Ryan Sutton, executive director at staffing and recruitment firm Robert Half, will address the MSPs skills shortage during his MSP Summit breakout, Scaling Smart: Building the Talent Bench for MSP Growth, April 13 at Las Vegas.
Ahead of that session, we spoke with Sutton about the hiring pressures MSPs face, and how they can solve them.
What specific trends are you seeing that lead to a skills gap in the MSP space right now? And how does this gap compare to a year or two ago?
Sutton: We’re seeing the skills gaps in the MSP space driven by a combination of accelerating demand and a tightening talent market. Client needs around AI, cybersecurity, cloud, and compliance are evolving faster than teams can upskill or hire, and those roles require more specialized experience than they did even a year or two ago. According to Robert Half research, more than three-quarters of technology leaders report skills gaps today, and nearly 70% say the negative impact of those gaps is increasing. Compared to a year or two ago, MSPs aren’t just struggling to hire, they’re struggling to find talent with the right depth of skills, while also managing higher pay expectations, longer hiring cycles and increased burnout among existing teams.
Which specific roles or skill sets are MSPs struggling most to fill—is it AI specialists, cybersecurity experts, cloud architects, or something else?
Sutton: MSPs are struggling most to fill roles that combine deep technical expertise with real-world experience. Cybersecurity specialists, cloud architects, and professionals with AI or automation skills are consistently the hardest to find, especially at the mid- to senior level. What’s changed is that MSPs aren’t just looking for theoretical knowledge, they need talent that can secure complex environments, optimize cloud infrastructure, and apply AI in practical, client-facing ways. These specialized skills continue to command premium compensation, making competition for experienced talent even tougher than it was a year or two ago.
How should MSPs balance permanent hires versus contract/on-demand talent? Is there an ideal ratio or framework?
Sutton: There isn’t a one-size-fits-all ratio, but the most successful MSPs we see are intentional about how they balance permanent and on-demand talent. Core, client-facing roles and institutional knowledge tend to stay in-house, while specialized skills, project work and demand spikes are supported by contract or on-demand talent. Many organizations are leaning more heavily on flexible talent to close skills gaps and manage workload without long hiring cycles. The key is having a framework: forecasting demand, protecting your core team, and maintaining access to specialists, rather than reacting to staffing needs as they arise.
Can you share a specific example of an MSP that was turning down business due to capacity constraints and how they turned that around?
Sutton: One example we’ve seen is an MSP that started turning away new, high-value client work simply because it didn’t have the right people available to deliver it on tight timelines. Demand was growing for cloud modernization and data-driven services, but gaps in skills like microservices, big data, and cloud architecture made it hard to staff complex projects. In a few cases, while the MSP was still trying to hire senior-level talent through a traditional, slow hiring process, competitors with ready expertise stepped in and won the work. That experience was a wake-up call, pushing the MSP to rethink how it accessed specialized skills, so growth wouldn’t be limited by capacity constraints.
What’s the first step a lean MSP with maybe 10–20 employees should take immediately to start building this talent strategy?
Sutton: For a lean MSP, the first step is getting clarity on current capabilities and future demand. Take a simple inventory of your team’s skills and compare that against the services clients are asking for or will likely ask for in the next 6 to 12 months. With skills gaps widening, waiting until demand hits often puts MSPs in a reactive position. Once you know where the gaps are, you can decide whether to upskill, hire or line up on-demand specialists, which is far more effective than scrambling when workloads spike.
Ryan Sutton
What are the biggest mistakes you see MSPs making when trying to solve their talent challenges?
Sutton: One of the biggest mistakes we see MSPs make is treating talent challenges as a reactive hiring problem instead of a strategic growth issue. Many wait until workloads spike or a key employee leaves before addressing skills gaps, which leads to rushed hires, higher costs and burnout. Others focus solely on compensation, when development opportunities, flexibility and workload balance are just as critical for retention. MSPs that don’t plan proactively risk falling further behind.
What can MSPs do internally to become more attractive to top tech talent?
Sutton: To attract top tech talent, MSPs need to offer more than just competitive pay. The most attractive MSPs we see invest in upskilling, provide clear career paths and create environments where workloads are manageable and contributions are recognized. Flexibility is also a major differentiator, whether that’s remote work, flexible schedules or project variety. Our research consistently shows that professionals value growth and work-life balance alongside compensation, so MSPs that support development and flexibility are better positioned to compete for in-demand talent.
What are the most common mistakes MSPs make when trying to scale their teams to meet client demands?
Sutton: One of the most common mistakes MSPs make when scaling is relying too heavily on permanent hiring to solve short-term or highly specialized needs. That often leads to long hiring cycles, higher costs and overloading core teams while they wait for roles to be filled. We also see MSPs scale reactively, adding people only after demand spikes, rather than forecasting client needs and planning capacity ahead of time. MSPs that don’t build flexibility into their talent model risk slowing growth and putting service quality at risk.
How do you see AI changing the talent equation—will it eventually ease the pressure, or create new skill requirements?
Sutton: AI won’t eliminate the need for skilled talent -- it’s reshaping which skills matter most. In the short term, it’s creating new requirements faster than it eases pressure. Over time, AI can help reduce manual workloads and improve efficiency, but the MSPs that benefit most will be the ones investing early in upskilling their teams while leveraging flexible talent to fill gaps as new demands emerge.
What unique skills does AI require?
Sutton: AI requires a mix of technical, analytical and business-facing skills that many MSPs don’t traditionally staff for. On the technical side, skills in data engineering, machine learning, automation, cloud platforms, and security are critical. But equally important are skills around governance and risk, especially as clients look for guidance on responsible and secure AI use. We’re also seeing increased demand for professionals who can translate AI capabilities into practical business outcomes, which is why these roles are both hard to find and highly valued in today’s market.