A great product or service is built through great engineers, and the talent of those engineers is scarce. So scarce, in fact, that for many years we have seen how large technology companies “steal” that talent from each other. There have even been negotiations to stop this practice, commonly called poaching.
One example of this poaching took place in 2007 and reached the highest levels of Apple and Google. Steve Jobs and the then CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, exchanged tense words over an engineer who was working in Cupertino.
The situation became even worse when we remember that Schmidt was also a member of Apple’s board of directors at that time. It was like a domestic betrayal between two companies that maintained a tense peace beyond the competition between their products. It turns out that Google tried to hire an engineer from Apple and Steve Jobs found out about it. This caused him to write a letter to the CEO of Google with a very clear message:
“I would really like your HR department to stop doing this,” Jobs said in reference to this hiring attempt. Jobs’ authority was enough at that moment: Schmidt forwarded the email to the Google HR department requesting that they stop the gesture as soon as possible, while also demanding an explanation.
The result was decisive: the person who tried to hire the Apple engineer was fired, and a Google executive formally apologized to Steve Jobs. The letter is part of a lawsuit that took place in 2012 and was reported by Reuters, which also revealed that Intel made “verbal” agreements not to hire employees from its rivals.
These types of practices are still active today, with agreements and “wars” over the hiring of engineers between large companies. And it’s because when you keep an engineer who has worked for your rival, you not only have their talent, but also someone who knows very juicy secrets.
This type of competition for talent is not limited to just Apple and Google. In the tech industry, there is a constant battle to attract and retain skilled engineers. Companies compete fiercely to secure the best talent, offering competitive salaries, benefits, and perks.
The scarcity of engineering talent has been a long-standing issue in the tech industry. As technology continues to advance and play an increasingly important role in our lives, the demand for skilled engineers continues to rise. This has led to a situation where there are more job openings than there are qualified engineers to fill them.
To address this shortage, companies have resorted to poaching engineers from their competitors. This practice involves actively recruiting engineers who are already employed by another company, often offering them better compensation packages or more attractive work environments.
While poaching may benefit the poaching company by acquiring top talent, it can be detrimental to the company losing its engineers. Losing skilled engineers can disrupt ongoing projects and hinder innovation. Moreover, the loss of key employees to a competitor can be demoralizing for the remaining staff.
In the case of Apple and Google, the poaching incident led to tensions between the two companies. It revealed the competitive nature of the industry and the lengths companies are willing to go to secure top talent. However, it also highlighted the importance of maintaining professional relationships and respecting each other’s boundaries.
Since then, there have been efforts to curb the practice of poaching. Companies have implemented non-poaching agreements and have sought to establish guidelines for fair competition. However, the tech industry remains highly competitive, and the battle for engineering talent continues.
The poaching of engineers is not limited to just large technology companies. Startups and smaller companies also engage in this practice, albeit on a smaller scale. These companies often face greater challenges in attracting and retaining engineering talent, as they may not have the same resources or reputation as larger companies.
In conclusion, the scarcity of engineering talent has led to intense competition among tech companies. The practice of poaching engineers has become common, as companies vie for top talent. While this practice may benefit the poaching company in the short term, it can have negative consequences for the company losing its engineers. As the demand for skilled engineers continues to rise, it is crucial for companies to find ways to attract and retain talent without resorting to poaching.
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