With digital transformation still a top priority for businesses across every industry, products that can make operations smoother and more effective are in high demand.
This is certainly the case for Microsoft Dynamics 365, with partners in the ecosystem working hard to meet this demand and deliver innovative ERP solutions to their customers.
However, if you’re one of them, you may have noticed there’s a significant obstacle standing in the way of your growth: a lack of specialist talent.
According to a recent survey by Directions for Partners, finding service delivery talent is a major concern for Dynamics 365 partners, with 82% of respondents citing this as the biggest issue facing their practice. It’s a sentiment reflected in recruitment statistics, with one-third of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central jobs going unfilled.
So, what’s behind this talent crunch, and how can we fix it? Let’s break down the specific talent challenges facing partners like you, as well as some possible solutions.
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Challenge #1: The cost of talent
It’s simple economics: when demand outstrips supply, the cost of the resource goes up. In the case of Dynamics 365 talent, fierce competition from potential employers is driving salaries up, as businesses put up more cash to tempt experienced professionals into joining their teams.
More than a third (36%) of partners say that the cost of talent is their biggest concern when it comes to hiring. This financial strain may be denting your potential profitability and scalability, making it harder to attract and retain qualified professionals to your practice. As more companies adopt Dynamics 365, the struggle for specialist talent will only intensify, escalating costs and further complicating project delivery timelines.
Things get even messier when you consider that a whopping 45% of partners say their top source of talent is other partners. With little net-new talent coming into the Dynamics 365 partner channel and senior professionals retiring, the talent pool becomes smaller, forcing partners to poach staff from their peers—an expensive, unsustainable, and arguably unethical recruitment method.
Challenge #2: A lack of industry experience
Technology is moving at an unprecedented pace. Take Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, for example. This product has evolved a lot over the past decade, and as a result, it’s more accessible than ever. This is great news for partners looking to train new professionals. But even if fewer hard tech skills are required to work with Business Central, the need for industry-specific knowledge remains prevalent.
Business Central is hugely popular among SMEs in industries like supply chain management, manufacturing, and finance. These sectors have their own unique needs and ways of working, which Dynamics 365 professionals need to understand, if they are to deliver tailored solutions and maximize Business Central to its full potential for customers.
It’s no wonder than a third (36%) of partners are relying on universities to source talent. However, while universities are a critical source of new professionals, graduates tend to lack the industry experience that partners really need.
If you’re unable to hire specialists who have an in-depth understanding of specific industry needs, it can lead to suboptimal implementations and longer onboarding times. This gap in knowledge forces partners to invest more in training, often delaying project timelines, and increasing costs. Plus, this lack of experience can hamper competitiveness and client satisfaction, as clients seek out partners who have more proven expertise in their sector.
Challenge #3: Geographical talent droughts
Dynamics 365 is a globally popular solution, so its channel partners can be found all across the world. But with a small pool of available talent, and certain hotspots tending to attract more than their fair share of tech professionals, many partners are finding it difficult to recruit in their local area.
While tech professionals are steadily leaving traditional tech hubs like San Francisco, Seattle, and Boston (often due to high living costs), many businesses are still struggling to find candidates in their region. Some places are even paying professionals to relocate to their towns to supply local tech businesses with talent.
This lack of regional talent can create significant challenges for partners like you, limiting your access to local and cultural expertise and increasing reliance on remote workers (which can lead to communication issues, time zone misalignment, and additional travel expenses).
The scarcity of local professionals can drive up hiring costs too, not to mention elongating the recruitment processes. And when partners don’t have region-specific knowledge to tap into, it can hamper their ability to offer customized solutions that cater to local market needs.
Challenge #4: A shortage of crucial soft skills
Particularly when regional talent is scarce and you must rely on remote talent, you may find yourself facing issues with acquiring soft skills that align with the specific approach of your practice.
It’s not just tech skills and experience with the Dynamics 365 platform that make for a good candidate. A survey of HR leaders found that 98% believe soft skills are important for technology professionals to succeed in the workplace.
To thrive in a partner environment, professionals must have soft skills like collaboration and teamwork, requirements gathering, stakeholder management, and object handling. Partner employees also need experience with project methodologies, QA and testing processes, and the ability to create proper documentation.
While many technical skills can be taught, many partners find it more challenging to instil foundational professional abilities like planning, organization, presentation, and problem solving.
One crucial soft skill that can create a barrier when lacking is language. A study by Burning Glass Technologies found that 57% of tech employers identified communication skills as the most critical soft skill.
Things can get especially challenging if there are issues with language proficiency, which can considerably hinder effective communication and collaboration. Poor language skills among remote or contracted talent can lead to misunderstandings, decreased productivity, and difficulties in client interactions, creating a negative impact on project timing, training needs, and client satisfaction.
Challenge #5: A lack of diversity and fresh perspectives
The Dynamics 365 talent pool is not only problematically small, but it’s also lacking in professionals with diverse experiences and perspectives. This lack of cognitive variety can limit creativity and stifle innovation when it comes to problem-solving.
If you’re fishing from a homogenous candidate market, you may be missing out on untapped talent and better results, since diverse teams are proven to be better at developing unique, effective solutions tailored to a wide range of client needs.
Without that varied experience underpinning your team, you could be hampering your practice’s ability to grow, with a study by Deloitte showing that inclusive teams make decisions two times faster with half the meetings.
Lack of diversity can further compound your hiring difficulties too; research shows that 67% of job seekers consider workplace diversity an important factor when considering job offers.
How can we solve these challenges together?
The Dynamics 365 ecosystem needs more professionals. But where do we find the ambitious, diverse technologists with the industry experience we so sorely need? The answer is thinking outside the box and creating this net-new talent.
One initiative is taking action to help Microsoft partners of all sizes solve their Business Central skills gaps while enabling people from a wide range of backgrounds to launch rewarding careers in the Dynamics 365 ecosystem.
Developed by Microsoft and its collaborators, the ReSKILL program, part of the Business Central Talent Initiative, gives partners like you access to fresh talent tailored to your unique needs with minimal risk and cost-effective pricing.
Here’s how ReSKILL helps you reimagine the future of your workforce:
- Hire
We recruit talent tailored to your needs (or you can onboard your own new hires) - Train
We upskill your new Business Central consultants or developers with comprehensive product and professional skills training, equipping them with the technical expertise and soft skills they need to excel from day one - Coach
We elevate the success of your new hires with individual coaching and consistent community activities to refine their skills and boost retention
Many partners are already reaping the benefits of hiring through ReSKILL. “For us, the ReSKILL program is an extremely important addition to our recruitment,” says Kenneth Kryger Gram at Abakion. “With the program, we are able to attract a much wider range of talent than we would be able to do by ourselves.”
While hires from sources other than partners typically take nine months or more to become fully billable, ReSKILL is creating net-new talent that’s industry-savvy and eager to make an impact in less time.
“We have hired 10 people in less than three months: seven consultants and three developers,” said Ranja Ahbabou at Navitrans. “And they were billable within 12 weeks.”
Business Central Talent Spotlight
Get to know some of the talented Business Central professionals who have built amazing new careers through the ReSKILL program while helping their partner organizations solve their talent challenges.
For instance, Carcyn and Olivia joined ReSKILL and have since become Business Central Consultants at Clients First.
“Being a professional in supply-chain, I got first-hand experience as an end-user with ERP implementations and really just fell in love with the process,” Carcyn says.
Check out their journey to Business Central and what impact they’ve been able to achieve in this video.