Pete Baiocco, a partner at Daversa Partners in the software and consumer practices, says that many companies were already evolving toward remote work when the pandemic made it a way of life. “I do think that companies are way more flexible now about hiring the best talent and letting them live where they live,” he says. “There are some companies that are fully distributed, meaning they have no physical office locations, and people literally live anywhere they want to live. There are other companies that have physical headquarters, and then there are those who operate within a hybrid model which allow employees go to the office two to three days a week. So that’s even more of a flexible or creative way to attract talent.”
So far, Mr. Baiocco says he hasn’t seen much change in compensation. In time, he speculates, with equity being uncertain or hard to price, some companies might offer to pay candidates more money on a base salary to alleviate some of the “risk” of leaving their company. “But the reason why a candidate joins a company is never just because of the package they’re offering,” says Mr. Baiocco. “People’s criteria these days involve a longer list of things that must line up. And 9 times out of 10 that starts with the mission of the company. People want to work at companies that possess a shared vision, are dedicated to making an impact, and solving real world problems. They want to work with really smart people, in a role that’s really meaningful and progresses their career.”
“Now, of course, the economics need to make sense for the candidate and their family to actually make the jump,” says Mr. Baiocco. “And so people are spending a little bit more time doing their due diligence on the company in terms of how much capital they have in the bank, when was the last time they raised funds, and what’s the health of the business. Candidates have to put their investor hat on when evaluating a company and really try to make an independent decision about the health of that company’s financial future, independent of the role, which is really just good hygiene to do for anybody evaluating a new opportunity.”
“We’re definitely spending more time talking to candidates about hey, this company’s profitable, or they just raised a significant round two months ago, or just this last month this company secured funding; that’s obviously a really good sign considering the market that investors really believe in this business,” says Mr. Baiocco. “That’s what we’re noticing. We’re definitely spending more time talking about the financial stability of the company. But the real reason somebody joins somewhere has a lot more to do with the product, the mission, the people, the culture, and the career progression for the role they might be joining.”