Navigating the Talent Landscape in 2024: Optimism, Caution, and Strategic Planning

I’ve always been someone who is able to get over setbacks, disappointments, and let downs pretty quickly. I’ve found that I’m generally pretty positive about most things in life and so I would much rather spend my time, energy, and resources focused on moving forward and improving than dwelling on the challenges.?

However, I’d be lying if I didn’t say 2023 was tough.?

It was a really hard year for me personally and professionally, but also came with so many new opportunities and new connections. I can honestly say I came out of the year stronger and wiser. I launched thrively and have connected with wonderful clients. I feel good about where I landed despite the setbacks of last year.?

But this post isn’t about me. This post is a recognition of what so many people went through last year and a warning to leaders across tech that the talent landscape has forever changed and that strong talent strategies should be at the forefront of every major leadership discussion when thinking strategically about your business in 2024.?

The Layoff Legacy and the Dawn of 2024

As a career coach and co-founder of a recruiting and HR consulting firm, I speak to a lot of talented professionals. I’ve heard many stories that have left people questioning their purpose and motivation for being in tech. Last year the tech industry faced unprecedented layoffs (at least that’s the perception in the minds of so many active workers today), shaking the foundation of job security and team dynamics. Many people have lost trust in their leaders and trust in the idea of finding meaningful purpose in tech companies of all sizes, from start-ups to giants. In Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report for 2023 they found that only 21% of employees are engaged at work.

I don’t have to tell you this though.?

As leaders, you’ve seen your own engagement data and probably know that trust and faith in leaders in most companies is at an all time low. The way that so many layoffs were carried out left people feeling abandoned and never really cared for to begin with.?

We can debate the facts, what boards forced leaders to do, and that there is a “right” and “legal” way that layoffs just had to happen. Regardless of how you as a leader feel about the reaction from so many people on tough business decisions and how those decisions were carried out, the reality is that your employees are going to be way more careful and mindful this time around. From senior leaders down, many people have felt burned and they’ve had time to think about what matters to them and what they are prioritizing both personally and professionally for the coming year.?

The good news is that there is an undeniable hint of optimism for 2024. From recruiting clients to coaching clients and to candidates we are placing, everyone seems to be in agreement that 2024 can be a hopeful year for tech.?

And the market also seems to be cautiously optimistic, where I expect leaders will be balancing the lessons of the past with the potential of the future. I believe the tides are turning, which means that leaders must start thinking critically about their talent strategies.?

As leaders, I have a deep desire to see you lead authentically and successfully this year so that your companies can truly thrive.?

The Employee Perspective: From Tension to Transition

While it was extremely tough last year for the folks who were laid off, it was difficult in other ways for those that were left behind–from “survivors guilt” to constantly being trapped in fear of being let go to losing trust in their leaders. They weren’t feeling good. For many though, as difficult as they may have found their work environments, they felt it was better to “stay with the devil you know” than for them to think about making a job move. They were scared and felt safer to do nothing than to make themselves vulnerable by interviewing and starting at a new company with the risk of being laid off.?

In light of the optimistic hope for 2024, we are seeing people be much more eager to make moves this year. We’ve heard from a lot of people and they are finally feeling ready to come out of career hibernation and push forward. They no longer want to be tied to the fears of 2023 but are ready more than ever to be challenged, to learn, and to grow.?

With this in mind, now is the time to think about how you want to retain your top performers and also how you want to attract highly skilled candidates that are right for where your company is going.?

For Leaders: Time to Rethink Talent Strategy

As you strategize about how you plan to show up for your people this year to reach your company goals, I urge you to think through the following recommendations:?

Show humility: One of the things we constantly hear and see in surveys is that people are looking for more authenticity from their leaders. They want clarity and transparency coupled with honesty. If last year was difficult for your teams or if you messed up as a leader or team, it’s not weak to look back and acknowledge this.?

Truth breeds respect.?

Your people want you to be successful and want you to lead them to better performance in 2024. Being honest about what you got wrong and the lessons learned go a very long way. You don’t have to camp out on these set-backs but acknowledging them is an important step in building respect and trust.?

Show yourself grace: I had many conversations with HR leaders last year and for most companies people managers seemed to be the most disengaged group, including leadership teams. The last few years have really tested leaders. You’ve had things thrown at you from a pandemic to wars to financial downturns to mental health challenges. It’s been a lot. While you weren’t perfect, you probably tried extremely hard and you learned some lessons. Remind yourself that leadership is a journey and you build on the experiences you make.?

