If you’re a Microsoft partner, you’ll be familiar with today’s skill-strapped tech market. Countless crucial seats are sitting empty—and this talent gap is leaving many partner organizations across the tech sector unable to meet the growing demand for cloud services from their clients. And chances are—it’s impacting yours too.
The Microsoft Dynamics 365 space is no exception, with one-third of job postings for Business Central positions going unfilled. Meanwhile, the constant tug-of-war over existing talent is driving salaries up, as partners are forced to increase their offers to attract in-demand professionals, pricing many organizations out of the race.
If you use Dynamics 365 Business Central to service your clients, then the talent shortage is a particularly weighty issue. With too few fish in the pond to go around, many Microsoft partners are finding themselves falling behind on business and growth objectives.
But why are skills gaps making such an impact on the Business Central space? And what can partners like you do to get the talent you need on the bench without blowing the budget? Get the answers to these and other burning questions in this insightful article.
Why the Dynamics 365 talent market is coming up short
It’s clear that the Dynamics 365 talent market has a supply and demand problem.
“Business Central is one of the fastest-growing ERP systems in the cloud today,” commented Robert Jolliffe, President of Sabre Limited, a Microsoft partner located in Ontario, Canada, focused exclusively on manufacturing anywhere in North America. “And that growth is causing a problem where there just aren’t enough talented people in the ecosystem to support that growth.”
Data paints the same picture. According to a recent report by Nigel Frank, 57% of hiring managers say there’s an IT skills gap within the Microsoft ecosystem. More than half of those respondents (54%) believed that the skills gap has worsened in the past 12 months; up from 46% on the previous year.
And the potential consequences are dire, with a massive 88% of hiring managers reporting that the talent shortage is moderately to severely affecting their organizations’ strategic objectives.
So, what’s the root cause of this professional scarcity? In the aforementioned report on the Microsoft Cloud ecosystem, respondents were asked about the most pressing tech staffing difficulties their organization is facing in the coming year. Let’s take a look at some of the key reasons identified by Microsoft Dynamics 365 partners.
Challenge #1: High demand for skilled professionals
The most common response was increased competition for talent, with 43% of business leaders in the Microsoft space citing this as their biggest hiring challenge. A further 28% stated that a lack of available skills and experience in the market was their leading concern.
The demand for professionals able to implement, manage, and optimize Dynamics 365 is high, especially as more businesses move to digitally transform their operations by adopting ERP solutions.
This rising demand for those who can deliver on Dynamics 365 projects currently far outstrips the supply of qualified candidates. In fact, among those who believe there is an IT skills gap, almost half cited the time it takes to source talent as the main challenge in bridging the skills gap in their organization.
Challenge #2: Specialized (and fast-evolving) skill sets
Working with apps in the Microsoft Dynamics 365 suite requires a specialized skill set, including knowledge of the platform itself, as well as broader skills in business analysis, project management, specific industry knowledge, and the numerous coding languages that various apps in the product family are built on. Finding new candidates who possess this rather niche combination of skills can be difficult.
Compounding the issue is the fact that Microsoft Dynamics 365 (and related products like Power Apps and Azure) is continuously evolving, with new features, updates, and integrations being developed all the time. Staying current requires ongoing training and development, which can be both time-consuming and costly for businesses and employees alike—and not all candidates are willing or able to keep up with these rapid changes.
Luckily, there’s a new program, designed to support new talent entering the Dynamics 365 space, giving them the skills they need to succeed at your organization. Find out how ReSKILL could help you reimagine your Business Central talent here.
Challenge #3:
Low retention
ReSKILL for Business Central: A new way to hire
As skills shortages threaten to stymie the Microsoft Partner ecosystem and traditional recruitment and development methods struggle to generate results at scale, it’s time to think outside the box. And this is exactly what a group of leading organizations in the Dynamics 365 space are doing by taking advantage of an innovative talent creation program.
ReSKILL for Business Central is a new way to hire Business Central Consultants and Developers, giving Microsoft partners like you access to the in-demand talent you need to deliver for your customers and grow your business.
Microsoft and its collaborators have partnered together to develop a Business Central talent program that injects fresh talent into the ecosystem, creating skilled, certified professionals who are hungry to get to make an impact for partner organizations like yours and the wider Dynamics 365 ecosystem.
ReSKILL for Business Central in 3 steps
1. We recruit net-new talent
Based on your unique requirements, we recruit diverse talent with prior relevant industry experience and a passion for developing their Business Central skills, ready to join your workforce from day one.
2. We deliver a truly comprehensive training program
We provide in-depth technical training that goes far beyond the standard certification prep. It includes professional skills training to help the new hires thrive at your organization, individual coaching, and direct contact with Microsoft-certified expert trainers.
This online training is set at a pace directed by your organization, ensuring minimal disruption to business continuity as participants prepare for their MB-800 or MB-820 certification exams.
3. We provide ongoing coaching
We deliver six months of coaching to follow up on your new hires’ progress and ensure they’re successfully integrating withing your team. We’ll provide recurring feedback to you as their employer and discuss tailored training options to meet your unique organizational needs.