News
Last Thursday, we hosted an event at the AllBright to bring Female leaders across the start-up, scale up and corporate digital landscape together. Olivia Wayne interviewed the founders of the AllBright, Debbie Wosskow and Anna Jones and we heard about their successes and how they have overcome challenges along the way.
Please see our pictures from the event below.
We recently hosted an event that brought together key figures from the Tech industry to debate what it takes to win. Panelists included:
Please see photos from the event below.
We recently hosted a round table for fellow LEAP 100 members (the City AM 100 most innovative and fast growing digital businesses in the UK). Here is the article in City AM covering some of the the areas discussed. Full article here
Gordon & Eden is committed to ensuring London’s tech community has access to the top global talent. This week, we joined Kathryn Parsons of Decoded and spoke to the Financial Times about how temporary uncertainty is causing EU applicants to hold off taking up new jobs. Click here for the full article.
Watch Sophie Eden interviewed by BBC Business Live- a profile on our journey so far, growth story and how we connect the startup and corporate worlds.
Please see article in Evening Standard quoting data from our findings on EU tech talent views on London relocation in the year following the referendum. Full article here
Check out or interview with resident presenter on Monocle 24- Danny Giacopelli. Sam Gordon & Sophie Eden talk about the vision for Gordon & Eden, how we are supporting the growth of the UK tech economy and disrupting the Executive Search industry. Full interview can be found here
We were delighted to host an event for CEOs, Founders & investors of high-growth startups and corporate businesses on May 4th at The Trampery in Shoreditch. The evening saw Mike Butcher, Tech Crunch Editor, reveal some of his provocative predictions for the next wave of digital disruption.
Check out some photos below.
We were delighted to represent the Leap 100 cohort on Share Radio yesterday; an interview with Georgie Frost sharing our views on the UK tech industry, Brexit, investor sentiment, talent, diversity and a bit about us. Full interview (10 minutes) here:
We are delighted to be part of the #TheLeap100 - some of the UK fastest growing and innovative businesses. Many thanks @CityAM @Mishcon_de_Reya See the full list here: http://tinyurl.com/kmzc48b
Check out our Tech City News feature on how tech businesses can use gender pay gap reporting to their advantage. Link to full article here
Sophie Eden was recently featured on London Live news, discussing the potential impact of Brexit on the tech sector. Please see video below.. note mistake on name, Sophie is definitely an Eden and not a Gordon!
We were excited to win the Nat West Boost Award for Start Up Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2016 Great British Entrepreneur Awards. This was a great way to round off our third year trading.
Business Insider have recently reported on Silicon Valley executives reaction to the Trump presidency and we shared some of our recent experiences from conversations with Tech Execs on the West Coast. Please click on the image below for full article.
A week before the UK voted Leave, Gordon & Eden hosted In Demand: London Tech Talent and the EU. Key members of the digital community were invited to Bloomberg HQ to share their perspectives on what the referendum result will mean for them, including Steve Hilton former director of strategy to the Prime Minister, Eric Van der Kleij from Entiq, Harry Briggs from BGF Ventures; Russ Shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates and Jacqueline de Rojas, President of techUK.
We were pleased to feature in the Evening Standard business section on entrepreneurial businesses in the London technology scene.
Click this link or image for the full article bit.ly/1WKed09
We have recently contributed opinion editorial for the latest Tech City News which has recently hit the streets. Only available in the print edition so article text below in case you missed it!
HEADHUNTING HACKS: MAKING THE TALENT SHORTAGE WORK FOR YOU
One of the biggest headaches for the London technology community is hiring. Survey after survey show that firms think talent is the biggest issue impacting on growth. This not only affects the start-up and scale-up markets but also established businesses who are increasingly hunting in the same candidate pool.
Nowhere is this issue more critical than at an executive level where the right leadership team, or key appointment to round out an existing team can make the difference between success or failure.
While nobody doubts that the market for digital talent is ever more competitive, that does not mean there are no solutions - you just need to know how to adapt your search for the market dynamics. Recruitment is no different from any other area of your business: if you hunt in the same terrain as your competitors and don’t have a stand-out opportunity, expect slim pickings.
There may be a talent war in the tech industry, but that doesn’t mean you have to fight the battle every time.
