© 2013 Robert Half Technology. An Equal Opportunity Employer. All rights reserved.

Rock Star Employees: Building a Talented Service Desk, From Recruitment to Retention

© 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

PC Technician+4.7%

Help Desk Tier 3 +6.4%

Help Desk Manager+5.3%

U.S. starting salaries for IT positions are expected to increase an average of 5.7 this year.

Market Overview – Time to Hire

Source: RHT IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report for Atlanta.

Market Overview – Time to Hire

Average number of weeksit takes to hire for an open

staff-level position:

Source: RHT survey of more than 1,600 CIOs in the United States and Canada

Average number of weeks it takes to hire for an open

management-level position:

5 weeks 7 weeks

Help Desk/Technical SupportProfessionals 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.”

ALLACCESS

BACKSTAGEPASS

Rock Star Recruiting Techniques

“Interviewing peopleis 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

Executives were asked, “Which of the following is most likely to cause good employees to quit their jobs?”

Source: Robert Half survey of 150 senior executives

Bored with job

Other/don't know

Inadequate salary and benefits

Lack of recognition

Limited advancement opportunities

Unhappiness with management

1%

5%

13%

13%

33%

35%

Why Good Employees Leave

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 offeroff-cycle

raises and bonuses.”

“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 Retention Techniques

Rock Star Recruiting Techniques

“I make it clearI value their hard work.”

Rock Star Retention Techniques

“I’ll request more headcountif 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.”

Not challeng-ing20%

Does not apply9%

Very chal-lenging15%

Somewhat challeng-ing56%

Managing a Multigenerational Team

Managers were asked, “How challenging is it managing multiple generations?”

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

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?

© 2012 Robert Half Technology. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

rht.com© 2013 Robert Half Technology. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

All rights reserved.