#1 Reason MSP Operations Are in Chaos: Tech Allocation
“We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.” - Douglas Adams
Welcome back, Autotask Warriors! I'm so glad that once again we get to talk about winning with Autotask. I hope you are winning in 2025.
Speaking of winning, those of you spending more time watching college football than building your MSP business now have something else to steal your attention away.
Oh, I’m not talking about the Big Game. I’m talking about something many have been awaiting for months: the return of NASCAR with The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Racing not your cup of tea? Great—you have time to work ON your MSP. Yes, I know Pro Football still has one game left, but surely there is some time to focus on “trivial” things like eliminating Chaos in your MSP and growing profits.
How about...gasp.... growing the cash AND the time to be Super and attend that big Bowl in 2026? Imagine being on the 50-yard line of Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, with no laptop and your phone on DND, enjoying a nice sunny day while the Detroit Lions beat the.... Well, I am getting a bit ahead of myself. My point stands: to get there, you need to experience Operational Transformation.
We started talking about this 3 weeks ago.
If I had a nickel for every time an MSP said, “We do not schedule any Client request or use the Autotask Calendars,” I would be a rich man!!
We have already learned that not all Client Requests are created equal. We have also learned that having one Standard Operating Process, dumping it in the queue and letting the Techs figure it out, is very chaotic, inefficient, and stressful. (Frankly, it sucks for everyone.)
Now that we have all Client requests Categorized (and an SOP for each) we need to review the historical data and allocate time in advance for each Client request Workflow. In other words:
Figure out how many hours of Critical Requests come in each week and day, and have someone Allocated (Pre-Positioned) to take those requests when they come in.
Figure out how many hours of Alert support is needed, and schedule someone to clear the Alert queue every morning.
Figure out how many hours of Remote Desktop support is needed (High, High-Backup, Medium, Standard, Quick Hits, and Moves/Adds/Changes less than 4 estimated hours) and staff the Help Desk accordingly.
Figure out how many hours of I/M/A/Cs greater than 4 estimated hours come in regularly and plan who will be SCHEDUED to do the work. There, I said it: to drive the Chaos out of an MSP’s Operation, they must learn the finesse of scheduling Client requests. And I/M/A/Cs greater than 4 estimated hours are only one of the four types of requests that need to be scheduled.
Figure out how many hours of preventative maintenance are needed to support the Client base, find and kill the root cause of Alert Noise, and maintain the Client networks up to par and matching the recommended standard build.** (By the way, this is the second type of Client request that needs to be scheduled. To make it even more confusing, there are two types of Preventative Maintenance program scheduling: Calendar Scheduling and Just in Time.)
Calendar Scheduling is used when the Client is needed to participate in the engagement or most of the work assigned to the Tech is scheduled – for example, Project Engineers. The purpose of scheduling this type of work has two purposes:
To schedule the work at a time that is convenient for the Client and/or on a regular schedule so the Client can plan for the engagement.
To allow other work, such as Project work, to be scheduled around the Preventive Maintenance work as not to disrupt the schedule and send a message to the Client that Preventative Maintenance is not important.
Just-in-time scheduling is used when the Preventative Maintenance is remote work without the Client being part of the engagement. In this case, it is more efficient to have the Preventative Maintenance tickets created when the engagement is due on Monday of the work week, with a due date of Friday of the same week. Have the ticket automatically added to the Work List (Ready to Engage widget), and have the Tech work the Preventative Maintenance work into their week during lulls (I know they do not exist, but humor me). If, by chance, it is a normal week, then by Friday, the Preventative Maintenance ticket will rise through the queue list due to the Next SLA Event Due Date***, reminding the Tech to do the Preventative Maintenance work by the end of the week.
**FYI: A preventive maintenance program focused on maintaining the Client networks up to par and matching the recommended standard build should return 30% of MRR in additional T&M billable project work – therefore the ability to identify project opportunities will more than pay for the program itself.
***Note: this takes a special SLA configuration as the SLA needs to be based on the Child Ticket creation date, not the Master Ticket creation date.
Once we have Techs allocated for all the above work, what is left over can be allocated for project work, and the third of four types of Client requests that must be scheduled. Scheduling Project work is tricky. There is a lot of excitement around project work, and therefore a lot of pressure to schedule it soon and with all available hours so the MSP can finish the project ASAP, impress the Client, and get paid sooner. The problem with this approach is that it delivers quite the opposite results especially if we are using that single Operational SOP – dump the ticket in the queue and ask the Techs to figure it out.