Don’t get hung up on the poster child
From nimble tech startups to corporate giants, one trend we have seen time and time again has been the nervousness to look outside of the usual “poster hires” and go-to companies when hunting for executive talent.
We encourage businesses to think more strategically about talent to avoid simply going to the top ten obvious candidates who, trust us, will be receiving similar approaches from prospective new employers on a daily basis.
A high profile hire can make for an easy narrative when securing funding or corporate investment, so by no means avoid these big names. However, nobody represents a panacea and it is important to think about where else talented leaders can be found who might keep a slightly lower public profile despite being equally qualified and experienced. Success should be calibrated by landing an outstanding individual, not just by securing one of the big names or brands.
Consider the step-up candidate
While taking the time to consider executives who keep a lower profile, we also encourage organisations to think about “step-up” candidates. While it is clearly important to find somebody who can perform at the level expected, people who might fall short on tenure or lack a specific field of experience can still prove to be credible candidates.
In fact, our experience has found that by considering these step-up candidates, organisations often find that they are hungrier for the opportunity than somebody who has already been through this journey. Every C-level executive was once appointed to their first Board role and all too often that move initially happens as an internal promotion rather than in an external move.
Move quickly and decisively
It is bad business to hold job openings vacant – not only due to the impact it has on your bottom line but because it will also deter potential candidates from engaging, wondering why it has sat on the shelf for such a long time. In a small and well-networked market, it is very easy for a role to become unfairly tarnished. The best people will usually have many options and the longer your process, the greater the risk they will take another role, or lose interest altogether and decide to stay put. Inertia is critical.
We recommend that, once you have clearly defined your strategy for sourcing the talent, you work to defined timescales. Any search, however exhaustive, will only ever be a window on the available talent at that point in time.
If you are confident you have a robust strategy for getting to a strong shortlist, then you should move through your assessment, referencing and get to offer as quickly as possible.
Choose the right partner
Often firms will manage to hire executive positions through their own network or direct sourcing. If you do choose to work with an executive search firm then make sure you always ask the following questions when deciding on who to partner with:
What track record do you have in hiring this profile role and which of those clients can we speak to for a reference on that work?
How long have you worked in the digital market?
Are the pitch team the ones who will actually be doing the work?
What is your “off-limits” list of clients you can’t search into?
Are your shortlist fees charged on presentation or our actual agreement that the shortlist is acceptable?
What kind of data do you provide during the process to help us understand how you have arrived at the shortlist?
What do you do to innovate in candidate sourcing?
How would you pitch this opportunity to a potential candidate and what reaction do you expect to get from the market?
How long do you guarantee appointments for? If the person doesn’t pass their probation will you be contractually obliged to find a replacement?
If you are not happy with the responses then it may be wise to speak with another firm.
Focus on the candidate experience at every step
Anyone who has recently had to fill an executive position will know that companies are fighting hard to land the best candidates. While you may think you have an incredible proposition to take to market, it is likely there are others that are just as compelling, also vying to land that person.
The candidate experience is essential at every step of the process: from the initial approach call to the warmth of the greeting when they turn up at reception. Try and place yourself in the candidate's shoes; ensure the selling is bi-directional and, even if you decide not to hire the person, make sure their experience is positive and they would still advocate your brand. It is important to feed back promptly and ensure that responses to unsuccessful candidates are measured, objective and constructive.
Winning the war
There is little doubt that hiring leadership talent in the tech industry is more challenging than ever. The UK’s digital economy is thriving, attracting entrepreneurs from across the world; there have never been so many opportunities for our most talented minds. While some of these points may seem simple and obvious, all it takes is a slight edge to make all the difference in landing an outstanding executive team.
In a market that moves incredibly quickly, an aversion to risk should apply just as much to hiring strategy as the rest of your business. For example, today’s step-up candidate is often next year’s poster child - so think about securing ‘talent’ in the broadest sense of the word.
Barclays Life Skills is an initiative to help young people find the skills they need to succeed in the digital economy. We have contributed to their content and led round table discussions with new entrants to the workforce on how they can maximise their chances of landing their dream job. Franky Harrington appeared in feature in The Telegraph last Sunday and further video content to follow shortly.
Gordon & Eden are proud to sponsor @techfugees- a tech community hackathon response to #refugeecrisis – For more information and to obtain tickets to the first event next week please visit www.techfugees.com
