How To Hire The Right It Managed Service Provider

As a business owner, you already know that the growth of your company mostly depends on making the best possible choices.

One important choice that you’ll have to make as your business grows is if you want to have IT employees or instead to hire an IT service provider. 

If you’re already familiar with the benefits of hiring an outsourced team or want to have both in-house and outsourced help, here’s what you should be looking for, to hire the right IT personnel. 

Be Specific

First, evaluate the needs of your business, this will help you determine the exact IT role you are looking to fill. 

There are many different roles and skills in IT. Take into account the complexity of your systems and the skill set required to manage them.

Hire an expert who has worked in your industry. For instance, if you run a restaurant, then an IT expert with foodservice industry experience will be able to serve you much better than one who has primarily worked in the healthcare industry. 

You want someone who will fix what is broken now and plan for the future to help you reach your business goals. 

Reliability

As with many business decisions, most of the time your best option is collaborating with another local business. 

Networking is a great way to learn who’s available to take on the job. Get referrals from people in your industry that you trust. 

Qualifications

The team lead should have a solid foundation like a Bachelor’s in Computer Science, a degree in Management Information Systems, or a good two-year technical college diploma that provides a solid general IT education.

And much more important: Real-world experience solving IT problems and bringing solutions to the table. Knowledge is great but is not a replacement for experience.

Don’t base your decision on how friendly they are, instead, analyze the relevant factors such as services, terms, prices, the knowledgeability of the staff, and response times.

If you don’t have the technical expertise to accurately qualify candidates you can consider hiring a recruitment firm to help you out. You’ll save valuable time and ensure you’ll get the right man for the job. 

Soft skills

Hiring someone for a technical role doesn’t leave soft skills out of the picture. After all, the IT managed service provider can be a valuable ally for your business development. 

Some important traits to consider are a passion for the job, thirst for knowledge, and being able to communicate effectively. You want someone who’s not only well versed in technology but also willing to explain complex things in simple words.  

It’s always great when someone comes back with questions and suggestions.

Meaningful interview

Make good use of the interview to ask the right questions in order to determine if this particular service provider will fit your company’s needs and what working with them will be like. You must find out if they have the technical skills to complete the project, soft skills, the right priorities, and company culture fit.

Asking this type of questions will give you a more well-rounded view of the candidate:

How would you explain (a specific technology process) in simple terms?

Are you available during the evenings and weekends?

How do you keep up with industry standards?

Make an informed choice, and enjoy the peace of mind of having a proficient team on your side.