Case Study: The Data Center Hiring Challenge

The Client:

A large, U.S.-based data center needed to fill a growing demand for L1 Data Center Technicians (DCTs) across multiple U.S. states.

The Challenge:

The client was facing a shortage of specifically skilled talent in the data center field, particularly for onsite roles in the U.S. cities where demand for this talent is very high.

The project aimed to recruit and train 20 professionals with a unique combination of skills across three different geographies.

Our regions of focus were Virginia, Texas, and Arizona, but the growing demand for skilled DCTs is a widespread challenge across the country, driven by record investment and the rapid expansion of cloud computing.

As the data center industry continues to grow, so does the need for highly skilled engineers to manage these complex operations.

We recognize this issue is not unique to a single client, so the solution needed to be scalable, capable of replication by other data center companies facing similar hiring challenges.

Our Approach:

Before any part of our Hire-Train-Deploy model is kicked off, we start by defining the ideal candidate—a foundational step that sets the entire process in motion.

This isn’t just about identifying key aptitudes for success; it’s about breaking down a job into its essential components and understanding exactly what makes someone successful in that role.

In doing this, we can recruit based on foundational skills, knowing that once we find those core traits, we can effectively train the individual to meet the specific technical demands. This approach ensures a more precise fit and sets the stage for long-term success.

The approach also allows Smoothstack to source candidates from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, including U.S. veterans and individuals from non-traditional tech fields.

Once this is complete, our hire-train-deploy process begins.

• Hire: Hundreds of candidates were rigorously screened for foundational skills and aptitude discussed above, using Smoothstack’s proprietary testing. Those who pass are hired into our program as Smoothstack employees, with requisite pay and benefits.
• Train: Aspiring DCTs hired began intensive training in Smoothstack’s fulltime, client customized curriculum matching their unique domain. In addition to technical training, DCTs receive soft skill and career development training.
• Deploy: DCTs who successfully complete training then immediately start onsite in their new DCT/DCE position.

From hire to deploy, the process took 10 weeks.

The Result:

This innovative approach resulted in the successful recruitment, training, and deployment of 20 DCTs across multiple locations. The newly trained engineers were known, vetted, committed, and most importantly, productive. They were months ahead in terms of job knowledge than those hired through more traditional means.

Key outcomes included:

• De-Risked Hiring: Smoothstack absorbed the upfront investment for all recruiting, testing, interviewing, hiring, and training. In addition, we complete the arduous task of reviewing hundreds of candidates, with multistep interview processes. This frees your Talent team to focus on higher impact roles and saves managers hours of productive time they would have spent screening candidates.
• Economic Efficiency: No upfront costs for the client or the aspiring DCT, as Smoothstack absorbed all hiring and training expenses.
• Social Impact: The program provided career opportunities for those with strong foundational skills who were underemployed and otherwise overlooked, including veterans like “Scott,” who transitioned from construction into a long-term data center tech career.

“Even with minimal prior experience, Smoothstack has trained and enabled me to perform and excel on the job,” said Scott, one of the deployed candidates.

The success of our Hire-Train-Deploy model is clear in its impact. This approach filled the critical need for talent and provided a repeatable model for future hiring demand in an already talent-challenged industry.

By dissecting roles into their core components and focusing on aptitude over experience, we’ve created a scalable solution that directly addresses the data center industry’s pressing talent shortage.

In addition, 20 deserving individuals were given the chance to transform their futures, entering a high-demand field where they received specialized training tailored to data center engineering. But it doesn’t stop there—this program didn’t just fill positions; it launched these individuals into long-term, thriving tech careers.