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Cybersecurity employee retention has become a serious challenge for MSSPs. A global ISACA study found that 50% of organizations struggle to retain cybersecurity talent. It also found that 47% of cybersecurity professionals identify high stress as a leading cause of attrition.
MSSP employee retention requires more than competitive salaries. Security providers can improve employee retention by reducing repetitive work, creating predictable schedules, funding training and certifications, defining clear career paths and recognizing team accomplishments.
“Security talent is scarce and always in demand,” said Jack West, CEO of West Computers, a Mississippi-based security provider and MSSP Alert Top 250 honoree. Larger MSSPs face constant poaching, while smaller providers must contend with a thinner local talent pool that makes every employee more difficult to replace.
Once an MSSP finds the right person, the key is to create the conditions necessary to keep them long-term.
“Retention in security isn’t just about keeping people happy,” West said. “It’s about protecting them from the pressure that comes with the job.”
The nature of managed security work adds another layer of difficulty. Analysts operate in a 24/7 environment, managing high alert volumes, evolving threats and decisions that can have serious consequences for clients.
“Dealing with a large volume of alerts, evolving threats and decisions that can have real consequences for clients can lead to fatigue and mental stress,” said Chua Zong Fu, executive vice president of international business and commercial at Singapore-based MSSP Ensign InfoSecurity, also an MSSP Alert Top 250 honoree. “Especially when teams are expected to stay current with new attack methods, tools and regulatory requirements. The industry’s chronic talent shortage worsens the retention problem, and MSSPs sit at the hardest end of this challenge.”
How MSSPs can reduce cybersecurity burnout
Burnout may be the greatest threat to MSSP employee retention. Long hours, false positives, unpredictable incidents and constant pressure can gradually wear down even experienced analysts.
“In my experience, the order of priority is addressing burnout first, then career growth, then compensation, with culture underneath all of it,” West said.
Jack West
MSSPs can reduce that pressure by automating repetitive work and giving analysts more time to focus on investigations that require human judgment. West Computers automates routine maintenance, patching and repetitive fixes through its remote monitoring and management platform. It also uses a co-managed security operations center rather than expecting a small internal team to provide around-the-clock coverage.
Chua agrees that smarter resource allocation is essential.
“MSSP leaders need to invest in automation and AI so that analysts can focus on true positive alerts that require deeper investigation, judgment and remediation,” he said.
Ensign InfoSecurity uses an internally developed agentic SOC platform to query data, analyze logs, build hypotheses and give analysts a more complete picture of potential threats. Chua said that approach reduces information overload while improving the quality of the organization’s cyber defense.
Technology alone, however, is not enough. MSSPs also need fair on-call rotations, predictable scheduling and enough flexibility for employees to recover after demanding periods.
“The goal is to remove pressure, not move it to whoever is left,” West said.
Create cybersecurity career paths employees can see
Top employees are less likely to stay when they feel trapped in the same role. MSSPs should provide clear career paths showing how analysts and engineers can advance into senior technical, leadership or specialized positions.
“Money alone does not retain people in this field,” Chua said. “Certification sponsorship, dedicated training time to sharpen their craft and exposure to more advanced work are also highly valued.”
Smaller MSSPs can have an advantage because employees may be able to work across a wider range of technologies and responsibilities. That broader experience can accelerate an employee’s professional growth while giving the MSSP a more versatile team. Department heads should assess each employee’s strengths and collaborate with them on clear goals tied to expanded responsibilities, a new title and higher compensation.
“At a large provider, a security hire often lands in a narrow lane,” West said. “With us, someone works across the whole environment. Plenty of strong people would rather matter at a small firm than be a headcount at a large one.”
Use awards to support employee retention
Chua Zong Fu
Industry awards and rankings are often treated primarily as marketing assets, but they can also improve morale and strengthen an employee’s connection to the organization.
West said recognition like inclusion on the MSSP Alert Top 250 list shows employees that their work not only matters but also measures up against much larger firms.
“It gives people something to be proud to be part of, and pride is a real retention factor,” he said. “Nobody wants to leave a team that’s clearly winning.”
For Ensign InfoSecurity employees, external recognition reinforces that they are contributing to a globally respected security operation. That also supports recruitment and retention efforts.
“Being ranked among the global top 10 MSSPs reinforces that they are part of a credible and globally recognized security operation,” Chua said. “It builds professional pride, strengthens morale and helps them see that they are contributing to something larger than their individual function.”
MSSPs should actively pursue awards and list recognition, then make sure the achievement is shared internally as a team accomplishment.
“The mistake is treating an award as a marketing asset only,” West said. “The higher-value use is turning it inward so the people who earned it feel it.”
Build a stronger culture across remote security teams
Although remote work does not automatically weaken company culture, it can be challenging to have a distributed workforce. The key, according to both West and Chua, is communication.
“Culture on a remote or distributed team comes from clarity and consistency,” West said.
Employees need clear expectations, shared operating standards and easy access to managers and senior leaders. Chua said shift changes can also become important opportunities for senior analysts to transfer knowledge and explain how they approach investigations.
“No analyst should feel that they are defending their clients alone,” Chua said.
Ensign InfoSecurity also gives frontline employees access to playbooks, past cases, troubleshooting guidance and technical support through an interactive knowledge management system. That shared expertise can help close communication gaps created by physical distance. It also fosters a cybersecurity-first culture that strengthens the organization’s own security and resilience.
MSSPs with limited budgets do not need to begin with sweeping programs. Chua recommended starting with simple automation, better shift handoffs and more consistent recognition from frontline managers.
“Strong frontline leadership often makes the biggest difference,” he said.
Summing things up: How to retain top cybersecurity talent
Top talent rarely leaves because of one bad day. Employees start looking elsewhere when burnout builds or advancement feels out of reach. MSSP leaders can reduce that risk with manageable workloads, better training and clear career paths.
Awards and industry rankings can strengthen those efforts. They give employees proof that their work matters. MSSPs should pursue recognition and celebrate it as a team achievement. That pride can help people stay engaged and give them another reason to remain.
Jonathan Browning is executive director of content and engagement for The ChannelPro Network. He has been a leader in the IT channel for close to a decade. He’s an avid fan and early adopter of technology. He believes that the managed services industry is the most important driver of economic growth and human innovation in today’s world.
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