Your MSP is most likely comprised of many facets of talent, from in-house team members to remote workers to third-party contributors. Each of them add tremendous value to your services – especially your top talent – so it’s imperative that you do everything possible to keep them satisfied in their roles and not jump ship. They are a rare breed, so it’s tough to replace them should they be lured away. But there are some effective ways to keep them working happily for the long term.
In-House Team Members
Your most important assets are your top-tier team members, like engineers who consistently deliver superior quality work, are reliable, possess niche expertise (like cybersecurity), etc. They are the future of your business. However, because of their work reputation and expertise, they are highly sought after by your competitors who are willing to pay them top-dollar.
To retain these high performers, consider these measures:
- Conduct regular career path conversations – One-on-one chats with each team member will let you know what will keep them satisfied and they’ll know that they can experience professional growth in your organization. Clear guidance from you and other team leaders and fulfillment of promises made during that guidance will show employees that your organization has high integrity, giving them another reason to want to stay put.
- Invest in them – Offer your top talent educational programs to further develop their skillset. This could be certifications for new technologies or leadership courses to grow their management abilities. This certainly can be part of the career path conversation noted above.
- Reward them even for the smallest achievements – Recognition programs are gold but cost little to execute. So make certain you have a robust rewards program to show employees that their efforts are being noticed and appreciated.
- Solicit their opinions – Keep them involved in important business decisions. This will show them that their opinions are valued and respected, and that they are helping to shape the future of the company – one that they will want to be a part of.
- Create a comfortable, inviting culture – A healthy culture is good for both the employees and your organization overall. Employees will stay at a job where they feel welcomed and enjoy their colleagues. This is a great way to make team members want to come to work every day. They’ll share this with friends and on social media, promoting your business as being a great place to work and attracting other top talent.
Remote Workers
The Covid pandemic drove the telecommuting workplace trend to more quickly become a permanent means of working. The objective is to keep these employees as engaged as possible. While you can do this using many of the options noted above for those in-house, here are some ways specific to off-site team members:
- Equip them with the necessary tools – Top performers need the best available tech tools. It’s your responsibility to make certain that they are well-armed with the latest technology. This shows them that you’re fully supportive of them and you’re giving them the best chance at succeeding in their role.
- Convey regular internal communications – Remote work can be lonely. Combat this with a steady stream of company news so that remote team players don’t feel left out.
- Increase social interaction – Foster team connections with social hours, video chats, and virtual team-building activities. This keeps them engaged and builds team camaraderie.
Third-Party Contributors
These “outsiders” can serve as a high-end tech or to relieve your in-house employees of the administrative work that they don’t enjoy doing. Either way, they still must be kept engaged and happy in their role. Since they are primarily remote, third-party contributors can be handled just as you would any remote team member. However, you still want to make them feel like they’re a part of the team as much as possible.
To do this, consider these additional options:
- Provide face-to-face supervision – Studies have shown that many remote employees feel they have reduced access to managerial support and communication; they feel that remote managers are neither supportive nor helpful in getting their work done. You don’t want your managers to be out of touch with their needs, so increase the amount of online communication via Zoom or any desktop video service. These employees will appreciate it and feel more in touch with their department supervisors.
- Increase access to information – New third-party team members shouldn’t spend a considerable amount of time locating information from their department. Don’t make getting answers to simple questions feel like a huge challenge. Have supervisors or co-workers regularly check-in with these remote contributors to see if they need anything – especially when new SOPs or technologies are introduced to the work day.
- Offer encouragement and support – Working remotely can be lonely, but these feelings can be relieved with time spent just chatting online with supervisors and colleagues. Talk about hobbies, weekend activities, etc., as this will allow third-party employees to become more familiar and comfortable with the team.
IT By Design is the “people platform” in the MSP industry, providing many vital and exclusive resources that MSPs can use to effectively transform their businesses from tech-centric to people-centric – which is crucial to long-term success. Learn more about our services here.