In the last 12 months, 325,637 people have started their tech careers in North America. That's an increase of 2% in 12 months. Great. But, the number of tech companies is increasing at 7% per quarter. Shit. There is plenty of money in our ecosystem so we are not capital constrained. But, the biggest risk for that capital is the lack of elite human capital. And that risk in only going to increase every year because the rate of innovation is going to be much higher than the current rate at which people join this career path. "But, won't AI make it so that every company needs less people?" Yes, absolutely. But, there will be far more companies because starting a company and getting PMF will become much easier. And while every company will need less people, those spots will need to be filled by the very best because those spots will become more valuable. Why: Because the revenue per employee will go up dramatically. Which means that the competition for the very best will only increase. Example: If Account Executives become 5X more productive because of AI, then someone doing $1M/year today will be doing $5M/year down the line. Not everyone will be able to adjust to this change. The very best will and they will adjust quickly. Hiring them will be imperative. The cost of a mistake will now be 5X of what it is today and there will be less at bats with hiring. So everyone will be going after a small % of the AEs out there who can do this, and that competition will make hiring them harder than it is today, and its really hard today. So, it's very important to get really good at hiring and developing talent. Not just for GTM roles, but for every role in the business. Right now this is a weakness in our ecosystem. We don't invest enough time and energy into developing our hiring capabilities. Too many companies rely on inbounds and their networks to hire vs proactively going after the best. Too many companies are not scientific in defining their scorecards and assessing candidates next to those scorecards in a coordianted and consistent manner. Too many companies let hiring managers do their thing in the interview process which leads to instinct based selection. Sometimes instinct based selection leads to good results. Anyone can get lucky sometimes. But, luck is not a strategy. And, enabling folks for success is still a muscle that is developing in the ecosystem. These are all problems that are solvable but they need to be prioritized. Those who prioritize them, will have outsized upside in the coming years. The rest will be playing roulette.
Stuart M.
1mo
I’m interested in hearing the themes you have tracked for hiring top talent. A few things that the Lead Every Day team picked up on in their research on top talent is that they are looking for 1. A better boss - someone who is competent skills wise, but also places value on relationships - someone who is going to help develop and stretch the employee 2. A bigger vision - something worth working towards - a vision that can’t be accomplished without top talent 3. A brighter future - how is this job going to help me develop and become a leader in the next roles I want to enter - how am I going to be valued and compensated in the short and long term What else have you unconvered? Asad Zaman
Neil W.
2mo
so very true and of course you know this better than most. but hiring the best is much harder than it sounds. i rarely meet people who say - i just hired a really shitty person. 😁
Tiffany Heimpel
2mo
“We don’t invest enough in our hiring capabilities” thank you Asad Zaman :) Hireguide recently met with Olivia Chow the mayor of Toronto for exactly this reason. How do we train at scale to hire better fairer and faster?
Jason S.
2mo
Human capital is the foundation for company success.
Vice President - Pragmatic Business Leader | Decisive with enthusiasm & Integrity | Sales & Marketing | Territories' Management | Results Driven | Strategy
2mo“What you know vs Whom you know” Just thinking a loud - are we losing balance between finding talent through networking and hunting for really talented people but may not be very good at networking. Sometimes I see people really great tech guys but not able to find right job as don’t know many people and are relying on just submitting their resume. “Whom you know” is balancing out “what you know” Any thoughts?