Learn how Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs) can support your business by providing the expertise to optimize the use of Microsoft tools and solutions.
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.
Certification reduces downtime by 20 percent.
Certified teams are 28 percent more productive.
The teams at the top tier of performance have between 40 and 55 percent of their teams certified on relevant Microsoft technologies and processes.
75 percent of managers believe that certifications are important to team performance.
66 percent of managers believe that certifications improve the level of service and support offered to IT customers.
IDC surveyed more than 1,100 IT managers responsible for more than 3,000 teams.
A concentration of certifications in a team is clearly linked to improved capability and team performance.
Source: IDC, "Impact of Training on Network Administration: Certification Leads to Operational Productivity," Doc. # 220563, November 2009
Certified professionals give your organization a competitive advantage. They can help increase customer satisfaction, reduce network downtime, and push service to a higher level, which translates into an excellent return on investment.
Watch the "Value of Certification" video
Read the "Value of Certification" IDC white paper (PDF file, 153.5 KB)
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:
Determine which Microsoft Certifications would benefit your business:
Determine how many certifications your organization will need:
To determine how many certifications you will need, first determine:
The number of people in your organization who need to be certified
Which certifications each person needs
The number of exams required for each certification
The amount of time each person requires to achieve certification
When you estimate how much time each person needs to achieve certification, remember that it is important for people to gain hands-on experience with Microsoft products. We recommend six months or more of preparation for basic certifications and one year for advanced certifications.
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.
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.
Post jobs and browse resumes (Careerbuilder.com)
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.
Improve Project Deployments
Organizations with a majority of their teams certified reported significant improvements in delivering projects on time and within budget.
Increase Customer Satisfaction
Certified staff helps to increase customer satisfaction through improved service, higher productivity, and greater self-sufficiency.
Improve Support Costs
Organizations with certified staff witness less network downtime and lower dependency on unplanned support.
Validate Vendor Qualifications
When outsourcing projects, certification provides assurance of vendors' technical qualifications.
Gain a Competitive Advantage
Employees who hold Microsoft certifications bring more advanced skill sets to provide higher levels of service and productivity, giving your business a competitive advantage.
Benefit by Investing in Your Staff
Organizations with successful revenue results have been shown to have invested more in certifying their internal technical teams.*
Increase Employee Satisfaction
Employee satisfaction and retention are higher when management facilitates employees' career goals.
Objectively Benchmark Your Staff's Talent
Certification serves as a reliable benchmark for hiring and promoting staff employees, and ensures your organization is built on top-quality technical talent.
Reward Employee Expertise
Certification recognizes and rewards productive employees by validating their expertise. Certification also provides re-training opportunities so existing employees can work more effectively with new technologies.
See Objective Results of Your Training Investments
Certification provides an excellent return on training and certification investments by providing a standard method of determining training needs and measuring results.
* IDC Research, Gartner Studies, IT Skills Research, 2002
View all answers
Q. What kind of training is available for my employees?
A.
Q. How will my employees benefits from Microsoft Certifications?
Q. How can my employees register for training and their certification?
Q. How can my organization purchase certification vouchers for employees?
Microsoft Volume Licensing is a software purchase program that provides a cost-effective, customized way to acquire Microsoft software for organizations with multiple computers. Microsoft Learning solutions offered in Volume Licensing are a cost-effective way to certify your staff. Companies that adopt active training policies can order Microsoft Certification vouchers based on their organizational needs.
Q. How can I verify a candidate's or employee's certification status?
Q. I have more questions. Who can I talk to about the Microsoft Certification Program?
Q. Are there additional resources for employers and hiring managers?
The IT Manager Portal is the primary learning source for hiring managers to receive training solutions in a variety of formats.
Q. How are Microsoft Certifications developed?
Q. Are the exams secure?
Q. My employee wants tuition reimbursement for the certification. Are Microsoft Certifications accredited?
Some employers have tuition reimbursement plans that provide eligible employees the opportunity to obtain, maintain, or improve job-related capabilities through participation in courses of study with organizations specializing in job and career-related education and training. Certifications are accredited by several accreditation bodies.
Each year, thousands of positions are filled with candidates who have embellished their resume or falsified documents. If your organization requires employees to have specific Microsoft Certifications, Microsoft can help you comply with your regulations while protecting your organization from dishonest individuals.
An individual's MCP status can be easily verified by requesting an access code and transcript ID from the employee or candidate.
In just a few steps, hiring managers, recruiters, and interested parties can ensure that the Microsoft Certification holder is indeed certified and in good standing with Microsoft. Upon request, candidates have the option of sharing a validated copy of the their transcript directly with you through a secure Microsoft site. At the site linked to below, enter the transcript ID and access code given to you by the candidate. Then click Submit.
Access a validated copy of a candidate’s transcript
Microsoft provides resources so that you can post jobs and look for certified professionals to fill job openings. Both CareerBuilder.com and Elance.com make it easy to recruit the best candidates.
Post jobs and browse through resumes (Careerbuilder.com)
Post jobs and review candidates (Elance.com)
