As a Managed Service Provider (MSP) in the Information Technology field, you face a pool of clientele with diverse, every changing needs. To succeed in the marketplace, a scrappy MSP must be able to provide services at a price low enough to entice customers to buy their services, but high enough to maintain an adequate profit margin. Regardless of the pricing model employed, labor is typically the largest operating expense MSPs manage every day. To keep labor costs in check and improve efficiency, it is imperative that the MSP develop a streamlined system for efficiently identifying, hiring, and retaining employees in various levels, functions, and employment structures. For this reason, it’s crucial that every Information Technology MSP keep a trusted recruiting firm on speed dial (and probably on retainer).
Cost Control
When a Managed Services Providers partners closely with a trusted Recruiting firm, deeply niched in their field of practice, you will gain greater control over recruiting costs. You will also eliminate the unpredictability of starting fresh with every new search you make. A qualified professional recruiter will work with you to understand your firm’s goals, budget and process, in order to create a custom-fit plan that works for your firm. Once you establish a service agreement, you can count on consistent pricing and a consulting professional that is always a phone call away for any of your questions.
Access to Talent
What is your core competency? Maybe you provide audio visual design and implementation services. Maybe you specialize in having a wide base of knowledge as a helpdesk manager. Possibly you specialize in networks, security, or mobile development. Regardless of the services you provide, a successful manager understands a key principle: let people do what they do best and trust them to do it. A professional recruiter working in a firm does that one thing. They identify and place talented candidates in your market. They have developed skills, knowledge, and a network of candidates that you or your internal recruiting team simply cannot access. Why? A company such as Odyssey Pursuit Enterprises spends 100% of their day reaching out to those candidates who are not actively looking for a job on the job boards such as Indeed, Monster, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Often the best candidates are not spending their free evening perusing these jobs board. For more information, read our recent blog post about working with a recruiter.
Efficiency
Cost isn’t everything. Often it is the quality of service an MSP provides that is the determining factor for a client when they select the firm they will stick with for the long run. For the successful MSP to provide the highest level of quality, they must be able to provide reliable services quickly, on a consistent basis. The clients you serve will continue to require an ever-changing array of services (requiring an ever-changing knowledge base among your employees). Nobody wants to say no to a valued customer, simply because you cannot offer a particular service. These occasions sometimes call for short-term contracts, on-call services, or even long-term on-site work. As an MSP, you need to feel confident that you can source the talent you need to adapt to these requests.
Diversity and Compliance
The best MSPs understand the importance of creating a more inclusive and diverse workplace. Organizations that place diversity as a key initiative find that they benefit by recruiting from a larger pool and applicants. This leads to finding more qualified candidates and reduces the time required to find the right candidate. Odyssey Pursuit Enterprises embraces diversity by being more creative with their recruiting, including sourcing candidates from diverse professional organizations and groups. Protecting candidate’s rights during the hiring process is extremely important. A recruiting partner will take the time to educate their clients on the policies and practices that should be in place to protect employee’s rights and stay compliant with government regulations.
Simplicity
Keep it simple. Your hiring process can be as complex or as straightforward as you design it to be. Your recruiter will be able to sit with you and design a hiring process that requires less effort and elicits stronger results. Different situations call for different solutions, as no “one size fits all” strategy exists. Your strategy will include a mix of traditional recruiting efforts (job boards and postings), internal human resources staff, and external recruiters and consultants. When a need for a particular candidate arises, your team will have no hesitation as to the accepted process for sourcing that position.
About Odyssey Pursuit Enterprises
OPE provides a custom-fit experience for our clients and candidates because we listen and respond to the individual needs of our partners. You speak, we listen and produce results. Odyssey Pursuit is small enough to give one-on-one attention to each of our clients, while being large enough to have an amazing network of cutting edge technology firms as well as the top talent serving this Industry. Our goal is to know all the top talent personally. Our strength is in our relationships!
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