The sudden increase in interest rates brought a dramatic downfall to the valuations of companies in the tech sector. The tech-heavy NASDAQ dropped by about 30% last year, while aggressive tech-heavy funds, such as Cathie Wood’s Ark Innovation fund, have lost 65%.
Many fintech funds and crypto funds have gone bankrupt. Start-up activity has reached a standstill, and initial public offerings have dried up.
According to Harvard Business Review (HBR), this also affected the growth plans of capital-hungry tech companies, which are now winding down their hiring in anticipation of growth plans.
However, the recent mass layoffs of tech giants — including Meta, Twitter, and Amazon — created an incredible opportunity for traditional and non-tech firms to gain access to some of the best talents in the world.
Here’s what non-tech companies could do to benefit from the sudden influx of talent.
Modernize
The permanent shift to a hybrid or remote workplace requires new human resources systems, a restructuring of workflows, new and updated e-commerce platforms, improvements in engineering, improved cyber security, and more.
Companies that were too slow to build these systems during the pandemic can now capitalize on an influx of talent to show them how it can be done.
Hire new tech talents
According to HBR, traditional firms should use the recent layoffs as an opportunity to pursue employees with the following skills:
- DevOps
- Customer experience
- Cloud
- Automation
- Product and platforms
- Data management, and
- Cybersecurity and privacy
Additionally, traditional firms should focus their hiring on employees who can help them build a smooth transition to a remote workforce, analyze and optimize the customer journey, make use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve sales efficiency, and optimize HR planning, among others.
Poach employees who want to leave their unstable jobs
As tech giants cut their research and development (R&D) projects, reduce head counts, and cut salaries and bonuses to complement their declining stock prices, more workers are now looking for steadier employment opportunities.
Tech workers under an H-1B Visa are only allowed 60 days to find new employment should they be laid off by their employers. Many of these workers who haven’t already been dismissed are likely concerned about the prospect.
Acquire struggling tech companies
This is also a perfect time for traditional organizations to acquire tech companies and buy assets at “fire-sale prices.”
Some acquisitions can take the form of “acquihires,” or acquisitions for the sake of hiring talent. Start-ups, meanwhile, could possess patents, develop new business ideas, or create an upcoming brand but lack the financial and marketing muscle to launch them on a big scale.
Non-tech firms can now acquire those valuable assets at discounted prices to unlock their value.