Rock Star Employees:
Building a Talented Service Desk,
From Recruitment to Retention
© 2013 Robert
Half Technology.
An Equal Opportunity Employer. All rights reserved.
© 2013 Robert Half Technology. An Equal Opportunity
Employer.
All rights reserved.
Rock Star Employees:
Building and Retaining a Talented Service Desk
• Market overview
• Recruiting top talent
• Keeping star employees
• Managing a
multigenerational team
Market Overview
• IT hiring has shifted into high gear
• There’s a “war for IT talent”
in many sectors and specialties
Market Overview
• Competition has driven some firms to use
aggressive tactics to entice candidates:
– Matching referral bonuses
– “We are hiring” vans circling competitors’ buildings
– Lifetime supply of beer
Market Overview
U.S. starting salaries for IT positions are expected to
increase an average of 5.7 this year.
PC Technician
+4.7%
Help Desk Tier 3
+6.4%
Help Desk
Manager
+5.3%
Market Overview – Time to Hire
Source: RHT IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report for Atlanta.
Market Overview – Time to Hire
Average number of weeks
it takes to hire for an open
staff-level position:
Average number of weeks
it takes to hire for an open
management-level position:
5 weeks
7 weeks
Source: RHT survey of more than 1,600 CIOs in the United States and Canada
Help Desk/Technical Support
Professionals in Demand
• 11% of CIOs say they find
it hardest to find help
desk/technical support
professionals.
• 48% of CIOs say desktop
support skills are most in
demand.
Source: 2,300 CIOs from companies across the United States with 100 or more employees
11%
48%
Attract Top Candidates
•
•
•
•
•
Create a pipeline of candidates
Network and encourage employee referrals
Exploit your own website
Write a clear job description
Work with a specialized staffing firm
Rock Star
Recruiting Techniques
Rock Star Recruiting Techniques
“Personality trumps
IT specific knowledge
every time.”
Rock Star Recruiting Techniques
“Use your employees’
collective network.”
Rock Star Recruiting Techniques
“Because I put a premium
on references from people
I respect, I send out personal
notes to those individuals when
I have a job opening.”
Rock Star Recruiting Techniques
“Interviewing people
is a lot like dating. You know
when you’ve found ‘The One.’”
Why Good Employees Leave
Executives were asked, “Which of the following is most
likely to cause good employees to quit their jobs?”
•
•
•
•
•
Inadequate salary and benefits
Limited advancement opportunities
Bored with job
Unhappiness with management
Lack of recognition
Why Good Employees Leave
Executives were asked, “Which of the following is most
likely to cause good employees to quit their jobs?”
35%
Unhappiness with management
Limited advancement opportunities
33%
Lack of recognition
13%
Inadequate salary and benefits
13%
Other/don't know
Bored with job
Source: Robert Half survey of 150 senior executives
5%
1%
Keep Your Top Talent
for the Long Term
• Trust your team to do a good job
• Help them make progress
• Be sensitive to workload demands
Keep Your Top Talent
for the Long Term
Pay competitively rht.com/SalaryCenter
Rock Star Retention Techniques
“Man, are we lucky
they work here.”
Rock Star Retention Techniques
“I try to offer
off-cycle
raises and bonuses.”
Rock Star Retention Techniques
“I try to give my best
people the most
interesting projects. I also
encourage them to come
up with ideas and projects
themselves.”
Rock Star Recruiting Techniques
“I make it clear
I value their hard work.”
Rock Star Retention Techniques
“I’ll request more headcount
if one of my employees
is overworked.”
The Power of Flexible Staffing
• Can avoid the cycle of hiring and firing
• Convert part of fixed staffing costs into a
variable expense
• Full-time employees are core, with interim
staff used on an as-needed basis
• Interim staff can provide access to skills not
available in-house or needed year-round
• Serves as an extended interview
Rock Star Retention Techniques
“I know some of my best
employees may leave, but I
create an environment where we
both benefit as long as he or she
is with us.”
Managing a
Multigenerational Team
Managers were asked, “How challenging is it
managing multiple generations?”
Very
challenging
15%
Does
not apply
9%
Not
challenging
20%
Percentages in chart do not total 100% due to rounding. Source: 1,400 CIOs
from companies across the United States with 100 or more employees
Somewhat
challenging
56%
Communicating with a
Multigenerational Team
• Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach
• Set up informal “cross-training” sessions
• Informal cross-training in the workplace allows
employees of different generations to share their
respective areas of expertise
• Establish mentoring opportunities
• Build camaraderie through fun events
• Develop project workflows or processes
Questions?
rht.com
© 2013 Robert Half Technology.
An Equal Opportunity Employer.
All rights reserved.
© 2012 Robert Half Technology. An Equal Opportunity Employer.