As an MSP company, if you’re going to have security in operations, it’s crucial that you focus on managing your most important assets correctly— and these are your employees. Those who comprise the personnel of your MSP will be more expensive than any equipment and bring you more value. Even the best computer needs a user; it can’t plug itself in. Your employees need to be educated, efficient, passionate, and effective.
Determining Key Things During the Interview
You can’t use an interview to totally determine the “arc” of a worker in your business, but this is going to be one of the most important milestones in the relationship you have with employees. You need to carefully screen who you hire and following are three key considerations you want to structure your interviews around to connect with and acquire the right people:
- Team players
- Self-motivated
- Skills in leadership
Team Players
An MSP company needs to have everybody on the same page even if they’re not in the same department. Engineering, sales, maintenance, marketing, customer service, on-site personnel— all these divisions of your MSP need to have people who are operating from the same vision. You need team players.
During the interview, ask whether or not the interviewee is a “team player” and then ask qualifying questions to collaterally prove it. Anyone savvy enough to do the job will say they’re a team player if they sense that you want them to be. Collateral questions prove or disprove this.
Self-Motivated
Self-motivation is key in most industries, but it’s especially important in technology. The issues which are faced can be daunting and twist the mind up. You’re looking for the kind of individual that likes to code because they like to solve puzzles— well, for some parts of your MSP’s operational surface area. This quality is not necessarily something those in customer service will need.
However, self-motivation is something everybody needs. One way to determine if your prospects have this is to schedule interviews at difficult times and see who’s punctual. Determine other collaterally revelatory questions appropriately.
Skills in Leadership
Leadership is difficult in many echelons of the IT world because those who are most talented at computational feats tend to be socially awkward. To a degree, this may not be your most important line of interview questions. However, you should determine if your prospect would be willing to become a leader if that were something that turned out to be necessary, so structure questions in this way if they’re going to be in a position where leadership isn’t too fundamental— like coding. Otherwise, look for clear leadership indicators. A company full of leaders is important.
Getting the Best Employees for Your Business
An MSP company needs to design employee interviews as a means of effectively screening personnel so you get the best. Look for skills in leadership, self-motivation, and those who are team players. Structuring interviews to determine these things will help you get the most from the interview process.
