How to Hire the Ideal IT Consultant for Your Business

Your business needs IT expertise, regardless of how much it is integrated into your operations. You need someone on staff who not only understands your technology, but someone who can help you make the most of it to get the leg up on competition. Today, we want to explore how you can hire the right IT professionals for your organization’s specific needs, including both hard and soft skills.

How to Find the Ideal IT Specialist

You want your business’ IT help to have the right combination of skills and expertise. Here are some of the types of knowledge you should expect from them:

Security

Your IT team will undoubtedly have to deal with security challenges, all of which require a certain amount of knowledge and expertise that any ideal candidate should have. It also helps if your candidate has the industry compliance knowledge so as to help you implement the appropriate solutions for compliance with best practices.

You need a security professional on your side to take the fight to the new and emerging threats developed every day. Make sure that you are only hiring the best candidates possible—the ones who have a proven track record of securing networks from threats.

Cloud Computing

The cloud is a vital part of most modern businesses today, and to be quite honest with you, if you’re not considering how it can improve your business, you’re leaving money on the table. The right IT professional can help you leverage the cloud for all kinds of tasks, like application deployment and data backup. Your IT people should have the skills necessary to help you manage your own in-house cloud, work with a provider, or a little bit of both as needed. There are also cloud certifications for IT professionals, so if you find a candidate who has these, keep them in mind for sure.

Network Maintenance and Design

Your network is the thing that keeps your business running, so it makes sense that any potential tech professional you bring on should have some experience working with them. Not only must it remain operational, but it must also remain secure. Your team needs professionals who have experience maintaining and building network infrastructures so that any adjustments you need to make over time can be accommodated.

Further Skills for IT Specialists

There are other soft skills that an IT specialist will need as well. Here are some of them:

Customer Service

Your IT team will be working with more than just your technology; they’ll also be helping your staff. This requires patience and empathy, both of which are crucial when working with seasoned professionals or newbie hires. Most important, however, is that they handle working with others in a professional and courteous manner.

Curiosity

With so many changes occurring on a daily basis, business IT professionals need a sense of curiosity to look into new solutions, explore potential problems, and discover innovative solutions to them. This type of curiosity and creative thought goes a long way, and you might be surprised to see how valuable an asset it can be for IT workers.

Flexibility

Furthermore, you want your IT staff to have the flexibility to take on new challenges and switch out priorities as needed to keep your organization at optimal efficiency. For example, they might have to switch from monitoring your infrastructure to reacting swiftly to resolve an issue. You never know what IT has in store for your business, so the professionals who work with it must be able to respond to the evolving demands of the job.

Managed Services Will Help Your Talent Woes

If you can’t find the best technician for the job, have no fear. This is exactly why managed services companies like Directive exist. We make IT help accessible and efficient for small businesses. Learn more by calling us today at 607.433.2200.