How do you handle difficult techs? Have you ever had a tech that is difficult to deal with internally? What about a tech that can be a jerk to clients? Today, I want to talk about managing difficult technicians in the Managed Services (MSP) space. Whether you’re an owner, manager, or even a technician yourself, dealing with varying temperaments is just part of the job. It’s important to address these challenges head-on to make your life—and your team’s—easier.
My name is Adam Hannemann. Welcome to Ramblings of a Geek. I’ve been in the MSP space for a couple of decades and have managed dozens of techs in my time. I have seen the good, the, bad, and the ugly.
Today we’re going to talk about four different techs that can cause problems in your MSP:
- The Grumpy tech
- The Always Right tech
- The Toxic tech
- The No Documentation tech
When you think about your MSP or really any business: It’s possible that the people that got you from point A to point B aren’t the same people that get you from point B to point C. Some people are far better suited for businesses of different sizes. Don’t be surprised if your early techs don’t work well once you have 10+ technicians. In the early days, techs are used to doing all the things, and being involved in pretty much everything. This can become frustrating to them as you grow because things are different than they used to be.
Types of Troublesome Technicians
The Grumpy Tech
One of the most common issues is the technician who’s just not good with users. Maybe they’re grumpy, impatient, or struggle to communicate effectively. While they might excel technically, their interpersonal skills can be a liability.
This is a bit of the stereotypical tech that people think of when they hear the term IT person. When left unchecked your clients may try to work around this person by asking for a specific tech, or maybe they call back looking for a different person. This tech will eventually cost you clients.
The Always-Right Tech
Another common issue is the technician who always has to be right. While technical accuracy is important, correcting users in a condescending way never ends well. This tech loves to explain why what the other person did was incorrect and usually in a tactless manner. It’s one thing to teach a client how to do something better, but it’s entirely different when unsolicited or done in an argumentative manner.
Not only is this tech a problem with your end users, they’re also probably an issue with your staff as well. The Always-Right tech may belittle their teammates for not knowing something, may argue a point to death, or even hold onto incorrect positions that ultimately hurt your team. Whenever a tech feels like they must go out of their way to be right that isn’t a great position to be in.
The Toxic Tech
Sometimes, a technician’s behavior goes beyond grumpiness or needing to be right. They might belittle teammates, shut down conversations, or create a toxic work environment. I once had a tech spend a few minutes in a team meeting essentially shouting down a member of another team for weighing in on an issue that they had expertise in.
Often Toxic techs have a few traits that cause trouble. In my experience it’s a mix of the Grumpy Tech, the Always-Right tech, along with a mix of I’ve been here longer than you (or I have more experience) that combines together to make a tech that’s just difficult to be around.
This tech can also be a bit of a chameleon where they are on their best behavior when the owner is around and then their back is turned they let their toxicity out to play.
The Non-Documenting Tech
Another challenge is the technician who won’t log time or document their work. While they might be great technically, this lack of documentation can create bigger problems. Often this isn’t done deliberately in the sense of “I’m not going to write this down because it’s not important”, but often it’s built into that they have so much to do and focus on that they don’t complete this vital step.
There used to be a prevailing personality type in the 90’s and early 2000’s where techs would hold onto their knowledge so they became the tech that was always there to answer all the questions because they only handed out knowledge in little spoonfuls. I ran into many of these techs in my early IT career and decided quickly that I was going to try and be the opposite and do as much teaching as possible.
I’m not sure that this is necessarily the issue with this type of tech, but it’s a little bit different in the MSP space where logging your time is critical for sharing knowledge AND agreement profitability/billable time.
Figuring Out There’s a Problem
Client Feedback
You must pay attention to client feedback in your Client Satisfaction (CSAT) process, your Net Promoter Score (NPS) process, and your Business Review (SBR) process. If you get any hint about a client that is frustrated with your team or a team member it’s always best to handle that directly rather than beating around the bush.
