In my previous post, I talked about two vital characteristics of managed services engineers. Here are two more.
3. They love to help people
A critical characteristic of a great service person is that they love to help people.
Nothing makes a true service person feel more rewarded than going above and beyond to help someone. Not because their job requirements demand it or because their boss told them to do so but because they are intrinsically motivated to help. If a person does not intuitively, almost as if they cannot help it, have the desire to help others then they are not the type of service person you are looking for.
These are the candidates that show up early for an interview, offer to help you clean up after the interview is over, ask if you need them to do anything for you, and never forget to send a thank you note to wrap things up.
Great service people are always looking for ways to help people even if it is not on a conscious level.
Because of this you can look for the signs of even setup situations where they have a chance to offer their assistance to you during the interview process to see how they react.
4. They love to solve problems (critical thinking)
Let’s face it, the majority of what we spend our day doing in this industry is dealing with and solving people’s problems for them.
* A computer problem
* A business problem that technology can address
* Network problems
And any people problems your clients may present during interactions with your team.
Great service people pride themselves critical thinking ability and being creative in the way they solve problems. They are not just looking to solve tech problems either even though they do love doing so they are just as challenged by the people problems presented to them each day.
People problems can be anything ranging from an irrationally angry, stressed out, over worked, nervous, scared, or flustered end user to a business owner who’s financial well being is on the line as their largest customer requests and audit of their information security with the threat of ending the account if not up to par.
In these situations it is easy for a tech to focus in on the technical problem without addressing the people aspect of the issue. I would argue that an engineer that takes a call, fixes a technology issue, and leaves the client with a bad people experience (doesn’t address the anger, anxiety, or root people issue) will cost your MSP business both money and time as you scramble to replace them.
The opposite side of this argument is that a great customer service engineer could take the same call, address the people problem they are hearing, take twice as long to resolve the technical issue but provide such great service that you will have a customer for life!
Now, don’t get me wrong. You can find engineers that have great people skills but it is rare and often those people have such a high perceived value in the marketplace that it is tough to bring them on-board.
It is easier to teach technology skills than to teach people skills, knowing this will save you countless hours in getting your service right.
In my next post, I’ll talk about two more important things to look for when hiring managed services techs. Being able to spot these characteristics early can help you secure the right people for your service team.
Josh
