Had a fascinating exchange recently with a successful cleantech founder who'd scaled and exited their business in recent years.

They openly admitted a strong dislike for recruiters, clearly stemming from some negative past experiences.

However, this same founder also confessed to spending 30+ hours a week on recruitment. That's 30 hours pulled away from strategy, product development, gaining commercial traction, fundraising – the core activities that drive a start-up.

And it wasn't just them; their HR and internal team leads were also bogged down, sifting through hundreds of applications.

It made me think:

When you need a leak fixed? You call a plumber.
When you need to re-wire your house? You get an electrician.
When you need to balance the books? You get an accountant
When you systems fail? You consult IT Support
When you need medical advice? You consult a doctor.

You get the gist...

So why do so many founders and HR professionals believe they can manage complex recruitment on their own? It often leads to a massive drain on vital time and resources.

Good recruiters aren't just a cost; they're a vital extension of your business. We're your eyes and ears in the market. We know your competition inside out, we understand the talent landscape, and can compellingly share your story to attract top-tier talent – the kind who aren't just spamming applications.

Don't let a past bad experience cost you and your team countless hours of headache. An experienced search consultant can take that pain away, save you money, and free you up to focus on what truly matters. It's simply naive to think otherwise.

The work myself and my team at Hyperion Search Ltd do has a 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩 on helping cleantech companies to scale. Cleantech isn't just the latest fad for us, we live and breathe it and have been scaling innovative start-ups globally for a lot longer than most. 

It's a question I pose to my clients at the very start of a new search. Whilst many define it with hard numbers – "£X revenue delivered by X date" or "X projects delivered with X costs saved" – a fair few, though, simply say: "finding the right person." And that really got me thinking...

This weekend, I'll be running the Manchester Marathon, my fourth in five years and the first of two this year. Those four medals will stick with me forever, and they certainly haven't come about by chance. I've put in a serious amount of time and effort over the years, going from someone who couldn't run for a bus to someone who's no longer fazed by running 20 miles on consecutive weekends.

The thought of 26.2 miles though, can seem a bit daunting, but in many ways it reminds me a lot of the strategic graft required in the search for top talent. Finding the right person doesn't just happen overnight. Just like running a marathon, it isn't about a quick dash to the finish line. It involves proper planning and strategy, consistent effort, and the stamina and resilience to go the distance. And more often than not, it requires the skills and experience of someone far more clued up than yourself to help you get there – like a running coach.

Let's face it, everyone wants the best hire, but most of the time, the best talent isn't immediately visible, they're happy, motivated, well compensated and generally flying in their current role. A proper and persistent search is therefore required to uncover and then convince those exceptional individuals to come on board and genuinely drive your business forward and help you achieve your growth ambitions.

Mediocre, so-so talent doesn't take your business to the next level, just like being ill-prepared won't run a marathon for you. So don't rush the hiring process or settle for working with a firm who simply slings the cheapest and fastest CVs at your door. We all know a rushed hiring process has a high probability of ending in disaster - just like a rushed marathon.

That's where Hyperion Search Ltd comes in. Think of a search firm like us as your experienced running partner or coach, leveraging our knowledge and many years of experience to guide you through the twists and turns of the talent landscape, creating and delivering on a strategy to help you cross the finish line with the perfect hire not a rushed one.

If you are looking for senior or leadership talent and want to find the right partner to have a genuine impact on your success in doing so, feel free to get in touch.