O p t i m i z i n g C h a n n e l P a r t n e r s h i p s Channel Elite Express Webinar Series August, 2008 “Recruiting, Hiring and Retaining Top Sales and Technical Talent”

Channel Consulting, Education and Market Intelligence Over 50 years of collective experience in the channel Thousands of partner profiles in every geography More than 90,000 interviews with Channel Partners and their customers annually Channel Consulting, Education and Market Intelligence Over 50 years of collective experience in the channel Thousands of partner profiles in every geography More than 90,000 interviews with Channel Partners and their customers annually From CMP to… Everything Channel 2 2

Challenges to Growth Recruiting is a Process Staffing Insights Hiring and Retention Best Practices 3 Agenda

How do you find, hire, and retain sales and technical staff? Access to Qualified Human Resources How do you manage more clients, more projects, more details? Lack of Systems / Processes to Scale Capacity How do you create and connect with a higher volume of opportunities? Need for Marketing to Drive Higher Demand How do you pay for more people, more resources, more deals, etc.? Financial Resources Required to Fund Growth Challenges to Solution Provider Growth

5 Staffing Strategy Health Checkup What is your Growth Plan? – Revenue – Number of customers – Number of employees Do you have a formal strategy in place for finding, recruiting, hiring, and retaining high quality people? – Recruiting plan – Director of human resources / hiring professional What is the quality/impact of your hiring decisions? – Few hires who have stayed for a long time – Many hires that have stayed and grown the company – Many hires that have stayed briefly and must be replaced

6 Recruiting Demands Attention HARD SCIENCE (What Solution Providers are “Usually” Good At) Engineering Systems Design Technology Integration Process Execution Troubleshooting Performance Monitoring SOFT SCIENCE (What It Takes to be Good At Recruiting Humans) Culture Management Interpersonal Skills Vision Motivation Conflict Resolution Human Performance

7 The Reality About Growth The Reality About Growth Typical Solution Provider Profile – Revenue: Less than $2 Million Annually – Employees: Less than 20 – Growth Rate: Less than 5% Annually Understanding Capacity Dynamics – People + Process + Tools = Production Capacity – While automation can improve productivity, it can’t acquire customers, manage relationships, communicate with decision makers, manage a business, etc. The Role of Humans in Managed Services – MYTH: Unlimited scalability based on tools and automation – REALITY: You can scale the business faster than you can scale your headcount, but staffing is a critical success factor.

8 Capacity Growth Options Hire Additional Employees Headcount Same, Increase Productivity Outsource Not Planning to Grow Capacity Get Acquired/Merge Acquire a Company Sales Technical Remains biggest Obstacle to Growth, but Highest Strategic Priority Challenge:

Challenges to Growth Recruiting is a Process Staffing Insights Hiring and Retention Best Practices 9 Agenda

10 Who’s Doing the Recruiting? CEO/Presiden t 33% Sr Management has primary responsibility for recruitment Bright Spot: SPs understand importance of hiring the right people Sr Management has primary responsibility for recruitment Bright Spot: SPs understand importance of hiring the right people Sr. Management 29% HR Director 24% Office Manager 7% Other 6% Best Practice:

11 Staffing Needs to Be a Strategic Priority 1. Business Strategy 2. Growth Objectives 3. Employee Retention 4. Roles & Responsibilities 5. Profile Characteristics 6. Networking & Awareness 7. Advertising & Active Recruiting Senior Management Responsibility Consistent Implementation & Continuous Improvement Core Competency and Element of Competitive Advantage Repeatable, Scalable and Teachable Integrated Recruiting Methodology

12 1. Business Strategy 2. Growth Objectives 3. Employee Retention 4. Roles & Responsibilities 5. Profile Characteristics 6. Networking & Awareness 7. Advertising & Active Recruiting Effective Recruiting is a Business Process Effective Recruiting is a Business Process

Challenges to Growth Recruiting is a Process Staffing Insights Hiring and Retention Best Practices 13 Agenda

14 Recruitment Strategies Only Per Open Position Continual Basis Quarterly Annual Sales Technical 75% of the time SPs are Hiring Only in Sales is Continuous Recruiting Occurring (and only at 10% of the time) 75% of the time SPs are Hiring Only in Sales is Continuous Recruiting Occurring (and only at 10% of the time) Trend: Reactive Behavior

15 Sales/Technical Employee Turnover Drivers Personal Reasons Competitor: Title/Pay Work/Life Balance Layoff: Reorg Competitor: Ownership Stake Layoff: M&A Sales Technical Equity & M&A surprisingly less of a factor in movement

