Curated Intel from the Talent Tech Industry
July 3-9, 2023:
• Laughing all the way to the bank: Microsoft vindicated after “wasting” $26 billion on LinkedIn;
• Adding insult to injury: Layoffs.fyi finds women were disproportionately hurt by tech layoffs;
• Putting trade secrets at risk: FTC expands the application of its impending ban on noncompetes;
• Overhauling job seeker support: France commits €2.9B to cut unemployment with new service;
• Building immersive careers sites: Careersix.io launches to offer a better candidate experience.
PLUS
Stepping outside your industry niche and connecting with other technology companies in the recruitment space is now essential to bottom-line success. And, there’s no better place to forge those inclusive connections than at TAtech Europe & The EMEA Job Board Forum, coming up in London on December 4-6. It is the only conference in Europe and the rest of the EMEA region that is designed for job board and talent technology company CEOs, their direct reports and rising stars and totally focused on advancing the growth of their enterprises. So, don’t delay; register today to take advantage of Early Bird Discounts.
Microsoft Has the Last Laugh After 'Wasting' $26 Billion on Company It Bought in 2016
Microsoft took a lot of fire for a controversial purchase on this a few years ago, but seven years later the tech company has been massively rewarded for its gamble. Microsoft paid $26 billion for job posting social media platform LinkedIn in 2016. At the time it was the largest purchase the company ever made, and many in the finance community were questioning the wisdom of such a purchase. But very few are questioning the move now as LinkedIn's user base has grown by more than 100%, as pointed on on Twitter by Bloomberg's Jon Erlichman. Erlichman points out that Microsoft paid a near 50% premium to "beat out rivals such as Salesforce, Facebook and Alphabet" each of whom seemed like more natural fits for the social media platform. But since the purchase, LinkedIn has seen its user base balloon from 433 million people to 930 million, making it one of the largest social media platforms in the world. And the increased user base has also bolstered the company's bottom line.
Women were disproportionately affected by the tech layoffs
The tech industry skews male, but tech layoffs paint a different picture: A disproportionate percentage of the workers laid off since last fall appear to be women. Why it matters: There are fears that the Big Tech layoffs that rocked the industry may set back its yearslong push to diversify. By the numbers: From October 2022 to June 2023, women made up 45% of laid-off tech employees, according to an analysis of 3,404 workers by Layoffs.fyi, shared with Axios. About 55% of laid-off workers were male, the analysis shows. But most industry statistics put the share of male employees in tech at a much higher level, said Roger Lee, the founder of Layoffs.fyi.
How to position your organization ahead of FTC’s noncompete rule
It’s unclear what the final noncompete rule will look like when it’s released by the Federal Trade Commission, but by getting a handle on your trade secrets now and knowing who among your employees needs to sign confidentiality or non-solicit agreements, you can best position yourself for the new regulatory landscape, attorneys say. The FTC in January proposed a ban on noncompetes as part of the Biden Administration’s sweeping antitrust agenda to protect the labor market from artificially low compensation that can result from widespread use of the agreements. The ban would also sweep up confidentiality and non-solicit agreements to the extent they function as noncompetes, complicating general counsel’s ability to plan for contractual changes that could protect their company’s trade secrets without running afoul of the federal government. “Before the FTC started rulemaking, I would have said non-disclosure and non-solicits would take care of your problem if you can’t use noncompetes,” Debbie Berman of Jenner & Block told Legal Dive. “You probably can protect most of what you want to protect between those two types of agreements. But the FTC has said if a non-solicit or confidentiality agreement acts as a noncompete, they’re going to invalidate those too. So, it’s not so clear right now.”
France’s €2.9 billion plan to overhaul job seeker service and reduce unemployment rates
Pole Emploi is dead, long live Pole Emploi. In a significant move, the French government has announced an overhaul to its job seeker service. With it, it aims to reduce the country’s unemployment rate to approximately 5% by 2027, compared to the current rate of 7.1%. France will soon have a brand-new job seeker service called France Travail (or France Works), which will replace the existing agency (and job board), Pole Emploi. The aim of this reform is to simplify the process of entering the workforce and enhance coordination among various stakeholders within the French public employment service. France Travail, set to become operational on January 1, 2024, is part of the French government’s strategy to revamp the country’s employment landscape. This new job seeker service seeks to streamline the entry into work and consolidate the efforts of key entities in the French public employment service. By replacing Pole Emploi, France Travail will establish a single point of contact for individuals seeking employment opportunities.
Careersix.io launches to provide immersive careers sites
Beyond excited to announce that Careersix.io launches today! Feels like the culmination of years of creating great #recruitmentmarketing experiences have resulted in the best possible collaboration, with a superb platform that unlocks the full potential of #employerbrand and elevates the overall #candidateexperience. So happy, and very thankful that I get to bounce with my awesome co-founders AJ Mussell, Aycan Demirci & Linzi Hunter. Hold on tight, this is going to be an epic year! Our experience as a full-service digital agency means we can bring the best aspects of creativity, tech and experience into one place – it means that we can build you stunning unrivalled careers sites that your candidates will love.
TAtech Europe: Forge Inclusive Connections for Bottom-Line Success
Stepping outside your industry niche and connecting with other technology companies in the recruitment space is now essential to bottom-line success. And, there’s no better place to forge those inclusive connections than at TAtech Europe & The EMEA Job Board Forum, coming up in London on December 4-6. It is the only conference in Europe and the rest of the EMEA region that is designed for job board and talent technology company CEOs, their direct reports and rising stars and totally focused on advancing the growth of their enterprises. Whether your company is a niche or general job board, aggregator, talent marketplace, online classifieds business, programmatic platform, conversational AI solution, chatbot, ATS, recruitment marketing solution, CRM platform, interviewing or assessment system or talent technology consultancy, this event will supercharge your sales and your profits. So, don’t delay; register today to take advantage of Early Bird Discounts.