Hillmont Group is proud to present our annual Automation & AI job market trends report, with the goal of providing invaluable insights to our community. Hillmont Group is a specialized workforce solutions company focused on Intelligent Automation and Robotic Process Automation team building. We partner with organizations across industries including: financial services, healthcare, insurance, consumer goods and manufacturing. Our perspective is uniquely unbiased and offers a macro view of the job market in the USA.
Hiring at a Slower Pace
In 2023, the overall IT hiring landscape witnessed a slowdown attributed to slower economic growth, and capital becoming more expensive due to rising interest rates. Companies have largely deferred new IT projects, leading to delayed recruitment for the teams to support those projects. Automaton and AI was a bright spot within the greater IT job market. New projects within this technology niche were more likely to be funded due to their strategic nature and ROI. Many of the new projects that were initiated this year, were planned before economic conditions began to tighten. Projects that kicked off in 2023, oftentimes utilized fewer resources than originally budgeted, taking a conservative approach for now.
Many of Hillmont Group’s partners were focusing predominately on hiring critical backfill positions, hiring resources for greenfield programs, and time sensitive migrations. As we conclude 2023, our partners have communicated plans to become more aggressive with hiring in 2024.
Headcount Right-Sizing
Widespread layoffs have affected various industries, impacting the Information Technology job market. The magnitude of these layoffs was amongst technology giants like Meta, Amazon, and Salesforce, who had over-hired during periods of inexpensive capital in ’21 and ’22. While most layoffs happened in the first half of this year, ongoing reductions are still taking place. In December, Spotify announced an additional reduction of approximately 17%, or roughly 1,500 people.
Sectors such as banking, mortgage companies, and durable goods manufacturers encountered challenges due to slower economic growth, right sizing their headcount. Despite the broader trend of IT job cuts, Intelligent Automation and AI teams experienced a comparatively milder impact.
The overall slowdown in hiring and the prevalence of widespread layoffs have resulted in individuals facing unemployment durations not witnessed since the 2007 financial crisis.
With fewer job opportunities available, some affected candidates accepted positions that don’t align with their long-term career goals.
Many of these individuals remain open to better career prospects and more options. As the job market heats back up, we forecast many passive candidates will be ready to make career transitions, seeking career growth, wage growth, remote flexibility, etc.
Companies Take Market Control
This year witnessed a shift in the IT job market, moving from a candidate-driven to a company-driven landscape. Pandemic-induced norms, such as widespread remote work and unprecedented wage increases, are undergoing a reassessment. Companies are moving away from exclusive remote hiring and embracing a hybrid onsite/remote work schedule.
Each company is adopting its own policy. The majority of companies have adopted 2-3 days onsite per week policy. Some companies who value in-person meetings, but want to attract talent interested in remote work, have adopted more flexible policies, bringing teams together monthly or quarterly for essential meetings and celebrations. Some companies are taking a more drastic approach, enforcing 4-5 days of onsite work per week. And even more drastically, some companies are asking candidates to relocate if their current location doesn’t align with corporate offices.
Overall, highly skilled intelligent automation and AI CANDIDATES prefer remote work or at least flexible conditions, and companies offering such flexibility have the opportunity to attract superior talent at more reasonable wages.
The companies forcing full-time on-site work will face challenges in retaining and hiring experienced Intelligent Automation and AI talent. Companies with strict in-office mandates will need to shift toward paying higher wages to attract and retain the right talent or take a more time intensive strategy of upskilling their workforce.
Wages Retreat from Peak Levels
In 2023, the wages offered, particularly in the Information Technology sector, have pulled back from their highs. Technology companies, usually recognized for exorbitant salaries, have been reducing headcount instead of adding it, limiting opportunities for substantial wage increases for candidates.
Candidates who stayed with the same employer during the pandemic, missing out on 2022’s wage growth, can now secure higher salaries, although not reaching previous peak levels. Despite the pullback, current salaries still exceed pre-pandemic levels.
In the Intelligent Automation field, market salaries have dropped by about 10% compared to 2022. Some candidates laid off from tech companies experienced significant salary cuts, with reductions of up to 25% when accepting new positions this year.
Automation Product Landscape
UiPath maintains its leading position in the Intelligent Automation product sector
- UiPath consistently expands its product suite by introducing new tools. A notable addition is the Autopilot Assistant unveiled at Forward VI this year. This tool, leveraging RPA, Generative capabilities, and API connectivity, simplifies automation development. It’s a continuation of democratizing automation technology and has huge potential within the citizen development community.
- They’ve successfully built a sizable and geographically diverse community of certified professionals. Not to mention their well published MVP community. This effort facilitates easier talent acquisition for organizations seeking expertise in this field compared to other areas within the USA’s Intelligent Automation landscape.
Automation Anywhere Achieves Profitability
Automation Anywhere continues to be a strong alternative to UiPath, and they have actively enhanced their product to stay competitive. In recent years, they have successfully built a vibrant community, particularly through initiatives like BOT games. These games not only foster spirited competition but also facilitate valuable connections among their customer base.
Microsoft’s Power Automate gains attention.
Microsoft’s Power Automate is gaining attention with its licensing fees set at $150 per bot per month. Many companies are incorporating Power Automate as a supplementary automation tool in their toolkit. Although its capabilities aren’t as extensive as UiPath or Automation Anywhere, there are specific scenarios where Power Automate thrives. The lower licensing costs provide companies with increased flexibility and changing the ROI equation. For individuals seeking to enhance their technical skills, exploring Power Automate is a recommended move, given its growing trend in the industry.
Workfusion leans into their expertise in AML/KYC
WorkFusion, under new executive leadership, has begun offering AI Digital Workers as a service. Leaning into their strengths in greatly supporting Anti Money Laundering and Know Your Customer regulatory requirements for banking companies, WorkFusion has done an excellent job in creating an easy to implement service for this unique business case.
company owned Language models fueled by generative ai
Companies that have adopted disruptive technologies such as RPA, Process Mining, and Intelligent Document Processing, along with various other Intelligent Automation tools, are well-positioned to explore Generative AI use cases in 2024. The integration of these technologies for business transformation is already a part of their company culture.
The field of Generative AI is dynamic and competitive, with industry leaders like OpenAI, Google, Meta, and X driving its development.
companies are beginning to create their own models, based off a Language Model like GPT-4. The emergence of Corporate Language Models is a new and emerging trend, as companies seek to maintain a competitive edge in their industries.
Hillmont Group is excited to see practical business use cases for these models.
Final Thoughts
Despite a slowdown in overall hiring and widespread layoffs in 2023, the Automation and AI niche stood out as a bright spot in the greater job market. Looking ahead to 2024, Hillmont Group anticipates a more dynamic job market with increased project spending and team building.
As job opportunities become more available, candidates ready to step in: individuals impacted by recent headcount reductions, those who accepted less-than-ideal positions to stay employed, and those patiently awaiting their next strategic career move.
Hillmont Group is prepared to assist you, guiding you through today’s job market to make informed decisions as you build Automation and AI teams. Reach out to us today as you plan for 2024.