The finesse of Project Scheduling is that:
You need to leave room for all other types of Client Requests. Project work is known further in advance and therefore can be scheduled before anything else is allocated for. This is the #1 reason that Tech Allocation is so critical for an MSPs operation to be optimized as without scheduling 4 types of Client requests (where they fit, I might add), the MSP has no chance at optimization.
The Project scheduling Start Date or Boots on the Ground date needs to be further out to allow time to transition from Closed Sales Op to Boots on the Ground. It takes time to find out what the Sales Person sold vs what the Client thinks they have purchased, assign a Lead Tech to plan the project, determine parts availability, order the stuff, and to introduce the Project Team to the Client so as to shift communications from Sales to Project Management (not to the Lead Tech).
Enough time needs to be scheduled to allow the Tech undisturbed project focus time and a buffer (10% more than estimated) for the disruptions that will happen. The scheduled events, including Boots on the Ground, Disruptions to Production, and Projected End Date, need to be communicated to all Stakeholders (360 communication), but especially to the Client.
To complete the Project Profitable, On-Time, and On-Budget, the Project Work must be scheduled where it will stick. In other words where it will not be disruptive with the other types of Client requests, Internal and External impacts (holidays, PTO, Training, etc.), and where the rest of the Company will honor the scheduling and LEAVE THE TECH ALONE.
Scheduling needs to make sense for the type of project. Some projects have a major critical 24-hour period of work and these need to be scheduled in three contiguous days. Some project work needs to be scheduled on Friday afternoon, so the changes can percolate over the Internet over the weekend, some projects are better done in 4-hour blocks spread over a longer period.
So, there you go: Tech Allocation for an MSP. But wait a moment! We have only discussed the three types of Client Requests that need to be scheduled. I mentioned 4, didn’t I? The reason for the discrepancy is that Allocating Tech time and Scheduling Client requests do not always go hand in hand. There is some overlap but just because something is Allocated does not determine if it needs to be scheduled.
So, let’s take a moment and go over when to schedule a Client request:
Anytime the Client needs to be part of the engagement including Incidents & Service Requests, and Onsite & Remote, because it is a poor Client Experience to ambush the Client with a phone call or doorbell.
Anytime the Client request is estimated to be more than 4 estimated hours. For example: Moves/Adds/Changes, Installs and Project work.
Non-Just-in-Time Preventative Maintenance programs since this is work is known well in advance, even before project work, and needs time allocated so the other type of scheduling work is scheduled around it preventing disruptions to the PM schedule.
Incidents that require an On-Site visit. I have yet to see an MSP replace a UPS battery remotely.
Summary:
Reading the above, it really may seem so much easier to just dump the work in the queue and ask the Techs to figure it out while continuing to live in a very chaotic work environment, replacing burnt out Techs, instead of embracing an Operational Optimization Improvement program for an MSP.
But all that does is keep you and your team from sitting on the 50-yard line of the Super Bowl (or the Daytona 500) next year AND cheeses off the Client. All types of Client Requests really do need time Allocated for the work to be done. And some of that Allocation needs to be scheduled to allow room for the non-scheduled work – or the whole MSP operation collapses into CHAOS.
The #1 reason MSPs’ Operations are so CHAOTIC is the lack of Tech Allocation!
Remember what Douglas Adams said, “We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.”
You have the best technology in Autotask PSA. Utilize the PSAutomation so that stuff (your MSP Service Delivery) just works.
Pro Tip: To determine, based on your historical data, how much time needs to be Allocated to each of these Workflows, run the Advanced Service Delivery Forecast Report. If you do not have this report, get a copy for FREE by Scheduling a Call with Steve.
Steve & Company
At Advanced Global MSP Consulting, we are committed to helping you grow your MSP business by improving your service delivery experience and eliminating Chaos. We understand the unique challenges you face in the MSP industry, including the mental health struggles that can come with the territory.
Resources:
Unshackled e-book: https://www.agmspcoaching.com/unshackled
(Learn how to apply the 6 keys to MSP Service Delivery Optimization)
Richard Tubb: “Mental Health Resources for MSP Business Owners”
Our most recent blog post on MSP Mental Health
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