Talentheads have launched a Talent Audit!

The questionnaire will help you transform your approach to talent success.

The audit will review, assess and evaluate your talent strategy, recruitment processes, learning & development and coaching offering.

We'll help you plan your next steps and get ready to transform your approach to talent success.

Great talent management is vital to the culture, growth and overall success of your organisation.

Click here to find out how! https://ow.ly/aOZ250Sp7NR

Owen Potts, Talent Engagement Advisor at Talentheads has been shortlisted !

Our very own Talenthead, Owen Potts has been shortlisted for the North East Chamber of Commerce Awards on 27 June 2024!

Owen is a shining example of providing excellence and commitment in everything he does for both Talentheads and our clients so it is no surprise that he has been sort listed in the rising star category for those in their early career in the North East.

Owen joined Talentheads in May 2022, he is early in career with only two years’ work experience under his belt from working straight out of school. Owen joined us from another business which he was not enjoying, he chose Talentheads as it was a local business and small in size but with huge ambition - he found this very appealing!

Owen proactively engages with potential talent to source candidates who will mirror the culture and values of partners and clients, he is passionate about adding long-term and sustainable value to the businesses he works with. Since joining Talentheads in 2022, he has already successfully passed probation alongside a pay increase due to his hard work.

The whole team at Talentheads go above and beyond every day working with clients from various industries and countries. However, since joining us in 2022, Owen has exceeded expectations and as a result, going from working in talent acquisition to supporting client accounts, managing hiring managers expectations as well as candidates.

Not only is Owen a rising star externally he is award winning internally at Talentheads Annual Awards:

BRAVE - Owen is never scared to admit or ask when he is in need of help or unsure and I love the brave and honest approach that he brings to the team

PEOPLES CHOICE - Owen’s hiring numbers for his clients have been amazing and Owen received a nomination for this award from every team member at Talentheads!

A quote from a current client:

“Since we joined the Talentheads family, Owen has been a fantastic ally and a great rep for our brand.  Our team and our potential candidates receive swift responses from Owen and he has always been friendly, helpful and flexible.  Our search for new colleagues can be challenging due to the specialist market we operate in, but Owen never waivers in his positive approach and nothing is too much trouble, no matter how ‘challenging’ we can be! We have found some fantastic candidates in a tough market, and I have Owen to thank for that.  Keep up the great work Owen, keep being you.”

Good luck Owen!!

We have arrived at Durham Workspace!

Talentheads, which started from a kitchen table, has expanded with a second office amid “startling” growth.

Entrepreneur Sam Spoors founded Talentheads, a recruitment and talent development specialist, in 2019.

She overcame the covid pandemic to grow the Morpeth-based business year-on-year. In 2023, turnover soared by 51 per cent.

Now Talentheads has expanded South of the Tyne, with a second site in Pity Me.

“We’ve come a long way in under five years, and opening a second office is a major milestone,” said Sam.

“What started as a team of four operating from my kitchen table has now supported over 60 businesses, helped recruit over 500 staff and upskilled over 750 managers.

“Our growth has been startling, and faster than I could have dreamed of, but that’s down to the fact we are offering something completely unique within our sector by acting as a one-stop shop for both recruitment and learning and development.

“Talentheads doesn’t charge fees, which to date has saved clients over £1.2m, and we embed ourselves within the clients’ business to understand their values and company culture which allows us to ‘recruit to retain’, as staff are more aligned with the business and won’t just up and leave.

“I’ve always believed that this innovative model can work anywhere so a move to County Durham was a natural next step, and we can’t wait to work with all the wonderful businesses based in Durham, Teesside and beyond.”

And the new move means the recruitment and learning and development specialists have been doing some hiring of their own.

The new office will be headed up by Gareth Jones, who joins as Lead Talent Partner and Gemma Holmes, Business Development Manager– with more jobs in the near future.

“I’m really excited to have joined the Talentheads team to head up our expansion into Durham and the surrounding areas,” said Gareth.

“As soon as I met Sam and the senior team I was sold on the idea of joining because of their desire to innovate and their passion to do things differently.

“Overall talent success is more than reactively filling a job, and I firmly believe my strategic experience will help local, growing businesses to identify, hire, and more importantly, retain that top talent.”

And Gemma added: “I am so proud to be a Talenthead due to the team’s unique approach to recruitment and learning and development, they are so passionate and committed to creating long -term sustainable jobs.

“I am looking forward to the being part of this journey taking Talentheads to the next level and opening new opportunities in other areas. The first time I met Sam and the team I knew this was where I wanted to be as we share the same values. I am so excited to be a part of changing the industry.”

Check out our Spring Newsletter to catch up on Talentheads over the last quarter!

Sam Spoors, has been recognised for outstanding leadership, innovation and contribution to industry!

Sam has been selection in the Global 100 - 2024 Women in Leadership Award - Innovative Disruptor

This award, recognised Sam for her exceptional achievements and leadership excellence in this are, along with here dedication to supporting both her team and the community!

The Award summary highlighted "Sam Spoors from Talentheads was selected for the prestigious Global 100 - 2024 Women in Leadership Award for your ability to grow Talentheads at a phenomenal speed, whilst overcoming personal challenges and maintaining a strong focus on the well-being of your team and the individuals you place in new roles, truly sets you apart as a leader in the industry. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition."

Its great to be recognised for hard work and building a growing business, alongside a great Talentheads team!

Talent acquisition and development firm Talentheads was launched from a kitchen table in Morpeth during the pandemic. Now the award-winning company’s founder, Sam Spoors, discusses expanding into County Durham – and how that’s good news for businesses south of the Tyne.

