Prior kicked off the discussion by asking attendees how a tech business can plan when the future is uncertain and how Covid and the economic crisis has impacted their businesses.
Jonathan Moran (Better Placed), said from a recruiters perspective immersed in the tech sector, there were worries about the outlook going into this year fuelled by “doom and gloom” from the media. Despite this, the job flow has been as “high as it’s ever been”, with start-ups through to scale-ups still hiring. Although there has been uncertainty in the market, there are now more passive job seekers and it isn’t quite as gloomy as predicted.
Rob Bellingham (Netsells) added there’s no accident about the growth of the tech sector. At Netsells, the company has been reasonably isolated from economic pressures, able to tap into a big market and hire the best talent. Although it’s not the same as the great resignation post-Covid, one of the big challenges facing the sector is not just hiring, it’s retaining talented staff.
Dominic Smith (Tribus Digital) said the digital consultancy has experienced exponential growth post Covid after dipping into construction marketing. Initially starting out with four people, post Covid the company has expanded to 40 staff thanks to a booming construction market. He added Tribus Digital has been putting plans in place for strategic growth so it is “organic as opposed to rushed”.
Sharing a similar story, Peter Richards (Zuto) said Covid along with putting new platforms and tech in place has helped to accelerate the car finance marketplace’s success. Fuelled by a rising demand for cars, “we’re probably 10 years ahead of where we would have been,” he explained.
Olivia Wright (Connex One) agreed, adding that Covid accelerated a need for cloud-based technology, especially when predominantly contact centre businesses reverted to remote working.
With a rising demand for Connex One’s system, the company has grown globally and has opened additional offices across Miami, Australia and Europe, as well as series C funding to grow its headcount rapidly.
Attracting and retaining talent
Matt Hunt (Apadmi) said the pandemic changed the company’s approach to hiring. Following Covid and looking at patterns of where the talent is, Apadmi opened up an office in Scotland which serves as a talent hub and through an acquisition in the Netherlands, it has helped the business to grow there too and share talent between offices.
