The IT field is highly dynamic and always changing. As the industry continues to evolve, new types of certifications are cropping up. Because of the numerous Cisco certifications, specialization, and certification paths, it is easy to get confused about the right certifications for your employees.

How to Determine the Right Certification for your Business

When it comes to technical certification, you have several options. Cisco alone offers several certifications depending on your type of business and employee abilities. Whether you want to build the right skills or want to guide your employees to the certificates they need to succeed, you must understand the four main cisco certification paths including:

Specialist certification: If you are a Cisco partner and your business offers Cisco products, Cisco has a number of certifications and specializations. However, various certifications come with some requirements. For instance, if you have a Gold partner status, then you’re required to have a minimum of 12 certified employees, four CCIE certified employees, and one Business Value Practitioner.

Career certifications: This is the most common Cisco certification program. Of all Cisco career certifications, CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) is the most popular.

Technical certifications: One of the newest Cisco certifications is the CCT (Cisco Certified Technician). A Cisco certified technician can diagnose, repair, restore and replace important Cisco networking and system devices.

The CCT program is ideal for entry-level network admins or those starting out with Cisco because it equips employees with skills covered in the Cisco Career Certification program and hands-on skills that are developed in the field. This certification is also ideal for employees working in desktop support and want network support roles.

Business transformation certifications: In case your employees are more involved in business end of things, then a business transformation certification might be the best choice. The main areas of this certification program are:

• For sales professionals
• Cisco Enterprise IT Business Specialist

This certification is ideal for IT professionals who help the business use technology to increase business outcomes. This program also has something of both worlds and would be great for employees with strong technical background and want to make their way into business leadership roles.

How to Know When Your Employees are Ready for Training

Low-quality output: Your employees may be highly productive and have adequate proficiencies, but if their performance output doesn’t meet quality standards, then such employees need to undergo training on key areas.

Employees who lack basic technology skills: If your employees don’t know how to use a machine or program to perform their jobs, they may need training.

Employees who need skill upgradation: Managerial procedures and new skills are some of the reasons why you should hold a training program. This training will help in skill upgradation, boost employee morale and build confidence.

5 Benefits of Having Cisco Certified Employees

There are myriads of reasons why your employees should be certified in IT-related programs, but the five primary reasons are:

IT staff productivity

Certified IT employees tend to be more productive and are better equipped to deal with complex problems. Such employees are also more skilled at mentoring and supervising uncertified employees, and this reduces the number of staff required for certain IT functions.

Organizational agility

Certified employees are more efficient and this will make your organization more agile in supporting internal and external users as well as adopt new technologies. According to a recent survey, certified workers in app development companies delivered new products on time and generated products with high user satisfaction ratings.

Better risk mitigation

Certified employees reduce the frequency of unplanned outages due to their deep knowledge and ability to apply their knowledge. According to Microsoft, employers with certified employees experienced fewer unplanned downtime and improved risk mitigation.

Employee retention

In recent years, employee retention has been a major issue for most businesses. Businesses incur significant costs during employee recruitment, interviews, hiring, and getting new employees up-to-speed. This means that companies that have high staff turnover spend more than their competitors do. According to a recent survey, certified IT employees have longer average job tenures compared to uncertified staff. Another survey also indicated that training workers reinforce their sense of value.

Succession planning

Approximately 10,000 Americans turn 70 years old daily. The baby boomer effect means that many employees are getting older and the number of experienced experts expected to retire is increasing. As noted earlier, there is a relationship between certification and employee retention. There is also a direct link between certified employees and succession planning. Certified workers are skilled at supervising other employees and interested in career advancement.

Investment in employee training is the best decision you can ever make. Connect with Infotec today to bolster your business goals or call 1-800-720-9185 if you need more information on how to determine the best Cisco certification for your business.

For more information about Infotec or any of our programs click here: http://www.infotectraining.com/ or https://ops.infotecpro.com/course_schedule/course_schedule.cfm.