In Praise of Managed Work

Nov 9, 2022
Kate Walton
Newsletter

Hello from Steyer!

Right now, to own a company with a lot of enterprise tech clients is to be riding a nailbiter of a rollercoaster.

Each day, LinkedIn adds to its layoffs tracker, and we are seeing so many talented people we know lose their budgets or their jobs—and too often both, in rapid succession.

I get asked, “How ARE you?” A LOT. In that way that says, “No really. How AAAAARE you?”

The answer: we’re okay. Really. Here’s the scoop:

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The contracting side of our business is way down. Client companies aiming to cut costs by reducing headcount are trimming back on contingent staff as well as (so-called) “permanent” staff. Some of our consultants (amazing talents, all!) have had their Steyer engagements end early, and for the last quarter or so, we’ve had far fewer contracting reqs (reqs = requisitions for open roles) in our sales pipeline than we normally do. All of this has been super hard—no question.

BUT the managed work side of our business is stronger than ever. Our managed work practice has been an enormously complicated part of the company to build—we started in earnest seven long years ago—but now that we have a robust in-house capacity to produce any content set (large or small) that a client requires, we’re finding that the Steyer train (yep, I googled it: roller coasters have trains?!) is way more recession-resistant than we’d otherwise be. Companies that are cutting costs still have initiatives they consider mission-critical. Those initiatives still require all sorts of content. And there is often budget for outsourced project work even when there’s no money allocated for additional headcount of any kind.

So:

  • If you’re a manager with huge goals and not enough staff: please send me an email at . I’ll connect you to the people on my team who can help you structure (and pitch to your leadership) a whip-smart project budget.
  • If you’re a content talent who’s recently lost your job, please send me an email and I’ll connect you to our talent acquisition team. Genevieve, Giancarlo, and Kearsten are three of the most talent-centric recruiters around. They’ll always be straight with you about whether they’re working to fill a live role or whether they’re pipelining (i.e. connecting with talent now to be prepared when new positions crop up in the future). And no matter what, they’ll be generous with wise advice about the job market, pay rates, resumes, and portfolios.
  • And if you’re behind Curtain #3 (not a manager with content needs, not a job-seeking content talent but someone else entirely!), well I’d love to hear from you, too. Specifically: who are you and what kinds of topics would you like me to address in future installments of Workings?

Thanks for reading,
Kate

Photo by Olga Nayda on Unsplash

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