Evaluating MSP team performance is complicated. MSPs need to look beyond individual metrics and develop a holistic view of how each part of the business is performing. That can be especially challenging for smaller IT companies, where one employee may handle several seemingly unrelated responsibilities. The goal is to reward people who prevent problems and create business value, not simply those who close the most tickets or process the most paperwork.
“The biggest mistake leaders make is waiting until the numbers move before evaluating performance,” said Jessica Golle, chief revenue officer of Charles IT, an MSP based in Middletown, Connecticut. “Results matter, but they’re usually the outcome of dozens of small decisions and habits that happened long before the report showed up on your desk.”
For MSP leaders, a strong performance-management program begins by defining what success looks like for clients. Key performance indicators (KPIs) should help explain whether employees are making customers more secure, productive and easier to support — not simply whether they are staying busy.
Evaluating MSP team performance begins with the client experience
Guy Baroan
An MSP’s performance ultimately rests on the quality of its most recent interaction with a client. That’s according to Guy Baroan, area vice president of Northern New Jersey at Massachusetts-based Thrive. “We live and die by the type of service we provide. We are only as good as our last help desk call or service.”
Clients are willing to change providers when they do not see evidence of strong performance. In a global Barracuda survey, 45% of IT and security decision-makers said they would switch MSPs if their provider could not demonstrate the skills, expertise and around-the-clock capabilities they needed.
Getting inside a client’s head can be tricky, but there are better indicators than raw ticket closures, said Baroan. Client complaints, praise, reopened tickets and requests for a particular technician can reveal more. Occasional mistakes are inevitable, but recurring complaints following service calls suggest a systemic problem.
Golle similarly recommended examining execution, consistency and continuous improvement. Sustained success requires invested employees that follow sound processes without cutting corners. If there are inefficiencies in a workflow, they highlight the weakness and proactively suggest improvements.
“Great performance isn’t about having one great month,” she said. “It’s about creating a repeatable experience for clients and teammates alike.”
Jessica Golle
That requires viewing metrics together. Response time, first-call resolution, project delivery, client satisfaction and forecast accuracy can all be valuable, but none tells the whole story independently.
“The metric I trust least isn’t a bad metric; it’s any metric viewed in isolation,” Golle said. “Calls made, tickets closed or emails sent can all be valuable indicators. But activity alone doesn’t tell you whether you’re making things better for the client.”
Avoid turning measures into targets
One of the most potentially misleading MSP metrics is tracking the number of ticket closures.
A technician who closes many tickets may be highly effective. However, that number alone does not reveal whether issues were resolved correctly, clients understood the solution or cases had to be reopened. Employees may also rush work when businesses incentivize closure volume.
Maurice R. McGeehan
“The least effective way to measure performance is ticket closure rate,” Baroan said. “If we have people who are closing tickets out at a high rate, it does not mean that they are doing a better job with the clients.”
Maurice R. McGeehan, president and CEO of Iron Nebula, applies the same skepticism to technician utilization. Although MSPs frequently treat utilization as a measure of productivity and profitability, it can reward the appearance of busyness while overlooking delayed projects, weak documentation and frustrated clients.
“High utilization doesn’t necessarily translate to high value,” McGeehan said.
The growing use of artificial intelligence, self-healing systems and automation makes time-based measures even less reliable. When technology prevents failures or helps technicians resolve them faster, billable hours may decline even as the client receives better service.
McGeehan invokes Goodhart’s law: When a measure becomes a target, it stops being a useful measure. When MSPs pressure technicians to improve response times, closure rates or utilization, employees may close tickets prematurely, escalate avoidable work or prioritize tasks that make their statistics look better.
“Metrics should be indicators, not objectives,” he said. “The quality of the work we provide for our clients is my highest priority.”
Match the measurement to the team
Matthew Lang
Do not use the same scorecard for every MSP employee. A help desk technician, security analyst and client success manager may all contribute to the customer experience, but they produce different outcomes and require different skills. Start by defining what success looks like for each role, then select a focused set of quantitative and qualitative measures that reflects those responsibilities.
In ISACA’s survey of more than 3,800 cybersecurity professionals, 61% identified adaptability as a leading qualification for cybersecurity employees. That quality is particularly important in managed services, where employees must respond to changing threats and evolving technology needs.
Task completion can’t capture an employee’s adaptability. Instead, examine how employees respond to unexpected problems, apply lessons from previous incidents and learn more efficient ways to achieve stated goals.
“In an MSSP or security-focused MSP, a strong client success person may prevent an escalation, uncover a risk or work to preserve a relationship months before the value being delivered becomes visible in a report,” noted Matthew Lang, director, cybersecurity practice with SVAM International Inc.
MSPs should evaluate security technicians using a different set of criteria as well. Evaluate performance based on investigative quality, sound judgment, documentation and measurable risk reduction.
“Closing an alert quickly is not valuable if the underlying threat was misunderstood,” Lang explained. “I would rather have a security technician take additional time, ask the right questions and reach a defensible conclusion.”
Protect the fundamentals when problems arise
Leah Frieman
ITCon Inc. CEO Leah Freiman recommended reviewing role-specific performance data regularly to ensure that no manager or employee can quietly abandon established procedures.
For example, in 2024, a manager she trusted had “gone rogue,” disregarding the company’s established processes, Freiman recalled. The employee reportedly told staff to disregard those procedures and use their own judgment instead of the company’s standard operating procedures.
The resulting breakdown affected employees, project execution and client service. She estimated that about 90% of the clients acquired from 2024 onward subsequently left, while many longer-standing clients remained because the company had already earned their trust.
Freiman also accepted responsibility for failing to recognize the warning signs sooner. Her central lesson was that leaders can trust managers while still watching the metrics and verifying performance.
“Learn from your mistakes,” she said. “Really be honest with yourself. Even though there’s someone else to blame. See where you can make it better.”
The key, Frieman said, is to measure and protect the activities that produce positive business outcomes. If client feedback is negative or client-facing activities like quarterly business reviews aren’t happening, act quickly. Assign and train backups for critical job functions to ensure continuity. The right scorecard will vary by role, but every team member is accountable for ensuring a positive client experience.
“Do not give up the things that make your clients stick,” Freiman concluded. “At the end of the day, it’s your business and your clients.”
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.
Images: vegefox.com – stock.adobe.com, Jessica Golle via LinkedIn, Guy Baroan via LinkedIn, Maurice R. McGeehan via LinkedIn, Matthew Lang via LinkedIn, Leah Frieman via LinkedIn
