As your MSP charts a new path forward toward business recovery — from rethinking business models and re-imagining customer experiences to developing new products and services — you need more than “hard work” to drive revenue growth and increase your market share. Building a culture of success for your MSP isn’t a destination, it is a journey. And, your MSP reaps the best outcomes when you involve your employees and customers in this journey. Challenging traditional business operation models that have reigned in the MSP space for years and creating business success together with your employees and customers can enable you to see business issues through a different lens.
To discuss what small MSPs can do to drive greater employee experience, engagement, and customer loyalty with the help of their employees and customers, I invited our very own Global CHRO, Ronnie March, on this week’s Silver Linings podcast. With years of leadership experience, specifically with growth-oriented companies, Ronnie knows first-hand the challenges for organizations to invest in their employees as a top priority.
Create a coaching environment across teams
Having a purpose is a major motivator for any employee. When your people feel that they can grow and learn, your MSP benefits from the sense of purpose this brings. Employees stay with an employer for longer if it invests in their careers. So, work with your HR team to roll out mentorship initiatives and link them with each engineer’s career development plan, helping them see their good in this too.
See if existing weekly 1:1s or monthly check-ins can be converted into mentorship sessions. For this, conduct an informal 1 on 1 each week to talk about responsibilities, change in role, or intrapersonal challenges.
Give important voices a platform
The fear of “not being heard” can cripple the flow of ideas and ultimately productivity within your workforce. This is why it is essential that leadership at your MSP creates an environment where sharing ideas are the norm and part of the process. Shape a work culture where your c-suite can set up calls with employees who have suggestions and process improvement ideas.
At a glance, this may appear to be completely opposed to business productivity. You can’t quantify it. You can’t measure it. But, trust me it’s great for developing big ideas, which won’t align with those looming deadlines but reap greater benefits in the long run and make your employees feel valued. Because, a good business leader has an intuitive business understanding, backed by extensive knowledge of customers, the industry, and competitors, you can always use this understanding while picking up the right ideas suggested by employees.
Give SHOUTOUTS and recognize those who have helped you improve a service delivery process or better a product. By acknowledging these ideas in company town halls, you can make your talent feel appreciate while encouraging new, innovative thinking. This won’t also be just a boon for your productivity; it will also have the pleasant side effect of improved talent retention.
Have your customer shape your service delivery
To be a truly client-centric MSP, personalization alone isn’t enough. You must know if your clients’ pressing needs are being met in today’s inconstant business landscape. An extensive customer survey is a win-win for measuring customer satisfaction and can help identify areas of improvement with your customers. It also makes it evident to them that their opinion matters to you, making them feel valued. The psychology of exchange will make it a sweet spot for customers to happily provide feedback without any reluctance. As a consequence, you have actual data to figure out what exactly resonates with them.
Seamless client success management is about collecting and analyzing this data at every touchpoint and using that data to make their experience better. In times like these, looking at this data can enable your MSP to address complex business recovery challenges. It can allow for new ideas to emerge and reshape assumptions, helping your service delivery team improve their workflows and approaches for success.
Train for mutual advantage
One of the biggest concerns for MSPs is the decrease in productivity during countless hits and trials of business recovery. So, up-skilling/re-skilling people, to enable them to perform effectively in a new role with the same levels of productivity, should be your priority. Training the current employees on emerging technologies will truly help them move up the value chain and increase productivity.
Not sure if you noticed, but your employees have a wealth of information that can help you create a better learning program for them. By asking your employees (via opinion poll, face-to-face interviews, or emails) where they’re experiencing knowledge gaps, what skills they would like to learn, and where they believe learning can be cultivated, you’re involving them in the process-to tailor learning together and ultimately achieve greater business success.
Final Thought: Co-creating business success with employees and customers requires continuous measurement and the disciplined use of processes. When done exceptionally with planning and strategic implementation, the move will help you foster talent that is constantly innovating and formulate new customer strategies to better your MSP business.
