TriCom 2023: Conquering Challenges and Paving the Way for a Victorious 2024
This year will go down as one of the most bizarre years I can remember for TriCom. After a record-setting 2022 with unprecedented revenue highs, the demand for IT staffing dropped drastically in Q4. It has, for the most part, remained anemic throughout 2023. ?
During my professional life (1990 to present), the downturns of the dot-com bubble, 9/11, the Great Recession, COVID-19, and now the malaise of ‘23” (what I’m calling it) have impressed upon me the importance of staying both true and humble.?
True in the sense that winning is not a place. It’s not a revenue peak or an award. To me, it’s how we work. Are we truly providing value? Are we great at what we do? Do we remain true to our convictions and values? Does TriCom deserve the results we get??
In terms of humility, it’s about paying it forward. Do we maintain the same level of effort after reaching a new milestone? Are we still open to learning, growing, and honing our craft? Or does our collective ego from past successes create a forcefield too formidable to penetrate??
2023 was that humbling year. A downward cycle unfolded, marked by a slowdown in IT hiring. While projects still required talent, most businesses adopted a defensive stance, expecting a recession after mass layoffs started in the sector late in 2022. A fiscal tightening by the Fed reinforced the view that a recession was imminent. Hiring freezes became commonplace.?
This month, after the Fed maintained current interest rates and hinted at the possibility of cutting rates sooner than expected next year, the pessimists are turning into optimists. Could this be the onset of a “soft landing” leading to a growth cycle in 2024? Statistically, most downturns last only about 15 months or so. For us in IT staffing, we are currently in month 15, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed.?
TriCom performed adequately, though not reaching the heights of past standards. Nevertheless, we were able to weather the downturn. It’s a credit to everyone who stayed and did the work, even when it took twice the effort for half the results. ?
Over the past two years, many of our associates who saw the promise of our business joined our ranks. They have had to muddle through a prolonged malaise of decreased demand, enduring my repeated reminders to “be ready” and assurances that it would eventually pick up and “turn back on like a firehose.” After hearing me say this ad nauseam, I’m sure their inner thoughts were skeptical, pondering, “Alright, Matt – but WHEN?!?”?
领英推荐
SOON. Let me present my case with data.?
Things will pick up, I’m certain. Closing out a difficult chapter, TriCom is incredibly thankful to our consultants who’ve entrusted us with their careers and our client partners who have weathered some tough times.?
As 2024 approaches, TriCom will enter its 30th year in business. I am at a loss for words to express my gratitude to the hundreds of IT professionals, our internal team, and client enterprises who have chosen to work with TriCom. “Thank you” doesn’t seem to cut it, honestly, but thank you nonetheless.?
We have a lot to unveil in 2024, including finding a way to celebrate that 30th birthday in May. A new website, a new logo, and dropping “technical services” to become simply “TriCom.” ?It's a promising start coupled with optimism for improved market conditions.?
When I helped start TriCom back in May of 1994, I could never have imagined the rollercoaster journey ahead – financial highs and lows, along with the emotional and personal twists and turns. As we turn around the bend after a nausea-inducing, not-so-fun fall, I still can’t get used to how extreme the highs and lows have been. This journey has been full of wild swings, but there isn’t a luckier person on the planet. Thank you! Onward and upward we go!?
?
?
Chief Operation Officer
11 个月Love this. Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas!