Centri Tech Pulse Series: Big Tech Talent Transfer

Tens of thousands of employees being laid off from some of the industry’s most recognizable big tech brands, including Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, have left people wondering what’s next for the tech industry and its labor force.

The pandemic created a disruption in how we communicated with one another, conducted business, and everything in between. Technology companies were at the forefront to provide solutions to navigate the disruptions of the pandemic and capitalize on growing demand. Revenues grew exponentially, along with a labor force to meet those demands.

So what happened?

Rising inflation, supply chain disruptions, valuation declines, and uncertainty continue to dominate the conversation around the tech industry. Such volatility in the economic landscape can present management teams with real challenges for strategic planning and resource allocation; however, it can also present opportunities for companies to capitalize. Emerging growth and middle-market technology companies have the unique opportunity of a marketplace ripe with high-caliber talent looking for their next opportunity. Attracting key talent through strategic structuring of compensation and benefits is critical and can be the difference in obtaining top talent to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Reflecting on the significant growth in the industry during the pandemic and the recent market corrections reveals a valuable lesson. Hiring too aggressively and projecting an overly optimistic financial outlook are common miscalculations that can arise when navigating an uncertain economy. Even Fortune 500 CEOs and CFOs have challenges forecasting growth and financial projections. Fortunately, this uncertainty also presents opportunities for management teams to create and strengthen economic resiliency through a focus on solid business, financial and strategic planning.

Attracting Talent from Big Tech Talent Transfer

As a result of rising inflation rates and valuation declines, access to capital has become constrained. Funding rounds are taking longer to close, and the magnitude of funding round capital raised is declining. To attract the currently available top talent while navigating these financial challenges, companies need to be creative in structuring benefits and compensation.

Consider these ideas for recruiting and hiring top tech talent in the current market conditions:

• Performance-based incentive compensation, whether through commission, stock options, awards, or bonuses, benefits the company by tying compensation to cash flows derived from performance.
• Carefully consider the title. Titles don’t require any monetary compensation and can add value through prestige.
• Create a compelling growth journey for the candidate’s career path.
• Offer flexibility through a hybrid in-office or fully remote work structure.
• Structure employee benefits to be meaningful and aligned with the targeted talent pool’s needs and wants.
• Consider offering paid time for volunteering or coordinating employer-sponsored volunteer programs. Many employees are motivated by being able to make a positive social impact and it can have a positive ripple effect on performance.

Planning and Forecasting

Thorough, clear, and dynamic planning can have a significant impact on a company’s ability to navigate a volatile economic environment. Precise strategic forecasting can help management avoid cash flow shortages, layoffs, and company growth disruption. Further, technology investors place significant value on solid forward-looking and dynamic plans. Key planning considerations include:

• Industry, market, and pricing analyses
• Staffing – aligning the hiring plan with financial models
• Budgeting, forecasting, and financial modeling
• Key metric benchmarking and trend analysis
• Finance optimization and financial improvement plans
• Evaluating the staffing structure and its alignment with the overall strategic plan
• Establishing a strong talent acquisition team with access to the talent pool

How Centri Can Help

Centri can help your company create and strengthen its economic resiliency by:

• Collaborating with ownership and/or governance to design and implement financial, business, and strategic plans tailored to your company
• Creating benchmarks of key performance metrics and trend analysis
• Financial budgeting, forecasting, and cash burn analysis
• Working with management in developing finance optimization and financial improvement plans
• Compiling attractive compensation and benefits packages in line with staffing targets
• Handling all of the details when drafting enhanced additional incentive packages, including profit sharing, equity, and stock-based compensation plans
• Developing a human capital strategy that’s aligned with your business objectives
• Designing, developing, & implementing HR/Talent programs that fulfill your human capital strategy
• Enhancing your employee experience to foster better engagement & retention
• Creating talent acquisition & selection strategies to find the top talent
• Introducing Future of Work concepts & technologies to leverage blended, hybrid, or remote workforces
• Assessing your best options to manage the cost-of-service delivery
• Leveraging cloud-based platforms, automation, & artificial intelligence to streamline operations

Contact us to learn how our experts can help you.

About Centri Business Consulting, LLC

Centri Business Consulting provides the highest quality advisory consulting services to its clients by being reliable and responsive to their needs. Centri provides companies with the expertise they need to meet their reporting demands. Centri specializes in financial reporting, internal controls, technical accounting research, valuation, and CFO and HR advisory services for companies of various sizes and industries. From complex technical accounting transactions to monthly financial reporting, our professionals can offer any organization the specialized expertise and multilayered skillsets to ensure the project is completed timely and accurately.

For more information, please visit www.CentriConsulting.com