How to Retain IT Talent? Train Your High Quality Technicians.
How to retain IT talent. That seems to be the biggest challenge facing most IT Support organizations today.Recently in an MSP-Ignite Service Managers Peer Group conference call (https://www.msp-ignite.com/peer/service-managers/ ), the topic of how to retain high-quality IT Technicians came up again. After the call, and in talking with others in the industry, hiring and retaining Technicians seems to be the number one challenge facing most IT Support organizations.In 2010, as my first Customer Service Manager position, I was lost when it came to locating training materials for the team. Even though I was new, team members were well-seasoned. They had been together for more than five years and were hungry for their own identity. The reason for the hunger was that they were a sub-team of either Inside Sales or Help Desk.
To Retain IT Talent, Start With the Right Training
It took months to find the right type of training at the right price. Systems Engineering provides great certification training for the Engineers, and general business applications, tools, and training for all Employees. But when it came to training for Customer Service, there was very little to be found within the Company. Looking to Microsoft, CompTIA, even MSP Univ. (which is not around anymore), I still could not find high-quality Customer Service for IT Support training.Recently in an MSP-Ignite Service Managers Peer Group conference call (https://www.msp-ignite.com/peer/service-managers/ ), the topic of how to retain high-quality IT Technicians came up again. After the call, and in talking with others in the industry, hiring and retaining Technicians seems to be the number one challenge facing most IT Support organizations.
So, What's the Solution? How Can You Retain IT Talent?
These discussions reminded me of my challenge back in 2010 and one solution that floated to the top – it is touted by motivational speakers that training and growing an Employee's career is the most effective way to retain Employees; more so than throwing money at them. (If anyone from Systems Engineering is reading this, feel free to test this theory. I am happy to be the guinea pig.)So, what is the solution? For me in 2010, it was a co-worker suggesting that I check out HDI "The Association for Technical Support Professionals," and specifically HDI Customer Service Representative training. What a great find!
Training Really is Key to Retain IT Talent
This training helped immensely, not only teaching how to properly and professionally handle phone calls and manage angry Customer situations, but it also explains the importance of rich, concise documentation. In addition, the training taught me the value of keeping the Customer informed at every step of the way in the remediation or implementation process.I remember as we started using call center scripts (based on HDI’s training suggestion), the Customer experience improved, and as Customers learned the drill through consistency, intake time dropped. Customer Service Representatives’ confidence also grew as they knew what questions to ask and in an order that made sense.It seems technical certification and technical career growth is well defined and readily available. I encourage IT Service Managers not to overlook training technicians on professionalism. I would not be surprised if someone said that the HDI Support Center Analyst (Help Desk) or HDI Desktop Support Technician for Technicians was as effective as the HDI Customer Service Representative is for Service Coordinators.On a side note, from time to time, HDI offers 90-day trial memberships. If interested, feel free to contact them or email me at Sbuyze@SBuyze.comFor more Information on HDIFor more information on MSP-Ignite Service Manager Peer GroupsFor more information about Stephen Buyze