When growing a business, an important decision is deciding whether or not to hand over your business processes to an agency to hire talent. Agencies can be costly, and what about your company culture? How can someone outside of your organisation truly understand your business culture and values?
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) states that there were 19,465 new startups registered in the ‘information and communication’ sector in 2020 and, as of 5 March 2021, there were 116,000 live vacancies within the tech sector. There were also more than 185,000 tech jobs listed over the first two months of the year with average salaries in IT reaching £54,726 – up from £51,219 just 12 months ago. The figures, which have been analysed by Tech Nation and the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), suggest that the tech sector now makes up more than a seventh (14.3%) of all vacancies in the UK.
Hardly surprising given the preponderance of news about millionaire founders, unicorn status and when you then think of some of the more macro changes happening in the economy around COVID, Brexit that have significantly reduced the supply of candidates at a time when demand is so great. Candidates are receiving significant interest across all functions, with reports of signing bonuses, inboxes full of opportunities in a very competitive environment and at a time when remote working has removed much of the previous restrictions candidates faced on which companies to work for. The workforce has much higher expectations of the companies that they work for, their options are far greater and they place significant value on mission, values and culture rather than salary. The fear of not having a job that previous generations went through has almost disappeared.
Now the way the company talks about itself is reviewed online, how it writes its job advertisements through to the hiring process itself, are all significant factors in whether a candidate even applies for a job, in a world where information is free, controlling the content about your company can make the difference to whether you succeed in hiring or not. Candidate experience is key, controlling both the initial message through to when an offer is made and who makes it can all lead to incremental improvements in the hiring process that lead to getting the right candidate to join.
And who is best placed to manage this, the hiring manager, who has to run and lead their own department? The HR person who is focused on building that culture and HR operations or as many companies are turning to, an Inhouse recruiter whose task it is to manage the whole hiring process from hiring plans, approval, employer branding, tools, process and candidate experience as well as sourcing the right people.
Companies from Gymshark and Huel have driven their growth by building a talent team early, companies like Amazon and Google have recruiting teams that are bigger than most companies because they recognise the importance and difficulty in hiring the best candidates.
Why, because they recognise that hiring is now a function that can make or break a company in a growth phase.
While cost-wise, having an in-house team can be a significant advantage, generally, most companies would say that it is not super impactful on the bottom line once you factor in staff costs, tools and advertising, but the ability to move quickly, work closely with the business and sell the company effectively with only that business in mind is a significant factor. In a market where candidates can get 10 or more offers and need convincing, having a dedicated team that brings experience and can compete effectively is setting companies that scale apart from those that don’t.
If you are not actively considering or don’t already have an in-house recruitment team, maybe the next question at your next board meeting is why not?
If you would like to find out more about the TalentHackers.com or our services please reach out to us at www.thetalenthackers.com or enquires@thetalenthackers.com
