EP285 - Beyond Recruitment- How to Attract and Retain the Right Staff with Zoe Chatley and Ian Luckett

In this episode of The IT Experts Podcast, we go beyond recruitment and explore what it really takes to attract and retain the right staff in your MSP.

Many MSP owners tell us that finding good people feels harder than ever. They advertise roles, interview candidates, and still end up wondering why the right people are not applying, or why talented team members leave after a short period of time.

The truth is that attracting and retaining the right staff starts long before you post a job advert.

In this conversation, I am joined by Zoe Chatley, founder of The Channel Recruiter, who specialises in helping businesses across the IT channel recruit exceptional people. Zoe brings more than 20 years of recruitment experience and shares practical insights that every MSP owner can apply straight away.

We begin by exploring why recruitment has changed so much. Candidates are no longer looking only at salary and job titles. They are thinking much more carefully about the type of company they want to work for, the culture they want to be part of, and whether the business genuinely values its people.

That means if you want to attract and retain the right staff, you need to think like a marketer.

Your future employees are researching your business in exactly the same way that prospects research your services. They visit your website, review your LinkedIn presence, read employee feedback, and look for evidence that your business offers a positive and supportive place to work.

This is where employer branding becomes incredibly important.

Employer branding is much more than your logo or the design of your website. It is the reputation your business has as a place to work. It includes the way your team talks about the business, the stories you share online, and the consistency between what you say and what your employees experience every day.

Zoe explains that one of the strongest tools available to MSPs is their Employee Value Proposition, often called the EVP.

Your EVP is the complete package of benefits, flexibility, support, and opportunities you offer to your team. This includes hybrid working, holiday entitlement, healthcare, career development, flexibility for family life, and the little things that make people feel trusted and valued.

When you want to attract and retain the right staff, your EVP needs to be clear, meaningful, and visible.

It should appear in your job adverts, on your website, throughout your interview process, and in the everyday experience your employees have once they join your business.

We also discuss company culture and why it plays such a critical role.

Culture is what people experience when they work in your business. It is how people communicate, how leaders behave, and how the team supports one another.

One of the simplest ways to measure your culture is by looking at staff retention. If talented people stay with you for many years and speak positively about the business, that is usually a very strong sign that your culture is healthy.

Values are another essential part of this process.

Your company values act as your internal compass. They guide decisions, shape behaviour, and help you identify people who align naturally with your business.

When you attract and retain the right staff, you are looking for individuals whose values match your own. Skills can be developed. Character, attitude, and integrity are much harder to teach.

One of the most valuable parts of this episode is Zoe's perspective on transferable skills.

If you are struggling to recruit within the IT industry, there are exceptional people outside the channel who may be a perfect fit. Sales professionals, customer service specialists, and technically minded individuals from other sectors often bring fresh energy, resilience, and strong people skills.

With the right support and development, these individuals can become some of your strongest team members.

As Zoe says, do not hire fo