The IT skills gap evident in recent years will start to strain channel partnerships as competition for the most skilled candidates causes resellers to under perform or under deliver. Nullifying this issue is easier if vendors strengthen their relationships with Channel Partner incentives.
The IT skills gap is no smaller as we move into 2018, according to tech leaders CompTIA. Their report 'Addressing the IT skills gap' indicates 57 per cent of large IT companies believe the skills gap is widening, which will undoubtedly damage channel partnerships moving forward. Let's take a look at this issue and see how strengthening your reseller relationships with a Channel Partner Programme could be a solution.
More than 57 per cent of large IT development companies believe the IT skills gap is widening
The significance of the IT skills gap
This skills gap has affected businesses in industries nationwide, but the effects have been felt most palpably in the IT sector. Two of the areas most affected are the productivity levels of your resellers and your sales profitability. These were judged in a CompTIA survey to be among the most common impacts of the skills gap, with 52 and 33 per cent respectively.
Addressing this issue is a must for businesses to improve the relationship with their resellers.
There are increasingly few skilled candidates in the IT industry - so competition to retain your best performing channel partners is increasing.
Addressing the skills gap by strengthening channel partnerships
CompTIA claims only one in three businesses in the IT sector have a plan to address the skills gap. This points to uncertainty about how to respond and get the best from their channel partners.
Strengthening strategic channel partner relationships means you can keep resellers who achieve top results for your business onside for longer, and this also acts as a call to other distributors to forge partnerships with a vendor who values their service.
Greg Richey, Ingram Micro's director of training and services, said the skills gap in IT is both a challenge to and an opportunity for improving channel partnerships. ''You need to invest in your people and partnerships to ensure you are constantly learning and leading the market.''
Strengthening your partnership with incentives
If making the bonds between yourself and your high-performing channel partners stronger is so important, how do you start? The answer lies in delivering incentives to your resellers that others in your market don't.
With the pool of skilled IT candidates shrinking, competition is increasing to deliver a working experience and incentive package that stands out. By investing in a programme that delivers the right rewards to your channel partners, you can demonstrate your commitment to celebrating your sales partnerships. Having personal knowledge of your resellers and rewarding their strengths will make you a more desirable vendor, meaning you can attract and retain top talent.
Strengthening your channel partnership is easier if you offer incentives your competitors can't.
Delivering a valuable Channel Partner Programme
Power2Motivate UK are market-leaders in developing personalised Channel Partner Programmes that demonstrate quantifiable engagement and satisfaction between channel partners. Our 25 years of delivering incentives to the best-in-class have led us to develop an easy-to-use and effective online platform for managing your entire programme.
Linked to our Channel Partner Programme, your resellers can:
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Take advantage of thousands of rewards from our Rewards Gallery, with retail options from leading brands like HP, Samsung and Xbox or tickets to exclusive events.
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Access vouchers and discounts, offering huge savings.
Delivering personalised incentives that speak to the individual quality of each of your resellers shows a commitment to backing the most talented in the industry.
The online platform also has a number of features to demonstrate the tangible positives of introducing a Reseller Programme:
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The reporting feature captures data on engagement with the platform to indicate to managers what is popular and what isn't.
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Surveys allow you to regularly take stock and gauge the feelings of your resellers so you can continually tweak your incentives offering to perfection.
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The leagues and Metric Manager allows you to measure your resellers against KPIs to check on and drive performance.
For more information on strategically strengthening your channel partner relationships, contact the Power2Motivate UK team today to discuss a Channel Partner Programme that will suit.