Talent Retention Strategies for High-Performing Outsourced MSP Staff

MSP staffing agencies are vendor management firms that source talent for the company in question. This means that the original company is one step removed from the talent.

If you decide to go with this option, you can find some of the best MSP talent around while saving valuable resources! With outsourced staff, you can have high-performing talent that can work directly and only for your MSP helpdesk, without the hassle of taking care of all the bureaucracy that comes with it. You are less involved in the outsourced staff management and you benefit from their work.

Is this a problem?

The staff are productive, and there’s no administrative effort that you have to invest in them. This is a win-win scenario!

The fact that you have less direct control doesn’t have to mean that you have less input in their treatment in your company but could mean that you might have a harder time retaining high-performing employees as time passes.

A harder time doesn’t mean impossible, so here are a few talent retention strategies for high-performing MSP staff that you should know about. 

Compensation and Benefits

Make no mistake, most people are not living to work; they’re working to live, which means that their job satisfaction is greatly dependent on the compensation they’re getting for their work. 

This is really pretty simple. Most people are not working for the challenge; they’re working for a paycheck, and if the paycheck allows them to treat themselves occasionally or allow them to afford the lifestyle they want, they’ll appreciate you for it.

Now, this is a bit of a problem, seeing as how most companies outsource, hire remote workers, or go through an MSP staffing company to get cost-effective labor. So, the idea of paying people more than they have to seems a bit counterintuitive.

There are two strategies you could apply here:

• The first one is all about performance bonuses. This is a clear incentive for your employees to try harder. High-performing employees are usually more driven. 

You see, they say that there’s nothing that demoralizes hard-working employees more than seeing slackers unpunished (or receiving the same recognition/compensation as them). 

The fact that they know they can affect their earning by working harder would be more of an incentive for high-performing employees than if their salary was fixed. This way, they don’t have to look for a second job but just improve the output in their own organization. A second job they found, because they weren’t earning enough in your employ, could eventually become a full-time job that they leave you for.

• The second thing you can do is to compensate your staff through benefits. A good set of health, requirements and other benefits has its worth in money. Some remote workers are profit-oriented, but those who are a tad more finance-savvy will know how to appreciate this.

Career Development for High-Performing Outsourced MSP Staff

One of the biggest misconceptions about people who are employed this way is that they don’t have much room for advancement. This isn’t true for so many reasons, and we’ll start by debunking a big one.

First of all, remote work is present everywhere, and just because you’re engaging with outsourced MSP staffing, doesn’t mean that you’re hiring low-cost, unqualified labor from across the globe!

The planet is becoming increasingly tech-savvy as we speak, and people with impressive degrees and long-term employment in the industry are earning more this way due to lower living standards in their country. 

These people, however, have the potential to grow professionally. They will go elsewhere if they see that they can’t use this potential in your enterprise. 

So, your first objective is to allow your outsourced talent to advance. If they want to, they could become your permanent staff members, in a conventional sense; however, they need to know that they can grow outside of the existing structure.

You need to allow them to receive training that will help them improve their skills and grow as professionals. You shouldn’t be afraid of “boosting their CV” to a level where they can leave you for a much better employment option.

If you’re constantly afraid of losing people, you’ll provide them with the bare minimum of opportunity, which will as a result, ironically, drive them away.

People need to feel like they’re going somewhere with their career, and this is in your best interest, even if it means that this place where they’re going is another company. 

How does this benefit you? It’s simple, really – they stay longer, and while they’re here, they try harder. 

Fostering a Positive Work Environment in Your MSP

You don’t want to create a hostile work environment.

Some managers have unrealistic expectations of their employees. They insist on an incredibly high performance, and they’re never really satisfied. In their minds, they still live in that archaic era where, if the staff is given praise, they immediately feel like they no longer have to try.

Another thing to understand is that remote employees always seem so… available. This is why a lot of employers and managers struggle to understand that they can’t just send random messages outside of work hours and expect their employees to reply. 

Give them space and let them know that when they clock out, no one will bother them unless there’s an absolute emergency. They can go on with their day without thinking twice about the consequences. 

The most important thing that any employer should do is learn how to make their employees feel appreciated. This is not just about the compensation; it’s also about finding a way to show your appreciation for their work. 

You need to do this publicly and privately. Employee awards, shout-outs during meetings, and even praise during one-on-one feedback sit-downs are massive when it comes to this. People want to know that they’re appreciated.

Team building is also incredibly important. If an organization employs both remote employees and on-site teams, remote employees are seldom invited to teambuilding activities. Today, more and more teams rely on remote employees, which makes them organize virtual team-building activities. 

First, there’s no excuse not to invite them to these activities. Second, since they’re not used to being invited, they’ll appreciate this a lot more!

Meaningful Work and Autonomy

MSP employees can often engage in repetitive or straining tasks. While this is the very nature of work, in reality, a lot of people don’t find it to be too fulfilling.

This is why you need to make an extra effort to make your employees feel like their work really matters. First of all, do your best to show them the end result. Every employee, even someone just answering emails and doing data entry, is doing a task without which other people would be completely unable to perform.

If you show them what they’re working toward and how it all comes down together, you can help give their work meaning. 

You see, older generations worked to live. They worked toward their retirement, a white picket fence, and a dog named Spot. Younger generations are more invested in their work, and it’s a huge part of their overall self-fulfillment. They need to believe that what they work matters.

This is why you cannot just come up with a random, generic mission and vision for your enterprise and think that you’re done with it. You need something meaningful because millennials and younger generations really care about values.

You also need to show your staff you trust them. This means that you should give them autonomy to do their job without constantly looking over their shoulder. 

A high talent retention rate is a feature, not an anomaly!

Talent retention rate postpones your hiring process, which saves money and makes your team’s performance a lot more consistent. However, a high talent retention rate isn’t given. It’s something you work on, and with the right talent retention strategies on your side, you can not only retain but also attract the top high-performing MSP staff.