16 Retention Challenges Compensation Lack of Qualified Sales Applicants Company Culture Fit Competition from Other SPs and/or Vendors Lack of Time: Hiring/Retaining Organizational Structure Bandwith Lack of IT Skills Set Sales Technical Match Making Becomes Key to Hiring and Holding onto Right People Match Making Becomes Key to Hiring and Holding onto Right People Challenge:

17 Incentives for the “New Breed” Professional Sales Training Cross Skills Training: Sales/Engineering Non Financial Incentives Tuition Reimbursement Technical Cert Training Comp Rewards: Certification Sales Technical Cross Training to Create “Hybrids” Cross Training to Create “Hybrids” Differentiator:

Challenges to Growth A Systematic Approach to Recruiting Staffing Insights Hiring and Retention Best Practices 18 Agenda

19 Level of Difficulty: Hiring v Retaining Technical/Engineers (22%) Marketing Specialists (11%) Management Employees (10%) Sales (6%) Technical/Engineers (48%) Management Employees (36%) Sales (34%) Marketing Specialists (25%) HiringRetaining RANK 1234 Technical Staff: 50% More Difficult to Hire vs Sales Sales Reps: 5-6x More Difficult to Hire Than They are to Retain Technical Staff: 50% More Difficult to Hire vs Sales Sales Reps: 5-6x More Difficult to Hire Than They are to Retain

20 Keys to Effective Candidate Engagement – INTERVIEWING … A two-way conversation that helps you understand the nature of this particular human + helps them understand the job, culture, goals, expectations. – PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES … Always ask for them; always check them (job performance and personal character) – MAKE THE OFFER … Formal; written; include compensation plans and benefits and job description – ONBOARDING METHODOLOGY … A consistent, systematic process that defines the first quarter with written responsibilities and performance objectives – SCHEDULED PERFORMANCE REVIEWS…Inspect what you expect.

21 Proven Best Practices: Sales Reps Always Be Recruiting … Whether you have an open position or not, always be searching for the highest caliber sales people to upgrade your business development capacity Catch the Proven Players … Don’t just recruit the competition, focus on the reps who win consistently and have proven they can execute in a managed services environment Be Specific About the Opportunity … Carefully define opportunities and expectations – and don’t be afraid to make a lucrative offer to a high- powered rep (design the comp plan right) Show Your Commitment to Resources … Don’t just send your reps to the wolves, support them with people, tools, etc.

22 Proven Best Practices: Technicians Build a "Consulting" Culture … Not just a place where technical people work, but a business that’s designed to maximize the opportunity for true consultants Invest in Development / Career Path … No matter how good they are today, they’ll need to know you are committed to helping them get better – and then rewarding them for that growth Attitude Matters … No matter how talented a technician is, a bad attitude will corrupt your culture internally and externally – remember, you can teach skills, but not personality Selling and Provisioning is a “Team Sport”…create a collaborative and team-oriented culture that will foster quality work and delivery Clarify Expectations … Right up front, be clear about exactly what you’ll want your techs to do, whether it’s popular or not

23 Best Practices: Retention Proven Best Practices: Retention Blocking & Tackling: Do What You Said You Would Do Expect – And Reward – Innovation … Raise your expectations and people will rise to meet them (if they believe they’ll be rewarded or recognized). Pay Attention to Work / Life Balance … Be respect the limits of reality and actually encourage your people to have a life beyond the office Plan for Advancement and Succession… Understand your people’s career aspirations; reward performance; manage your staffing plan to include re- assignments and promotions Talk About the Elephant … Seek to understand the issues on your peoples’ minds and make time to address them (as groups or individuals) Be Deliberate & Realistic …Professionals want to be respected and trusted. Let them in on your business strategies, planning and making decisions Create and Maintain a Culture of Excellence…Lead by example; communicate your purpose, standards, goals; recognize achievements.

24 In the End… Leadership in Theory –Set the Direction for the Business –Own and Actively Administer the Culture –Inspire and Motivate through Vision and Action –Have a Plan, Work the Plan, Demonstrate Accountability Leadership in Practice –Participate in the Interviewing Process –Schedule and Deliver Regular Progress Reviews / Reports –Track, Measure, and Publish Effectiveness –Do Something About Performance / Lack Thereof –Always Be Recruiting –Actively Seek Input … And then Be Open to It “It’s management’s role and responsibility to lead and empower their people to achieve superior results.”