Solution Providers Experience Hiring Headaches

In fact, a third of solution providers say hiring and retaining sales and technical staff is their biggest pain point, said Carolyn April, principal analyst with CMP Channel's Institute for Partner EducationDevelopment, in a session at XChange '07 Sunday. "The biggest challenge for solution providers is the lack of qualified applicants, in sales in particular," April said, drawing agreement from the crowd.

"It's hard just finding people that are smart. We have close to 1.5 percent unemployment in my state, Hawaii, so basically if you have a pulse you're hired," said Karen James, principal at Gemini Tech, Waipio Gentry, Hawaii.

April highlighted a few ways VARs can differentiate themselves from the competition. For example, it's imperative to recruit on a continual basis. "You have to always be looking for talent and have someone ready in the wings in case you have a position open up," April said.

While two-thirds of VARs don't have dedicated HR directors on staff, it's key to have an employee skilled in handling basic HR tasks, April said. "Even if you don't have a full-time HR director, it's really important to make someone a specialist and to have some sort of method for recruiting, hiring and reviewing employees," she said.

Compensation, of course, is always one way to keep workers happy, but there are other ways to improve morale without breaking the bank, April said.

"Training is a big bonus for people; they want to see you're investing in them, especially cross-training, where you get some of the tech guys schooled in selling and vice versa. It's also really inherent that you recognize the need for work-life balance and be flexible," April said. "If you want to keep employees over the long haul, their life will change and they are not going to be the same individual over time. If you value these employees, you will grow with them."