Companies in the tech sector think and act differently to traditional organisations. Tech companies have enjoyed explosive growth over the last couple of years, outperforming other more traditional sectors. Oakleaf Executive has seen high demand for Heads of Talent and Talent Acquisition within the broader technology sector and particularly with smaller, high growth organisations. This is not just limited to FinTech, but we have also seen increased demand for HR talent MediTech, and EnergyTech.
Tech companies have always faced talent shortages and tend to have a very strong recruitment culture as a result. The Head of Talent Acquisition is often the first to be recruited as the business focus is to hire staff. Talent acquisition is viewed as a high priority for any Tech firm looking to grow and compete in a talent short global market place. This is often in contrast to more established organisations where it can all too often be considered an administrative function. A Head of Talent Acquisition at one FinTech recently told me that Tech firms adopt agile work methodologies so there is a natural assumption that all employees will add value and contribute to the success and growth of the firm.
Tech companies have the added advantage of playing in exciting spaces. Companies are alluring by their very nature because they are at the leading edge of the products, services and social media that we all love. As the sector evolves and grows, the Talent Acquisition team needs to change too. Diversity and Inclusion is top priority. 90% of tech hiring processes across the sector are the same and typically start with a telephone interview and a coding test. This may benefit one demographic group over another and exclude top talent very early on in a process. It certainly doesn’t encourage creativity! There has been a real focus on encouraging more females into Tech (currently 8% across the sector). I recently attended an event at City Hall hosted by Hackajob that looks to encourage more BAME candidates into the sector. Currently only 1 % of employees within the sector are black men aged between 18 and 24 years old. Clearly, Talent Acquisition and the broader HR function needs to work with CEOs and leadership teams to come up with new ideas about how to address this issue.
If you would be keen to learn more about the searches Oakleaf Executive have completed within Talent Acquisition in the Technology sector, please contact me