MSP Staffing: How to Build, Scale, and Retain a High Performing IT Team

February 1, 2025

MSP Staffing: How to Build, Scale and Retain a High Performing IT Team

By Carrie Richardson, Fox and Crow Group

Growing a Managed IT Services Provider (MSP) comes with plenty of challenges, but MSP staffing is often the biggest hurdle. Finding the right people, structuring your team effectively, and keeping employees engaged can make or break your ability to scale successfully. Without a solid staffing strategy, MSPs risk high turnover, service inconsistency, and increased operational costs.

I recently sat down with Matthew Pincus, co-founder of HELPT, on the WIN Podcast to discuss MSP staffing strategies that support long-term growth. From outsourcing to in-house team management, we covered hiring best practices, training, and retention tactics to help MSPs build strong, scalable teams.

You can listen to the podcast on any major podcast platform, or for your convenience, we’ve embedded it right here:

If your MSP is struggling with staffing while trying to maintain high-quality service, this guide breaks down expert advice on what works.

1. Why MSP Staffing Becomes a Major Growth Challenge

“The hardest thing is hiring and retaining talent. The front-line person taking the call is in a thankless position. There’s no world in which that person makes everyone happy. Within six months, they want a big raise, or they want to move up.”
— Matthew Pincus, Co-Founder of HELPT

For smaller MSPs, building a full in-house help desk isn’t always financially sustainable. Recruiting, training, and managing an in-house technical team requires substantial investment in both time and money. Many are turning to hybrid MSP staffing models to scale efficiently without overloading their core team.

One major challenge is the high turnover rate among help desk staff. These employees often view their roles as stepping stones to higher-level IT positions. MSPs that fail to provide growth opportunities may struggle with continuous hiring cycles and decreased service quality.

2. In-House vs. Outsourcing: Which MSP Staffing Model Works Best?

“If you’re an MSP smaller than 20 people, hiring and training a full-time help desk team is a huge mental bandwidth drain. If you don’t want to deal with that, HELPT is here.”
— Matthew Pincus

In-House Staffing: Stronger company culture, direct control over training, greater alignment with business goals.
Outsourcing Support: Immediate scalability, lower overhead costs, access to 24/7 support coverage.

Most successful MSPs adopt a hybrid staffing model, using in-house staff for higher-tier client interactions and outsourcing lower-level support to external teams. This allows MSPs to control quality while maintaining operational flexibility.

3. Reducing Turnover: How to Retain IT Talent and Prevent Burnout

“MSPs struggle to keep entry-level techs engaged. These roles are stepping stones, and within six months, people either demand a raise or want to move up.”
— Matthew Pincus

Offer Career Progression: Employees are more likely to stay if they see a clear path for advancement.
Pay Competitively: Avoid underpaying technical staff to reduce the risk of losing them to bigger companies.
Prevent Burnout: Heavy workloads push employees out the door. Implement smart scheduling to reduce stress.

Additionally, mentorship programs and structured professional development can enhance job satisfaction and boost retention.

4. How to Improve Hiring and Training in Your MSP Staffing Strategy

“We launched a new ticket management system without enough QA testing. On day one, we realized we couldn’t track time properly, which is the core of our business model. We had to roll it back and start over.”
— Matthew Pincus

Use Data-Driven Hiring: Track efficiency, response times, and client satisfaction to determine when to expand your team.
Standardized Onboarding: Provide structured training programs, clear documentation, and shadowing opportunities.
Build a Hiring Pipeline: Continuously source and interview candidates to keep your staffing pipeline full.

5. Future-Proofing Your MSP Staffing Strategy

“AI is a tool, not a replacement. Your customers need to trust the people they’re calling. Automation helps, but people still want human support.”
— Matthew Pincus

✅ AI-Driven Ticketing Systems to filter and assign support requests more efficiently.
✅ Remote Hiring Strategies to recruit global talent.
✅ Chatbots & Self-Service Portals to reduce human workload.

While AI and automation play a role in efficiency, MSPs that balance technology with human expertise will continue to stand out in the market.

Key Takeaways

Strategic MSP staffing—balancing in-house hires with outsourced support—allows MSPs to grow without burning out their team.
A hybrid MSP staffing model lets you scale without over-hiring, keeping costs low while maintaining service quality.
Retaining employees requires growth opportunities, fair pay, and a company culture that values work-life balance.
A structured hiring process prevents service disruptions and keeps your team running smoothly.
The future of MSP staffing is a mix of automation and human expertise. Smart MSPs will leverage both to stay ahead.

For more expert insights on MSP staffing strategies, check out my full conversation with Matthew Pincus on the WIN Podcast.

Watch the full video here: