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Managed Services Providers Take Steps to Attract—and Retain—Employees
March 2008
No company benefits from high employee turnover. It takes too much time and energy to continuously find and train new qualified hires. This is especially true in the ever-evolving world of information technology (IT), where losing highly experienced and talented employees could potentially put a company behind its competition. It only makes sense for companies to find new ways to make their work environments more inviting and offer incentives to keep the skilled qualified employees where they are.
Taking Care of Employees
John Pavlik, president of Portland, Ore.-based managed services provider Resource One Inc., said it is in a company’s best interest to keep the same employees. “Turnover is expensive for us. Clients, or anyone for that matter, do not like change,” said Pavlik. “As much as we would like to say computer techs are a commodity, they are not. Time and time again, our clients have told us they prefer to see the same face whenever possible. Our business is more than just providing technology, but about our relationship with the client and that requires a higher level of engagement than just sending a tech to fix a problem.”
The 12-employee managed services company specializes in maintaining the IT infrastructure for the small- and medium-sized business market. This maintenance could start with simple tasks such as monitoring network and server health to multi-site network deployments. “We provide the traditional time-and-material services for clients that have relatively static environments through a variety of managed service offerings tailored to the clients’ needs,” said Pavlik.
Addressing client needs starts by addressing what employees need to feel secure and appreciated within the company so they can better support the clients. In Pavlik’s view, happy employees are more likely to put forth 100 percent for clients since their long hours and hard work are genuinely appreciated by their employer. Pavlik said Resource One Inc. takes the family-oriented approach to employee retention.
“I have always been a firm believer in taking care of our employees. It is important to create an environment for them that reflects this attitude,” he explained. “We are family oriented and work with employees to be flexible when they need to work from home and take care of a sick child. We schedule three to four social events throughout the year so we can get to know everyone outside of the office and most of these events include kids. We’ve done a whitewater rafting trip, a murder-mystery dinner on a train, a jet boat tour, go-karts and many other activities to promote team spirit and family.”
The Bigger Picture
Nurturing that feeling of family is most likely what keeps the employee-turnover rate low. Pavlik said the company is fortunate that many of its employees come through referrals from existing employees or business associates, but that does not keep Pavlik from thinking big. He would like to start an ongoing recruitment process—through the company’s Web site, peer networking and many local colleges—to remain on the lookout for the most highly qualified employees. Once employees start working at Resource One, he thinks they stay because the company offers “an environment that is open to sharing knowledge with others and we promote a real team attitude toward providing service to our clients.”
The quest to continually improve employee skills is also a tactic Pavlik would like to use in the future to retain employees. One perk he hopes to offer is an improved and more formal employee training process. “As a small company, our employees wear many hats and our employees often learn while on the job instead of a structured training program,” he added. If a company invests in its employees’ continuing education, it is also making an investment in its employees.
Along those same lines, Pavlik said that in addition to a comprehensive benefit package, employees also receive a growth plan within the company. So, from the moment new hires enter the company, they know exactly what is expected of them. There is no second-guessing about just where they fit in and the potential of growth is spelled out for them from the beginning. “The growth path,” said Pavlik, “is based on the employee's capability to demonstrate skills and certifications that justify the promotion.” It seems like a simple concept: an employee who is certain he can move up the company ladder is less likely to look for work elsewhere. It is all about the potential they feel they have within the company.
Employee-Friendly Environment
Although tactics to attract and retain employees seem straightforward,
some companies still struggle to get it right. The bottom line
comes down to keeping the employees happy, whether it is through
benefits, perks or education offerings. Resource One might
not have a difficult time attaining top-quality employees,
but the fact that the employees remain with the company speaks
volumes. And the reason Pavlik gives for this is quite simple. “The
overall environment we promote is employee friendly and people
like working at a place where they are treated right,” he
said.
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