The Challenge: Finding Team Members—Not Just Talent

TeamLogic IT of West Denver aims to be the white-glove partner for IT help desk and cybersecurity services for midsize organizations throughout the West Denver area. As a Managed Services Provider (MSP), the company’s work moves quickly, with each day bringing different client needs, technical issues, and urgent problems to solve.

But for TeamLogic IT, the biggest hiring challenge was not finding candidates; it was finding the right candidates. The company needed IT help desk talent with technical aptitude, but also empathy, curiosity, adaptability, and a strong customer-service mindset as it grew its business and established clientele in Denver.

“It wasn’t hard to find somebody to fill a given position,” said Mike Treiser, President and Chief Executive Officer of TeamLogic IT of West Denver. “But it was very difficult to find the right person. We needed someone to give a human-centric approach to a back-office function. Someone who realizes that tech support isn’t just about solving technical issues—it’s about helping actual people resolve roadblocks so they can do their jobs.”

“We needed someone who realizes that tech support isn’t just about solving technical issues—it’s about helping actual people resolve roadblocks so they can do their jobs.”

In TeamLogic IT’s environment, a support ticket is rarely just a technical issue. It’s an opportunity to help a client feel seen, heard, and supported. The company needed team members who could bring both problem-solving skills and genuine care to every interaction.

“Joining TeamLogic IT isn’t like joining an enterprise IT desk,” said Danny Ramey, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. “Our team is at the center of co-creating our solutions every day through how they help our clients.”

“Our team is at the center of co-creating our solutions every day through how they help our clients.”

Why TeamLogic IT Chose ActivateWork

Before partnering with ActivateWork, TeamLogic IT had tried traditional hiring channels, including job boards and LinkedIn. While those approaches produced some success, they did not consistently deliver candidates who matched the company’s client-centered culture.

ActivateWork stood out for its intentional, hands-on process: the organization’s Talent Solutions team took time to understand TeamLogic IT’s business, the pace of MSP work, and the type of person who would thrive at the high-touch, human-centric IT company. TeamLogic IT also gained confidence after getting a first-hand look at ActivateWork’s unique model, which combines industry-driven training, powered by national technology training leader Per Scholas, with professional skills coaching to prepare learners for real-world technical roles.

The Solution: Apprentices Ready to Learn and Contribute

To help fill their human-centric IT help desk roles, TeamLogic IT brought on two ActivateWork Apprentices—Mouhamad and Jaime. Both joined a small, collaborative service delivery team and quickly became integral to the company’s culture.

“What stood out first was the enthusiasm,” Ramey shared. “With ActivateWork, you get people who have made a deliberate choice to come into IT. They may not have as much experience as a tenured help desk worker, but they have the desire to do the work and a hunger to grow their skills.”

“There is a steep learning curve when you come into a small and nimble startup environment on an IT help desk,” he added. “They’ve approached this with a lot of tenacity, digging in immediately, getting to work, and continuing to learn.”

“What stood out first was the enthusiasm. With ActivateWork, you get people who have the desire to do the work and a hunger to grow their skills.”

That enthusiasm translated directly into performance. Shortly after Mouhamad joined, a client experienced a cybersecurity issue. Instead of being intimidated, Mouhamad leaned into the challenge with curiosity and an eagerness to put his training to the test in a real-world scenario. Jaime, meanwhile, dove into the complicated world of employee mobile device management and Apple phone setup, quickly becoming TeamLogic IT’s go-to person for this process.

Both Apprentices showed a willingness to jump in, learn quickly, and take ownership of new challenges right out of the gate.

The Results: Stronger Culture, Better Client Experience, and Clear ROI

TeamLogic IT saw the impact of ActivateWork talent almost immediately. “Both Mo and Jaime were fully committed and embedded from day one,” said Ramey.

Their contributions also showed up in client experience. TeamLogic IT closely tracks reputation, including Google reviews and direct client experience surveys, and both Apprentices have been specifically named in positive feedback. For an IT support role, that kind of recognition is especially meaningful.

“If someone remembers who helped them from an IT standpoint, it’s a big deal,” Treiser explained. “We consistently keep clients that they’ve helped, and that tells us everything.”

“We consistently keep clients that they’ve helped, and that tells us everything.”

From a business perspective, the Apprenticeship model also delivered strong ROI for TeamLogic IT. Compared with the time and cost required to source and screen candidates through traditional channels, TeamLogic IT found ActivateWork to be a more efficient and effective pathway to qualified, motivated team members who have gone above and beyond.

More Than a Hiring Strategy: A Full-Circle Partnership

There’s an extra layer to this partnership that makes it especially meaningful for ActivateWork: TeamLogic IT also serves as the nonprofit’s managed services provider, supporting the organization’s day-to-day technology needs.

That means the career coaches and staff who supported Mo and Jaime throughout their training and job search now get to experience their professionalism firsthand when they reach out for IT support. Month after month, the ActivateWork team hears about how Mouhamad and Jaime are thriving in their roles and, now from the client side, witnesses the care they both bring to client support.

For Treiser, that full-circle connection reflects the deeper value of the partnership. After watching Jaime speak on an alumni panel at an event celebrating ActivateWork’s 10th anniversary, he wrote, “The best case for a program like this isn’t a graduation statistic. It’s what happens next.”

“The best case for a program like ActivateWork’s isn’t a graduation statistic. It’s what happens next.”

What happened next at TeamLogic IT is clear: Mouhamad and Jaime learned, grew, earned trust, took care of clients, and became the kind of coworkers “you can’t imagine the place without.” Treiser put it simply: “We may have hired them, but they’ve earned everything that’s come after.”

“We may have hired them, but they’ve earned everything that’s come after.”

That ongoing connection adds a deeply human dimension to the relationship. It also creates a powerful feedback loop: ActivateWork trains and supports emerging talent, TeamLogic IT invests in that talent through real-world Apprenticeship roles, and both get to stay connected as those Apprentices grow into trusted IT professionals. Seeing this kind of growth up-close reinforces a core belief at ActivateWork—that Apprenticeship is not just a hiring strategy; it is a relationship-driven model that helps people flourish while delivering tangible value to the organizations they serve.

And the impact reaches beyond a single employer partnership. As Treiser reflected, “ActivateWork is changing individual lives while also making the technology industry better by helping employers recognize talent they might otherwise miss.”

For the Apprentices, having organizations like ActivateWork and TeamLogic IT support them and invest in their growth is a life-changing opportunity that fuels their confidence and opens doors to lifelong prosperity. “I used to have a job,” Jaime reflected. “Now I have a career.”

“I used to have a job. Now I have a career.”

A New Way to Think About IT Hiring

TeamLogic IT’s experience shows that successful IT hiring is not only about years of experience or advanced degrees. With the right foundation, technical skills can be taught, but for TeamLogic IT, the harder qualities to find (and teach) are the human ones: empathy, motivation, adaptability, curiosity, and the ability to ask good questions. ActivateWork Apprentices brought those qualities into the TeamLogic IT business from day one.

Through the Apprenticeship partnership with ActivateWork, TeamLogic IT did more than just fill open roles—they gained team members who show up with care, grit, and the mindset to keep learning. And with ActivateWork as a partner, they’re building a stronger, more resilient talent pipeline that will support the company’s growth in the West Denver area for years to come.