The recruitment landscape looks very different to how it did a decade ago. For many start-ups now embarking on the next hiring spree the landscape may seem complicated, particularly if you have not hired in recent months. A good hire can transform your business, a bad hire can prove very costly, and solid growth is often what appeals to the next round of investors, it is important to get it right. Hopefully, this article will give an insight as to what to pursue and what to avoid.

Recruitment agencies are plentiful, when the financial crisis hit in 2008, recruitment was one industry that kept growing across the majority of sectors. Now, a multi-billion dollar industry, full of high-street names and one-man bands in a non-regulated sector. Those you choose to partner with are a representation of your company and your brand, more so than any other supplier, your business will have as they engage with the talent you hope to attract. On the plus side, they do have a great network and plenty of tools to give you an accurate snapshot of the market. There is a reason this industry is so successful, it is sales led and stacked with exceptionally driven individuals whose success is down to their ability to deliver against your needs and expectations… choose wisely.

Many more internal recruiters and talent acquisition managers exist than even just a few years ago and increasingly within smaller businesses. They will sit in your business full time and project manage your hiring needs and hiring managers. They are limited by how much you invest in their tools and you need to be sure to hire the right fit, a bad one could tarnish your employer brand and workforce morale. Getting the right one can transform your business.

New automated tools, from application management to video interviewing, are becoming more prominent. Whilst they are great additions to the recruitment industry they are more likely to be seen as an enabler rather than the replacement of human input to the process. They can be labour intensive to set up and ultimately can dilute the most important interactions you have with your future workforce – you selling the opportunity in person and those selling their experience back to you. Although the tools are designed to make your process slick they may miss the gem in the pack and are not a short-cut to finding the perfect candidate.

Tech is notoriously competitive. If you are a tech start-up, adopt the stance that everyone is a competitor for this talent, the lengths companies will go to in securing good tech professionals is astounding. In this competitive sector, it is even more important to have control of your brand integrity and ensure your unique story and journey is portrayed accurately to the market through the suppliers you partner with.

Ultimately the basics still apply. When you advertise, make sure your job advert is detailed and sells the opportunity, make sure your criteria for assessing CV’s is fair and also allows for people that aren’t the best at selling themselves on paper. As you interview, assess fairly and consistently and don’t hang about. If you delay a recruitment project you would be best to start again, top talent does not stay on the market long. A quick, agile process is often a great indication of your company, how it approaches its decision making and what it might be like to work for. To get your hiring right takes time, even if you have 4 roles or 40, it is the future of your business. If you can’t make time, find someone who can.