Team Feedback
The same goes for your team. If your team is coming to you with concerns about a single tech it’s worth listening to. It’s important to get to the truth because you don’t want to run someone out of the team without some proof. That said, where there’s smoke, there’s often fire.
Strategies to Resolve
So what do you do to help solve these troublesome techs? There are several strategies that I’ve found to work in my travels so let’s get into them.
Setting and Protecting Culture
The first component of this is to evaluate your culture to see if these behaviors are tolerated, and in some cases, rewarded. If you’re tolerating this behavior you have a culture problem. Solving a culture problem requires a multi-faceted approach which starts from the hiring process.
Hiring Process
The No-A-hole Test
When hiring, it’s crucial to have a “no-asshole test.” You can’t afford to bring on someone who’s a jerk to others. This starts in the hiring process. Someone on your team needs to assess whether the candidate can hold a conversation, show empathy, and avoid being difficult to work with. I used to do this as part of my conversations with the candidate well before we had them come in for an interview.
Basically I was looking for their ability to hold a conversation. I would ask them about what they loved about working in IT and/or the MSP space and what they hated. What they hated was far more revelatory than what they loved. Often when talking about what they didn’t like if they got heated it was clear that they may have some challenges with some of these sorts of issues.
Candidly, the conversation was just designed to be a conversation. Usually you can tell if the person on the other end is an a-hole or not.
Interviewing for Frustration Tolerance
During interviews, ask candidates to describe a time they were frustrated with a user. Watch their demeanor. If they get visibly angry or agitated, that’s a red flag. On the other hand, if they can calmly explain the situation and how they resolved it, they’re likely a better fit.
If they show empathy towards the person in their story that would be a green flag. If you get a candidate that understands that they know technology better than the clients, much like the client knows what their job is far better than the tech that’s a great sign.
Setting Clear Expectations
One area that we would very clearly lay out in the interview process is the need for logging time and doing that as part of their job. If the candidate was understanding this was important. This was only the first time we’d bring this up. Once our business was to the point of where we’d fire the tech for not doing their time entry correctly we’d call this out in the interview process so they knew how important this was.
Post-Hire Strategies
New Hire Training and Onboarding
Then as you build out your new hire process make sure that you build each of these items into your new hire training. I recorded a video about your new-hire onboarding process. Build your conversations around client empathy and time tracking in your new hire training.
Post-Hire Check-Ins
Once hired, keep an eye on their interactions. Are they constantly frustrated with users or their role? Proactively address these issues before they escalate. This is where a strong 1:1 process comes into play. Give them a place to share their frustrations with you. Presuming they bring these forward in your check-in meetings I would suggest that the person that does this is coachable and wants help.
Coaching for Empathy
Teach your team to prioritize solving the problem over proving they’re right. Encourage them to tag in a manager if a situation becomes too political or challenging. It’s always a good idea to have and/or revisit the conversation of that we’re really good at technology so they don’t have to be. They are far better at their jobs that we would be, so give them some grace.
The Compassionate Geek
One resource I highly recommend is The Compassionate Geek by Don Crowley. It’s a short, easy read that provides practical advice on handling difficult user interactions with empathy. This would be a great book to read as a book club read for your team and/or have this as part of your new hire process.
Addition by Subtraction
If a technician is causing more harm than good, it’s time to let them go. I’ve seen cases where removing a high-performing but toxic technician actually increased team productivity. There was a case where we let a tech go that was talented but toxic, and even though we became “short staffed” due to letting that individual go the morale AND productivity went up.
The adage is hire slow and fire fast. Too often as MSPs we hire fast and fire slow. We like to find other roles for people instead of addressing the troublesome behavior.
Building a Culture of Empathy
Ultimately, managing difficult technicians starts with setting the right tone from day one. Build your culture around empathy, accountability, and understanding. This will point you in the right direction. If you have any members of your team that pull against this culture you MUST address this head on.
Conclusion
Managing difficult technicians is a challenge, but it’s one you can’t ignore. From hiring the right people to coaching them on empathy, every step matters. Remember, the employees who got you to where you are today might not be the ones who take you to the next level.
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