As an MSP, you understand the importance of keeping your customers’ IT infrastructure running smoothly. You need skilled IT support engineers to do that. From enhancing service quality to improving efficiency, the right type of engineers can help you deliver exceptional support to your customers.
In this blog, we’ll explore eight key factors you must consider while hiring an IT support engineer.
Who is an IT Support Engineer?
An IT support engineer is a person responsible for researching, diagnosing, troubleshooting and resolving all technical issues your customer encounters. They are the first point of contact for any errors, bugs, or other issues that your customers are dealing with and will be responsible for until they get resolved.
Key responsibilities of an IT support engineer
IT support engineers are responsible for providing assistance and guidance to customers regarding their technical issues or inquiries. Their roles and responsibilities include:
- Troubleshooting: Diagnose and resolve technical problems.
- Customer service: Provide professional support and guide users on system operations.
- Documentation: Record all customer interactions and system changes.
- Escalation: Refer complex issues to higher-level support when needed.
- Installation: Set up and configure software and hardware.
- Knowledge update: Stay current with new technologies and software.
- Collaboration: Work with other teams and vendors to solve issues and complete projects.
- Training: Educate customers and mentor other support staff.
- Testing: Perform quality assurance on new software or hardware.
- Process improvement: Develop and enhance processes to improve support efficiency and automate tasks.
Types of technical support engineers
IT support engineers operate under a variety of designations and have specific areas of expertise in end-point tech support. The following are a few typical categories:
- Applications support engineer (ASE): Usually concentrates on software applications that interact with customers
- Field support engineer: A person who interacts with customers to answer technical enquiries regarding products and associated problems.
- Customer support engineer: An engineer that works directly with customers to debug, onboard, and respond to technical enquiries regarding a product or service.
Things to consider while hiring technical support engineer
Hiring skilled IT support engineers can make all the difference in how effectively you manage and grow your business. Here are the 8 things you should keep in mind while hiring the technical support engineer:
Technical expertise
You need someone with strong technical skills, especially in areas like network management, software troubleshooting and IT infrastructure management. This ensures they can handle the day-to-day technical challenges your customers face and keep their systems running smoothly.
Experience in the MSP industry
Hiring someone with experience in the MSP industry means they already understand the specific needs and high expectations of your clients. They’re likely familiar with managing multiple client environments and can hit the ground running.
Problem-solving ability
IT issues can arise at any time and having an engineer who can quickly diagnose problems and find effective solutions is crucial. Look for someone who thinks logically, stays calm under pressure and can resolve issues efficiently.
Customer service skill
Tech support engineers often serve as the face of your company. They need to communicate clearly and professionally with clients, even in stressful situations. Excellent customer service skills help build trust and maintain strong client relationships.
Adaptability
Technology evolves rapidly, so your IT support engineer must be adaptable. They should be eager to learn new tools, software and processes, ensuring they stay up to date with the latest industry trends and technologies.
Certifications
Certifications like CompTIA A+, Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals, or Cisco’s CCNA indicate a candidate’s commitment to their field and mastery of essential skills. These credentials can be a good measure of their technical proficiency and dedication.
Team collaboration
IT support engineers often need to collaborate with other team members, whether it’s for sharing knowledge or working on complex issues. An engineer who works well with others will contribute positively to your team’s overall efficiency and success.
Cultural fit
Finally, it’s important that the candidate aligns with your company’s values and culture. A good cultural fit means they’ll integrate well into your team, leading to better working relationships and more consistent service delivery.
Hire from IT By Design’s pool of MSP engineers for your support team
From over 20 years now, IT By Design has been the premier talent solutions provider to MSP businesses. When you hire from our global pool of MSP-ready engineers you get skilled technicians who are:
- Skilled and certified in advanced technologies such as Microsoft Azure
- Trained for about 60 days on MSP business tool stack and operations
- Customer-focused, achieving remarkable outcomes with a net promoter score (NPS) of 86+ and a customer satisfaction (CSAT) of 96%
- Proficient communicators who can identify and effectively handle your consumers’ difficulties
- And opting to hire from us will save you the most money, with savings of over 50-70%
Schedule a call with us today to learn how you can hire our IT support engineers for your MSP business within days.