If you are finding that you are struggling to get your groove back in your own leadership impact, then it might be time to get yourself a coach and get reconnected to your purpose, values, and skills.??

Create a culture of clarity and transparency: People are tired of the BS. They want to help make an impact and it's hard to make the right kind of impact without the right facts. Your people and candidates are absolutely looking for realness.?

Just this week I was on a call with a senior leader who had first hand knowledge of their company’s financials. They felt that the rest of the senior leadership team didn’t have an accurate representation of runway and it was really hindering them as a team from prioritizing the correct things for where the business was currently. While I understand this is a tricky dialogue to have inside an organization, this is a great example of where people are fed up. They are being asked to give 100% but don’t have the facts or the truth around the state of the company to help show up the way the business needs them to.?

It’s not only the big issues that need to be shown light, but some of the most frustrating topics in organizations is when people don’t have clarity around things like org structures, people changes, strategies shifts, etc. One way to combat this is to make sure there is a clear internal communication plan within your company for strategy and implementation shifts. Bringing in managers early and allowing them to ask questions is another way to really get ahead of issues and arm them with the knowledge to help their teams. Finally, you can make sure that your company-wide meetings or All-hands are really adding value and are being transparent and providing clarity to teams and individuals. If your meetings feel more like a performance of habit than a true tool to help get people unblocked, it’s time to reassess content and execution.?

Build a strong employer brand: If you’ve ignored being proactive around your employer brand, it’s time to start prioritizing again. For starters, your Glassdoor reviews probably aren’t where you want them to be and your career page content is out of date or focusing on the wrong type of content all together.?

If you haven’t asked your people what benefits or offerings are most important to them then you should. You’ll find that your own people and many in job searches are looking for purpose, impact, work flexibility, learning and development opportunities, prioritization towards wellness, fairness and inclusiveness, and to be compensated competitively. They also want a signal that the leadership team is strong, experienced, and has a clear plan for success. Make sure you are sharing stories and content that lean into these areas.?

If you don’t know where to start, it’s great to leverage your marketing and talent acquisition teams to partner on employer brand strategy and execution. Highly skilled candidates will have many options in 2024 and help them understand your company’s authentic culture quickly and clearly.?

Prioritize learning and development: In all industries, but especially in tech, your people really want opportunities to gain new skills and to grow. While promotions are important, I understand that’s not always an option. However, preparing your people for what’s next in their careers regardless if you have a role for them or not is a signal to talent that you care about their success and growth.?

At Thrively, we do a lot of technical recruiting, and almost always learning and development opportunities are on the short list of requirements for engineers and technical leaders. If you want to forge ahead of your competitors for talent, prioritize L&D spend in your budgets.?

The amount of budget and other resources needed can look very different depending on the function. I’ve found the most success when functional leaders have been tasked with putting together an L&D plan for their function with a budget request. This starts the process and allows them to really think through impact. In partnership with the People function and Finance you can create strategies that have a big impact. Ultimately, if budget is a problem, think outside of the box on how you can expose your people to different skills or challenges within your organization.?

Work Flexibility: We know since the pandemic this has been an important issue, if not the top issue, for most candidates. In fact, the Society of Human Resource Management says it’s the number one sought after benefit. We hear this from candidates as well. Companies have been trying to navigate their own strategies for a bit and the back and forth have left their people frustrated and disengaged.?

Now in 2024 it’s time to lock in your work flexibility policy and make it clear across the organization. Still today, too many candidates we work with feel that the work flexibility policy at companies they are interviewing with are vague. Whether you are remote, hybrid, or require everyone on-site everyday, be clear what that means, what you expect, and why you’ve decided on your approach..?

Conclusion: A Year of Strategic Optimism

2024 is a year of strategic optimism. It’s a time to be hopeful about the future while making calculated, thoughtful decisions about your employees. For those in tech, whether you’re a leader, an engineer, or in sales, the message is clear: The decisions you make today about your career or your team will set the tone for your trajectory in this evolving landscape. The organizations that prioritize a culture of? transparency and clarity, while offering opportunities for learning and development will see engaged people thriving in their companies.

As we move forward, keep your talent strategies front of mind and stay close to your people. Engaged employees who understand where their leaders want to take them and what they must overcome to get there will always create opportunities for growth and success.

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