It wasn’t long ago that the industria fintech -of technology for the financial sector- was of the most attractive for talents for multiple reasons: the novelty of a sector where there was everything to do, the speed and startup mentality of its companies, the investment that financial institutions around the world dedicated to it, the change in habits towards decentralized finance and the purpose of democratizing access to these tools.
And of course, the industry, at least in Argentina, was also one of the best paid at the time. Headhunting companies specializing in tech talent were bent on building entire teams from scratch for exciting projects. Even so, it was difficult to get the right profiles to at least deign to sit down and listen to a job offer. Some global experts say that this year it will be even more difficult..
Already, in its March 2023 compensation and benefits study, the WTW consultancy ranks the fintech industry among those that would grant lower salary increases this year in the country.
“It may be that for now they are in the least competitive part of the market because last year they had a more competitive dynamic. But beyond this many times these positions are partial and usually reversed throughout the year,” Marcela explained to this outlet. Angeli, Director of Work & Rewards for WTW in Argentina.
Something broke
On one hand, the liquidity in global markets decreased, and with that, the expectations of many startups to continue with important levels of collection that will accelerate their growth. The consequence of these bad bets was the massive layoffs in recent months, which also occurred in traditional companies such as Meta, Amazon, and Google, which made the largest mass layoffs in their history.
In a recent column, Facundo Aguinaga, co-founder and People Director of Paisanos, reflected on the causes of these disconnections that also occurred in Argentine and regional startups: “We come from a very fast boom in the foundation of startups, from million-dollar funding to companies in the crypto and fintech segment that boosted their growth and, of course, this forced the hiring of more employees. But with this growth comes a long list of objectives to meet.”
Layoffs at startups and companies with a track record hit the employer profile of the technology industry
“Then, when the market does not respond favorably to the business model, demand decreases, and disengagement arrives. In many cases it was about hiring that occurred within the framework of this expansive wave, which after two months, the retraction it was such that they were left out”, he evaluated.
The image of these sectors in terms of employers was also affected by episodes such as the “cryptocrash” of Bitcoin in 2022, and the scandal over accusations of Fraud of FTX.
It was so for these coveted tech profiles, something broke: now they know that beyond the fact that they have a lot of experience and knowledge in high demand -the most “pampered” in the market, those who have all the benefits, performance/project bonuses and greater flexibility-, even they can be fired tomorrow with a brief email.
The stability they enjoyed burst like the bubble that it was, and although they are still in high demand, they no longer jump on the first boat they see.
IT talent in search of stability
It is worth at this time to make one with a clarification. It is not the strength of fintech or crypto companies or ventures that is in jeopardy, but rather their “employer brand”, their hitherto extraordinary ability to attract and retain the top-level talent from which their businesses were nourished.
“The crashes that occurred, the scams made many people today no longer want to get involved in companies of this style (financial sector startups) even though they are often one of the best paying,” said Alan Gosiker, an IT selector specializing in startups.
Many talents seek to move from the crypto sector towards Artificial Intelligence
He also ensures that he has had candidates contact him for switch crypto companieswhich they consider to be more unstable, to projects in areas such as Web2who may be able to pay less but have long-term projects and depend on far fewer variables.
“We have encountered some people who did not want to work in the industry, mostly because of the volatility and lack of stability What do you think you might have? Although it is still an area of interest for many people with great talent, so building teams for projects is not more challenging than in other industries,” agreed Ramiro González Forcada, co-founder of TheFlock, a firm that connects technology talents and sciences with projects for companies abroad.
He also admits that the massive layoffs in companies that always seemed reliable and the impact on so many families, shattered the feeling of security that some profiles had who always worked in a dependent relationship. But that this will not only impact the fintech and crypto sector.
“Another possible reason why it may be thought more difficult to hire talent in the crypto industry is that the fascination with cryptocurrencies has subsided. Before, being involved in that world meant being at the forefront, being fashionable. Today, it may be that the blockchain is no longer considered the most ‘fancy’ technology and that the focus is shifting to artificial intelligence“, he added.
For his part, Daniel Iriarte, associate director at Glue Executive Search, said that there is still no direct impact of these phenomena in the executive selection niche. At the same time, he considers that “crypto has always been a risky and volatile business. Always, the one who gets into that world is because he knows it well, or because he has a personal taste for it.”
But if you notice that there are factors in this scenario that change the equation when it comes to selecting managers or number one: “The candidates if they began to analyze the proposal further. They are neither extremely carefree nor extremely conservative. They consult what the financing round is, the ‘core’ business of the project, etc. They’re a little more questioning.”
Talents today question projects more before joining
He says that specifically in the fintech sector, unlike what happened years ago, they became projects more attractive that have behind traditional companies such as banks, in search of greater solidity and stability. “Before, people wanted to be 100% in the fintech or crypto world, and in a startup,” Iriarte recalled.
Something similar was noted by Julia Vargas, Head of People & Transformation at Getnet: “Our company is part of PagoNxt, the fintech that brings together the most innovative payment services of Grupo Santander, and that is undoubtedly an advantage, not only in terms of to attract talent, but also at the level of experience, mobility, brand journey and development of products and services globally.”
In 2 years of existence, this particular project of the group of Spanish origin has already added 110 “getneters” and Vargas sees no difficulty in attracting this talent. Furthermore, she believes that in recent years this work has been simplified. “Today it is easier to find people trained for the industry. The sector itself already has a longer history and that means that more people have gone through roles within fintech“, and food a iProfesional.
“With the development of the industry, new competitors are added, but for us this is something very positive since it means that fintech companies are growing in Argentina and there are new opportunities for people. Working together with other players in the industry allows us to empower ourselves and synergy,” he added.
Opportunity within the crisis
Not all the effects of “techno winter” will be negative, especially for talent.
For example, Iriarte assured that for the positions that Glue usually recruits (number one companies, technical directors, etc.), they compete for talent that is demanded from the whole worldespecially when they come from or have experience in the fintech sector.
So, since executive salaries in Argentina have collapsed, even in comparison with the region, projects are chosen that have a compensation package or bonus that is partly at least dollarized or paid outside the country. “That today for an Argentine executive is unbeatable.”
Gosiker also sees an opportunity for companies, which after these changes find that the people who “jump ship” are those who had joined essentially because of the economic offer, and lhe who remain are the true “builders”, who have a genuine interest in moving projects forward. They are the people you need to navigate these uncertain waters.
Along the same lines, González Forcada believes that “the crypto community is strong and those who are interested and involved will continue to be interested in working with it.”
