Member Article

Sam has a head for talent

A North East talent and resourcing specialist has turned losing her job into a golden opportunity – by setting up a recruitment consultancy with a difference.

Sam Spoors, from Morpeth, Northumberland, launched Talentheads in October 2020, after her previous company fell victim at the very beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said: “I’ve worked in the industry for around 18 years, first in agencies and then in-house for a major hospitality and leisure business. My previous role was for a company I’d set up with the help of an investor, and it was doing really well, with some really big clients.

“However, when the pandemic hit in March 2020, they pulled out, and in the space of a week I had to let my team go and wind the business down.

“I had many sleepless nights worrying, but, from that, I had the idea for Talentheads, using all of my years of experience to do things differently.”

Sam describes Talentheads as an in-house talent and resourcing team working with businesses on long-term, sustainable strategies to help them take control of the recruitment process.

She said: “There is a difficulty in the industry, in that, in some ways, the old way of working – recruiting role by role and recruiting reactively – was just adding no long-term benefit to the business.

“At Talentheads, we go into a business and the owner and senior stakeholders can see what we’re doing, and we’ll work closely together. We don’t work on a ‘role filled’ basis; we work on a day rate model, which works out much more cost-effective and easier to forecast for businesses.

“We’ll undertake lots of coaching and developing work to help them understand what their proposition is and what kind of talent they’re looking for.

“In this way, we’re the resource to help them while they are growing, giving them long-term strategies they can take with them for whenever they need to recruit in the future.”

Despite launching the new venture in a pandemic, Sam says there are clear signs that many businesses are flourishing.

She added: “When we launched, I had to manage my own expectations, as I can get carried away, but I’ve been really surprised.

“There was a lot of doom and gloom in the press, but actually, there are plenty of people still recruiting and still working on their growth plans. I was expecting a tough ride, but we’ve grown organically without having to do any direct sales, which I wasn’t expecting.

“We’ve grown so quickly that we’re looking at a turnover of £100,000 in our first year of trading, which is great news.”

One of Sam’s first clients is North East and Yorkshire bakery chain Cooplands, which has signed a six-month contract as it looks to increase its shops by 100 over the next five years.

She said: “As they’re a traditional family bakers with ambitious growth plans, lots of their talent and resourcing processes and practices need to be forward thinking and adding value.

“I’m working with their people director on all elements of their recruitment strategy - training, bolstering their teams and training the internal recruiters, as well as implementing an Applicant Tracking System together with a process which will engage and retain talent.

“Working with such a successful, high-profile business has given me the financial resilience I need to grow Talentheads.

“I want to work with businesses who are really looking to develop and change their current recruitment model and processes.

“Sitting at the main table with business owners and senior stakeholders, and taking responsibility for acquiring talent into a business, to see it truly grow – that’s what gives me a real buzz.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Harvey & Hugo .