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How do agencies with FAANG clients keep staff from leaving for FAANGs?

5 points by robertakarobin ↗ HN
I'm an engineer at an agency in the Midwest. We have a FAANG as a client. I like my current company, but since I'm always assigned to projects for the FAANG, which I enjoy — and since FAANGs of course pay their employees very well — I decided to apply for and was offered a job there. (Contractually our clients can't "poach" us, but we're free to apply wherever.)

As I say my good-byes, when other employees learn where I'm going they sound very interested in applying, themselves. I feel a little bad about starting some kind of exodus, since the agency has treated me well. My boss didn't really even counter-offer since he admitted that the agency can't hope to compete with FAANGs.

This makes me curious — how do agencies/consultancies prevent this from happening?

Of course some employees will prefer agencies for various reasons, but the benefits and pay of big tech companies are really appealing, and far beyond what most agencies could afford.

Are executives aware that this is a risk when they win a contract with a FAANG?

5 comments

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tarun_anand
Yes, this happens and one cannot do anything about it.

Don't feel bad, that's how the world is..

faangiq
Well, if the business model is reselling FAANG talent at a discount to FAANG prices, this can and should happen. If you’re reselling FAANG talent you should be doing it at a premium to FAANG prices.
strikelaserclaw
Most agencies don't have talent capable of interviewing and getting accepted at FAANG. That doesn't mean they can't do FAANG work, even at my current company, the interview was way harder than the actual job itself.
leros
Also,FAANG employees have their own pros/cons. Often hiring outside agencies is to get access to talent with different pros/cons that can do things the FAANG's employees can't or won't do.
relaunched
Some contracts include contract-to-hire provisions. In other cases, b/c of the total value of the customer relationship, the cost of the customer poaching is just a cost of doing business. Other times, a small contacting firm is stuck between a rock and a hard place - there's nothing they can do about it. It sort of varies.

However, I don't think lack of executive awareness is the issue.