I recently made myself redundant... well, hopefully not completely!
At Feather Grey Consulting, my job is to find the brilliant people that founder-owned tech SMEs need to thrive. You know that building teams with the right skills and cultural fit is not easy, and it’s rarely straightforward and with nearly 30 years in the field, our approach has inevitably evolved.
If I asked you what your biggest challenge is in running your business, what would you answer?
I imagine the struggle of recruitment and wider talent acquisition would be quite high up the list. Retaining people who can get stuff done, consistently deliver service excellence and collaborate with their colleagues, are out there, but how do you attract and find this great talent?
Understanding the true cost of poor cultural fit in Tech SMEs
Recruiting the right talent isn’t just about filling a role; of course, it’s about finding someone who brings the right functional or technical skills. But equally [and sometimes even more] importantly is how they fit from an attitude and cultural perspective. If the fit isn’t right, it creates pressure and tension across the team. Overloaded team members may experience burnout and leave. Or new projects can’t be delivered as the resource isn’t there to service new clients. All of which creates even more strain on a business that is on a growth track.
Each month, LinkedIn surveys over 15,000 members who work for small businesses to understand what matters most to them. Unsurprisingly, employees at SMEs value a collaborative culture, aligned values, and a happy team environment.
How to improve your recruitment process
At Feather Grey, we approach recruitment differently. Rather than jumping straight into advertising a role or diving into candidate searches, we start by understanding each client’s unique culture and values. Working for an SME doesn’t suit everyone, so it’s vital to find out exactly what it is about a business that would make someone want to join. Is it less red tape? The opportunity to work closely with the Founders? Or the scope for their development?
Recently, a co-founder of a SaaS business asked if we could help them find a consistent and effective way to recruit across their company as they scaled. They had ambitious growth plans, but recruitment challenges were holding them back, causing frustration. We had a call, and the next day, I went across to Northampton to meet them at their head office. I got to see their operations, met some of the teams, and gained a brilliant insight into their culture.
Prioritising roles to drive immediate impact
Like the client above, founders often come to me when they’re at a recruitment crisis point and are juggling urgent hiring needs. Spending so much time interviewing the wrong people from a variety of different sources and experiencing mounting pressure to make decisions. It is more about luck when they find a good candidate. And the candidate experience…. well, that’s a topic for another day
Together, our starting point is to prioritise the roles that are crucial for maintaining growth and stability. In the case of my SaaS client, we identified an urgent role, got to work, and found a candidate who, when joined, made an immediate positive impact on the team and the wider commercial strategy. This hire was made swiftly and because of the investment of time upfront to understand the business and the culture, we made sure that any candidates we introduced were already going to be a great cultural fit.
Going beyond recruitment: Building an employer brand and local connections
Recruitment is only part of the story. We also discussed how to build a strong employer brand, and what that means.
We discussed building local connections, such as partnerships with schools and colleges. This would help them attract future talent directly.
For many recruiters, driving candidates directly to a client might seem counterintuitive. However, we believe that building a strong employer brand and bringing a sustainable talent pipeline benefits both the business and the wider community, and that has to be a good thing, right?
Supporting growth through strategic recruitment partnerships
As my SaaS client’s business continued to scale, they raised the idea of bringing in an internal recruiter for volume hiring while relying on Feather Grey for some of the more niche, specialised roles. I fully supported this approach and found a candidate who not only was a perfect cultural fit but brought an incredible skill set, too. My client asked me why I would introduce such a stellar candidate at the risk of them not needing us so much in the future. My answer was simply that it was the right thing to do. My goal is to build long-term recruitment partnerships with my clients that genuinely support their success, whether that’s by finding external talent or empowering their in-house team. Even if this means we make ourselves redundant to your immediate hiring needs!
Let’s overcome your recruitment challenges together
Recruitment and talent acquisition for founder-led tech businesses isn’t just about hiring; it’s about building and retaining a quality team that aligns with your vision, values and culture. At Feather Grey Consulting, we bring a relationship driven, integrity focused approach to every client partnership. If you’re facing similar challenges in recruitment, from creating a strong employer brand employer branding to attracting and recruiting critical hires, let’s explore how we can build a tailored recruitment strategy, together, that will make your business grow.
At Feather Grey Consulting, I specialise in helping founder-owned SaaS and Tech SMEs like yours overcome these challenges.
Get in touch today for a confidential chat about your business or career needs
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