Oh, I'm not even talking about problems identifying good developers -- even if they find them, HR is so slow and rigid in their process that things like salary

Oh, I'm not even talking about problems identifying good developers -- even if they find them, HR is so slow and rigid in their process that things like salary negotiations take months, in which time even mediocre candidates have usually found something better. Basically, HR runs the hiring process at most of these companies, and from HR's perspective the engineering teams are like that annoying customer that keeps complaining because they are a "special flower" (HR detests special flowers). They don't even know what engineering does; just that they have 55 call center positions and 2 engineering positions they need to fill this month. Not every company is this way, but many big ones are. Specifically the ones where like 70% of the company is consultants.