The Top 7 Tips for Hiring New IT Staff

A few elements must come together for a business to be successful. Today, many organizations put a heavy focus on establishing and maintaining a great culture – at the center of this paradigm is company staff. Great teams with happy people are more productive but it takes work to make the perfect dynamic.

Some departments are notoriously difficult when it comes to finding and retaining great talent. A typical IT department is often challenged with a slew of projects at any given time, which puts a great deal pressure on the group. Though these teams often need extra help, finding the right individuals is a delicate obstacle to navigate.

Business is faced with a few different choices: do you hire new people, augment staff with temporary or full-time workers, or develop a remote team of contractors? We’re going to take a look at these various options work and discuss how IT staffing services could be the ideal solution for your business.

THE IT STAFFING DILEMMA

In every department, team personalities define performance. Great setups have leaders who are tasked with guiding and mentoring individuals, especially those early in their career who will grow from great feedback. Hiring talent with high-growth potential is an excellent way to build people as you build your business but it’s not always a viable option.

Problems and frustrations can arise from these departments when people aren’t hired to accommodate exact needs. When hiring managers don’t work closely with IT teams, it’s common to encounter either over hiring or under hiring for projects. Some of the most common scenarios are:

Hiring managers bring on a full-time employee for a temporary assignment, but the employee isn’t aware until after the job commences.

Someone is hired on for a permanent, full-time role but the assigned tasks only require part-time dedication.

The new hire or contractor doesn’t have the correct skills for their assigned projects.

A remote contractor is hired but isn’t available during most working hours dues to time zone differences.

There isn’t enough communication with a remote contractor.

Internal communication is key to finding and onboarding the right people who possess the necessary skills to supplement IT projects. Tech departments require a diverse set of skills to function properly. Finding the best people means hiring those with the capacity to succeed in their role. This means finding the right combination of core skillsets, soft skills, as well as hiring workers for the proper project term.

FINDING THE RIGHT PEOPLE WITH IT STAFF AUGMENTATION COMPANIES

Acquiring the best people for an IT role means working closely with departments to truly understand what a role will entail. When selecting people for a technical role, successful staff augmentation companies consider the following when placing talent in an organization.

1. Hire those with specific skills for short-term projects: identifying the required skills and term-length for either a contract or payroll position are crucial before hiring anyone. While it’s great when you have the room to hire someone full-time who can grow with our company, this isn’t always an option for short-term needs. Especially for highly-specific projects, the chops to perform the task is most important.

2. Use remote workers for tasks that don’t require on-site presence: It’s helpful to have people on location, but many times, remote workers can handle tasks just the same. It’s up to your company to define a proper practice with communication for remote workers to ensure they stay on task. A great communication system and feedback cycle help developers, network engineers, administrators, and others who can’t relocate but have the capacity to perform their roles from anywhere in the world.

3. Train those onboard for staff augmentation: IT staff augmentation companies can place people with the necessary skill sets in your business – keep in mind, they will require some help to get up to speed. Though many companies use the same tools, how a component of using any given tool is critical. Leverage these people by working with your provider and internal users to make sure they engage with processes in a way that meets your expectations.

4. Develop those who show promise: Anyone with a baseline skillset can fill a role, but special individuals with skills that transcend their core responsibilities should be considered for greater responsibility. These might be temporary workers or people you’ve hired for more basic roles – if the right person vibes with your team and shows a will to grow, explore options for them to become a permanent fixture and hone their skills for bigger roles.

5. Find an IT staffing provider for rotating needs: During high growth phases, it’s not uncommon to require certain skill sets to complete short-term projects. Convey this kind of employment need to prospects or your outsourcing specialist as there are many individuals who thrive with this kind of employment model. Setting specific contract terms for brief projects helps alleviate false expectations, allowing businesses and contractors to mutually benefit from such relationships.

6. Clearly define expectations: This is crucial for roles of any nature – employees and contractors need to know their exact expectations. Too, they all deserve adequate feedback. Ensure team roles are properly defined such that everyone knows where their responsibilities fall. This allows tasks to be completed as expected while mostly eliminating the possibility of anyone “stepping on another’s toes” because of ill-defined boundaries.

7. Select staff augmentation that works with your team: Even the best cultures observe territorial behavior! Select teams that can effectively assimilate into a team with minimal disruption. Connect existing teams with augmented team members as soon as possible – this allows augmented staff to begin forming relationships as well as “feel out” where they stand. Communication prior to beginning a project is incredibly helpful for the success of such hybrid teams.

LET SOHO DRAGON SUPPLEMENT YOUR IT STAFF

Assimilating the best people into an IT team is a difficult process – with the right resources, IT staff augmentation companies like SoHo Dragon can help elevate your organization’s success. Don’t leave finding the best IT talent to chance. Get in touch with us here to learn how our IT augmentation services can help your business deliver optimal service to your customers.