How difficult is it to find a good SaaS specialist?
With an industry that’s growing fast, and with software companies promoting more workshops and seminars than ever, it should come as no surprise that the job market for SaaS specialists has grown significantly in the last few years.
Finding a good SaaS specialist shouldn’t prove too much of an issue, most software engineers are seeing the benefits of learning about different SaaS solutions, both as a means to broaden their horizons and to learn how to implement them in their field of expertise.
Good SaaS specialists tend to show:
- Market intelligence
- Analytical skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Security management
Also, good SaaS engineers tend to have hands-on experience with their software of choice. There are 2 ways you can check if someone has worked with the software you want to implement.
- Have they worked with this software in the past and for how long?
- Have they taken any courses or have been certified by the company that publishes the software?
SaaS solutions are diverse, and no 2 systems are exactly alike. A person who is familiar with the software will often have a better grasp of its intricacies, which translates to better decisions down the line.
How to choose a SaaS specialist for your project?
When choosing potential recruits keep in mind the following guidelines:
- SaaS specialists act as a bridge between your company and your service provider, so be on the lookout for specialists with good communication skills. This is also a good skill to have if your specialist is going to be training your team.
- Part of what makes SaaS great is how trivial it is to scale as your business grows. That’s why you should look for SaaS experts who are proactive, show analytic skills, and foresight. You want a SaaS specialist who is always one step ahead, who brings suggestions to the project, and who is ready to scale at a moment’s notice.
- Experience is a great thing to have, but software changes with time, so not all experiences are equal in value. Focus on candidates who’ve worked with SaaS software in recent years.
- Experience in your field might not be necessary, but it’s a great asset for a SaaS expert. If they understand the needs of your business then they have more information to make better choices and to offer better solutions.
- Some SaaS are more customizable than others. If your software solution has an API or can be modified with a scripting language, make sure that your SaaS specialist is well versed in those areas.
Conclusion
SaaS is a growing field, and more and more people are seeing the benefits of developing their career paths as SaaS specialists, so finding the right candidate for your project shouldn’t prove difficult. Just remember, aim for the person with the experience and knowledge to guide you and your team towards success.
How will you handle adding or removing users?
User management is one of the most basic aspects of cybersecurity, and whoever is going to be in charge of your SaaS solution needs to have a strong security policy in place.
There isn’t a clear-cut answer for this question, but a good indicator is that the SaaS specialist will try to understand your company’s policy and protocols before answering, as this shows that they understand that their position is part of a bigger framework.
How will you handle troubleshooting?
Most SaaS issues are handled by the provider, not by the specialist. Nevertheless, if you are working with a SaaS expert, then they should be the ones handling the bug reports.
A good candidate will understand that there are 2 kinds of issues. First, those that they can handle directly (like a user not understanding a tool), in which case they should have a protocol for helping the users, remote desktops, coaching sessions, or whatever tools they prefer.
And second, those they can’t solve (like bugs). In this case, they should have a system for organizing and reporting issues to the client provider.
Tell me what are some of the best practices for budget handling with the software
Pay-as-you-go services can get out of hand if used like they are not intended to. So, specialists are in charge of handling the budget and finding the best tool for a company while spending the least amount of resources.
Look for candidates who answer this question naturally and who delve into the specifics of the software. If they answer with generalities, ask for clarification or specific examples. This will help you get a grasp of how much they know and understand the tool.
What would you do in the case of an outage?
While most SaaS have recursive systems and failsafe protocols, you could end up in a situation where you lose access to your services. In such cases, the SaaS plays a crucial role in troubleshooting hand in hand with the service provider. The answer to this question will tell you about how the candidate would react under pressure.
We are looking for a SaaS specialist to join our team and become an active part of our community. We are looking for team players who can handle being a part of a passionate team and who are looking for challenging and fulfilling projects.
We want to provide an opportunity for our team members to grow professionally as they help us achieve our goals.
Responsibilities
- Manage the client-provider relations with the service provider.
- Support the IT department.
- Establish and maintain a set of good practices for the software.
- Train team members to work with the software.
- Promote the use of the software and bring to the team’s attention underutilized tools.
- Manage scaling projects.
- {{Add other responsibilities here that are relevant}}
Skills and Qualifications
- Experience as a SaaS specialist {{add number of years}}
- SaaS consultant certifications with the software provider. {{specify the provider}}
- Communication skills and aptitude for coaching/teaching others.
- Previous experience in {{field of your company, add “Recommended but not required” if you want to broaden your search}}
- Experience creating dashboard/user interfaces/data visualization {{if the software allows customizability}}
- Market intelligence and planning.
- {Add other frameworks or libraries related to your development stack}}
- {{List education level or certification required}}
