We have an expression at Kokua Technologies when it comes to hiring our Tech Kahunas.
“Are they tall enough to ride this ride?”
Most tech companies hire different tiers of techs. Many are entry level, some are mid-level, and a choice few are the “Level 3” or senior engineer or something else that sounds important. And here is the problem this creates: the customer (you) have to wait until your problem gets escalated to a qualified tech before you get a solution. You pay in wasted time and potentially bloated invoices.
One of our key manifesto points is “Teams, not tiers.” The velocity of the support work we do at Kokua Technologies is too fast for people that aren’t at the top of their game. Each of our Tech Kahunas relies on others on the team. Yes, different Tech Kahunas have particular specialties, whether it is desktop support, field service, infrastructure, security or otherwise.
It makes it harder for us to hire, but our customers don’t pay the price.
Funny thing is that a couple of times, we bent our rule. Each instance had the same result: we parted ways with the person that “wasn’t tall enough to ride the ride,” and had to credit the client for the mistakes that were made. We have to be able to stand by the quality of our Tech Kahunas.
If another IT company has a tech work on a problem you are having, ask yourself, “Is this person tall enough to ride this ride?”