From the Founder’s Desk
One week into the New Year has given time to reflect on the past year and get excited about what 2024 holds. As the saying goes, 2023 was full of long days but the year flew by. Is it just me or did 2022 just keep going? So much has happened for me, for Bluewater Hayes, for our team, in the world, it is no wonder 2022 and 2023 blurred together.
Artificial Intelligence begins its Take Over
In the world of technology, artificial intelligence came to our collective consciousness this year and now consumes all our attention. I, like many, marvel at its potential for good and fret about the perils it brings with it. Our team uses AI in our day-to-day activities to support our marketing efforts, write job postings, draft messages, and more. By the way, I am writing this (as in Ryan Burke, the human) unassisted by an AI bot. The fact that I feel the need to clarify that a human is writing this demonstrates the awesome power apps like ChatGPT, Bard, and many others already possess. Let us not forget artificial intelligence technology is in its infancy. I hope our robot lords are nice to us after the singularity!
Maybe the machines will do us better than we do ourselves. Ukraine and Russia continue to duke it out while the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, already a humanitarian catastrophe, threatens to metastasize into a more regional proxy war. On the climate change front the COP 28 conference, held in UAE, was a success? Maybe. There was some progress, despite it being hosted by one of the world’s top fossil fuel-producing countries.
The Economy Holds Up
Moving on to the economy, Jerome Powell has my vote for Person of the Year. In 2022, naysayers said an economic “soft landing” was unlikely, even impossible. 2023 was the year we were going to dip into recession, they said. Well, pin some pilot wings on our Fed Chief because I think he has almost done it! Wisely, he explicitly states there is still work to be done and we are not on the ground yet, but I tip my hat to the man most responsible for at least delaying the downturn.
As a staffing guy, I am grateful for the resilience shown by the U.S. economy. Unemployment remains historically low, and companies are still hiring. I, bullishly, believe companies will continue hiring in 2024. They must continue to invest in talent, particularly in IT, engineering, supply chain, and finance fields if they want to thrive. Remnants of “talent hoarding” from the pandemic experience, shifts in demographics, the ramping up of automation, and the rising importance of having teams capable of unlocking the power of AI will all contribute to making talent demand high. With our expertise in finding talent in those high-demand functions, I expect our clients will continue to rely on us to support their needs.
Bluewater Hayes Dives into 2024
We certainly stayed busy throughout 2023. Our backlog was filled with long-time and new clients alike. But the search and staffing business is tough, and we had some challenges getting certain deals across the finish line this year. As a team, we learned that even with strong client demand, execution at the end of the search process is what wins the day. Ten years of increasing job availability has created very savvy and demanding candidates. Those lessons have forged us into a skilled and resilient team. I am proud of the seasoned recruiting professionals who wear the Bluewater Hayes jersey, and I could not be more excited about our prospects for 2024. This month begins a new year and this time, it feels new!
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Ryan Burke – CEO | Managing Partner
Ryan founded Bluewater Hayes in 2015 following a life that initially took him to the U.S. Marine Corps after high school. After the Marines, Ryan attended Michigan State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in supply chain management. He spent four years in manufacturing and then five years with global staffing firms before establishing Bluewater Hayes as a premier executive search and staffing firm. Today, the company he founded serves clients ranging from up-and-coming to the most venerable Fortune 100 firms with talent acquisition search and support activities. The singular mission is Precision Placement with a culture of continuous improvement and professional development. Ryan resides in West Michigan with his wife Karley. Both are competitive Olympic weightlifters and enjoy their CrossFit community.
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