CEO, Nuvepro
The number of open positions in IT companies is perhaps the largest in the history of the industry. A significant chunk is led by the demand for expertise in cloud technologies, such as Microsoft Azure, AWS and GCP. Several clients have these open positions, and it is easy revenue for IT companies if they can cater to their needs.
However, not many of these positions are being filled. While the recruitment teams are spending sleepless nights to get a good resume, the training teams are working hard to upskill the employees. In this blog, let us focus on how the training (or lack of it) is leading to revenue leakage.
Failing Certifications
Almost all IT companies, depending on their size, have invested millions of dollars on training their employees and getting them ready for the cloud technologies. Most of the focus was on the employee getting certified than building real-world execution skill. This tactic worked for a while and clients were happy to hire the certified individuals. After a while, clients have realized that the certification is not a guarantee to the ability of the individual to execute the project. This made the clients to insist on interviewing the candidate and testing their execution knowledge leading to increased rejections. These rejections are directly impacting the fulfilment and hence the revenues. What could have been easy revenues is now being a face-saving effort.
Missing the plot
So, where did the IT companies miss the plot? Yes, the temptation of vanity certifications is far too greater than the desire for practical knowledge. I don’t have anything against the certifications. It is just one part of the equation and gives a good base of theoretical knowledge. The other part is to instill the confidence through continuous practice and the ability to execute it right the first time. Just stopping at certifications is as dangerous as showing an individual some training videos on how to ride a bike, giving license and leaving them on any of the Bangalore roads.
What must be done now?
In short, complete the cycle of learning. Add the playbook type of practical exercises and assessments based on real-world configuration. Case in point – Here’s how some of our clients have done it:
Nuvepro has an offering called, Challenge Labs. It has a pre-configured lab environment that is as close to the environment that an engineer works in real work. The engineer is given a bunch of practical challenges to solve using the labs. It is like the test that happens before the license is given. Our clients have set up these challenge labs and assess the individuals’ ability to execute before certifying them or placing them on a project.
The result? Our clients increased the success rate of customer interviews so much so that customers waived off the mandatory interview process. The revenues are back and the engineer works with high confidence and engagement.
What next?
Challenge your employees. Talk to our team if you want to set up a pilot of the challenge labs. It just takes a few minutes. The point is, whether you come to Nuvepro or not, do challenge your employees on their practical knowledge. You should do it than allow them to fail in the real world. Of course, you don’t have to let go of any revenue, instead improve your brand as experts.
