing the right people to come on board. Do you share these frustrations? Click through our slide show above to find out.