Hiring is harder than ever
Hiring in an age of record startup investment, remote working and changing candidate priorities.
Two-thirds of Sifted readers believe that the abundance of capital in Europe is one of the main causes of hiring difficulties, far ahead of difficulties related to immigration or competition from the generous packages offered by big techs. More than half of those surveyed said they had increased salaries by at least 10% in the past year to compete, as a host of new tech companies found themselves able to offer much higher salaries than before.
Speak up 📣 The great resignation: it’s not that simple
People come in all shapes and sizes and we’re talking about convictions, purpose, meaning… It’s a very personal matter, which makes it hard for startups to compete, since there’s an element of matching which significantly reduces the amount of talent you can target. Your culture, if it's worth anything, and wants to have a chance to attract anyone, has to be compelling, and trustworthy. So you have to choose! What are you offering people? A mission? More money? A growing environment? Flexibility and work life balance? Some will try to fake it until they make it… resulting in grotesque scandals and corporate rollercoasters.
Most will try to promise more than they can deliver, and some outliers will underpromise and overdeliver, generating viral loops of talent, quitting the bad guys to join the good ones.
Read the rest of Teampact's post here ⬅️
News 🗞️ Tech companies scramble to help their employees in Ukraine
Since Russia’s launched an attack on February 24, there is no shortage of questions for employers. How to ensure the safety of the teams on site? Can evacuations still take place? How do you pay your employees if the banks close and transfers stop?
In the last few years, Ukraine became a major IT outsourcing hub, attracting the likes of Amazon, Google, IBM and a host of start-ups. The government envisioned the IT sector becoming 10% of the country’s gross domestic product (Vs 4% in 2021). The Ukrainian startup scene is relatively small compared to other European countries, but it has a large talent pool that has produced unicorn founders and supports companies elsewhere in Europe and beyond. PitchBook lists some 126 startups that have raised venture capital funds since the beginning of last year that have a primary or secondary office in Ukraine. How can tech professionals offer their skills during the crisis?
You can/want offer help? Take a look to this Reddit page or on this Notion. Reminder, Ukraine has a visa-free regime with its neighbouring countries, meaning that they can pass the border without having to hold a valid visa or additional documentation.
DATA 📊 Should you ask for that deadline extension?
It’s late at night. You’ve been working really hard on this document that you have to deliver tomorrow. It would really help to have a couple days extra to complete it, but ... you don’t want to look like you can’t handle your workload!
Chances are, you are wildly overestimating the self-presentation costs of asking to move that deadline back. In this early 2022 paper, time researcher Ashley Whillans proves that people tend to not ask for extended deadlines because they are afraid to look incompetent in front of their supervisor, when it in fact has no effect on perceived competence. On the contrary, prioritising execution speed negatively effects work quality!
Key takeaway for organisations? Ensure you work with demanding yet manageable deadlines, foster psychological safety, and make it very clear that asking for more time to do a good job is valued !
The Nugget 🍪 3 exercises you could use every day to stop “overthinking”
Here are many ways we tend to overthink, such as rehashing the past — replaying the same scenario over and over in our head. All that excessive obsessing and rumination totally takes a toll on you physically and mentally. 1st exercice according the psychotherapist Jenny Maenpaa is “positive reframing”, often confused with “toxic positivity,” which asks people to think positively — no matter how difficult a situation is. Positive reframing, on the other hand, allows you to acknowledge the negative aspects, then asks you to evaluate whether there’s another way to think about the situation. Perhaps there are benefits or things you can change about it.
Find here 👉 the 2 other exercises
To remind you
"ppl first" will be committed and benevolent for employees, managers, and founders !
What is ppl first ? It's a company that puts the employee at the heart of the strategy, considering that a fulfilled worker will make a healthy and sustainable business.
Why ppl first ? Everything is accelerating and for years customer is too often the top priority, the employee is sometimes an adjustment variable. Less considered, he/she's also less committed.
How ppl first ? There are many ways to achieve this (or to stay this way) but there is a common base. When a staff member would not recommend to his friends to work with him/her, when the management does not have clear values to defend etc. Staff is at risk and the company with it. To have or maintain a people first culture you need to care about your employees as individuals.
Thanks for this great piece of reading! 😊