Employ the Best: Microsoft Certified Professionals

Employ the Best: Microsoft Certified Professionals

You already look to Microsoft technologies for the agility, speed, and reliability your business needs to compete. Now take it a step further. Learn how Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs) can support your business by providing the expertise to optimize the use of Microsoft tools and solutions.

The MCP Advantage

When you hire a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), your company benefits from a technically proficient professional who has hands-on experience and in-depth knowledge. A November 2006 IDC white paper indicates that team performance improves for each new team member who becomes certified.

The findings from the IDC paper reveal the following benefits:

Improved project deployment

The skill level of a team is directly responsible for how an organization performs in several key IT functional areas.

Increased team performance and productivity

Sixty-three percent of hiring managers believe certified individuals are more productive than their non-certified counterparts are.

Improved customer satisfaction

Sixty-six percent of managers believe certifications improve the level of service and support offered to customers.

Enhanced efficiency

On average, 40 percent to 55 percent of top-performing teams are comprised of MCPs.

Increased employee expertise and retention

Seventy-five percent of managers believe that certifications are important to team performance. Forty-five percent of employees strongly agree that when their employers pay for exams, it provides a strong incentive to stay in their jobs.

Certifying Employees and Hiring MCPs

As an employer, you are charged with motivating, retaining, and building the skills of your technical teams. You also must prove to your management that technology increases customer satisfaction, builds competitive advantage, and improves return on investment (ROI). By hiring qualified Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs) and encouraging certification within your organization you can accomplish these tasks more easily. Here are some basic steps:

  1. Determine which Microsoft Certifications would benefit your business:

  2. Help your employees become certified: Once you have identified the types of professionals you seek, encourage your IT and developer staff to explore training and certification options.

  3. Find certified candidates: Microsoft provides resources so that you can post jobs and look for certified professionals to fill job openings. Our partnership with CareerBuilder.com makes it easy to recruit the best candidates.

  4. Verify candidates' credentials: To verify the exam and certification achievements of job candidates or current employees, ask them for permission to view their official Microsoft transcript. All MCPs have the ability to set up a transcript ID and access code for sharing. For privacy reasons, Microsoft cannot provide or validate a candidate's information for hiring manager and employers. You need to request this information directly from the candidate.

Employer Resources

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