Spring is here – and that means new beginnings.

And at Talentheads, we have a new beginning of our own – a second office in County Durham.

When I launched this company from my kitchen table at the height of the pandemic, my five-year goal was to eventually expand south of the river.

I knew there was a market, and I’ve always believed that Talentheads’ unique approach to recruitment and talent development would work anywhere.

Nobody recruits and develops talent like we do.

Unlike firms who adopt a transactional approach to recruitment, we look beyond CVs and seat-filling.

Our team embed themselves within your business, learning your ethos whilst sourcing staff who share your values.

That means lower staff turnover and recruits who want to grow with your business.

And we don’t stop once your new hires sign on the dotted line. We attract, build and develop talent, through our Talent Success Cycle, building your team through learning, development and/or coaching whilst implementing strategies to enable your team to support your growth.

Our innovative approach has disrupted the industry, resulted in year-on-year growth and – most importantly - our clients love it.

That’s allowed us to grow faster than we’d ever hoped – and we couldn’t be more excited with our new space.

And it was time for it.

Our ever-expanding client base meant we were increasingly in the area and we wanted to be closer to our strong network of ambassadors and the Durham business community.

So, we opted for Pity Me. Why? Because it felt like home.

Morpeth was where I launched Talentheads and that’s where we are still headquartered, but Pity Me mirrors it in many ways – whilst widening our talentpool even further.

It also means we’ve done some recruitment ourselves.

Lead Talent Partner Gareth Jones will head up the Durham office with a focus on growing our client base.

We hope the location will also unlock new business opportunities further south.

The sky’s the limit for Talentheads, as we passionately believe our pioneering approach to recruitment and talent development can become the sector’s gold standard.

Our expert team has 150 years of combined industry experience. They know recruitment, learning and development and talent success - and how to do it well.

Our unique Talent Success Cycle is at the core of our business, and consists of four key parts: Talent strategy, recruitment, learning and development, and coaching.

Our Talent Success Cycle encompasses every stage within recruitment and learning and development, which we know works best when we sit side-by-side with clients, taking a more hands-on approach as well as a seat at the leadership table.

Our approach is tailored, research-based and values-focused.

Our values are our foundation and act as a launchpad for the growth which has made this second office necessary.

We believe in community; local jobs for local people, and to help create a thriving, connected society.

Our bravery is demonstrated by our trailblazing approach to recruitment, which is disrupting what had become a lethargic industry, giving the sector a shot in the arm which we hope can – long- term – improve the stereotypes around recruitment.

We also believe in creating a legacy, be it by playing our part to ensure a more sustainable future or by re-shaping recruitment.

And we genuinely care. That’s why last year we launched our ‘More than a Number’ campaign aimed at ending the numbers-based approach to recruitment that’s sadly become normalised over the years.

So, whilst other businesses may have lost sight of what matters, community and people are at the heart of our business.

At Talentheads, we know that matching people up with the right – or wrong job – shapes lives immeasurably.

Its the Talentheads way - our unique approach allows businesses to dial up and dial down any of our services. We are experts in helping growing businesses navigate their way to talent success.

We do everything to ensure to ensure both parties find the perfect match.

And we know we’ve found our perfect match with our new Durham base, which should open around Easter.

It is a major milestone. Having started at that kitchen table during lockdown, Talentheads has grown from a team of four into an award-winning, multi-site business with an international client base.

Millions of people each year are embarking on a total career change - the team at Talentheads explain why they could be the solution to your recruitment and talent development needs.

When seeking team members, there’s a temptation to always go for what’s tried and tested.

Industry experience. Relevant qualifications. Technical expertise.

But there’s a growing area of the workforce that may possess none of these – yet can be your talent success!

Last year, around 1.7m people in the UK switched sectors and embarked on a career change. A 2019 poll showed that on average, we think about changing careers ten times a year – while around a fifth of us are considering retraining.

Since then, the rise of AI, the covid pandemic and current economic changes have all likely pushed more of us into thinking about the opportunity of a career change.

Undoubtedly, as an employee, the prospect of changing careers can be daunting.

You can feel as if all the technical experience, skills and progress you’ve made during your career to date is not as relevant as once thought.

Yet that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Career changers often bring with them far more than they realise – and it can be the soft skills that can really help them stand out from the crowd.

Increasingly, we are hearing from businesses who claim that soft skills are a becoming harder to find.

They’ve encountered candidates who may have bags of relevant experience, but don’t have the active listening and business communication skills for team collaboration for example.

Some struggle with teamwork. Others struggle to make decisions – nor are they natural leaders – while they lack traits like resilience, adaptability and empathy that are harder to scout out during the recruitment phase.

And this is where turning to career changers can help your business grow.

These are candidates who are often dripping with soft skills that, whilst harder to quantify on paper, can be just as beneficial to your business.

And the best thing about soft skills? It doesn’t matter what sector they are working in – they are highly transferable.

Career changers can be a major asset to your brand or business – and we know because we’ve just hired one ourselves.

Emily Martin joined Talentheads as our operations support and talent development advisor. Yet before that, she was a regional loss prevention manager for a national retail chain.

The roles are very different. But what Emily has – and what made her stand out – are the transferrable soft skills that showed us she’d be a great fit for our business.

She is a problem solver and a natural organiser, with experience in leading teams and coaching people to enable development for both organisations and people.

Firms looking to fill gaps where strong soft skills are a prerequisite could do a lot worse than looking at staff from different sectors who have retrained to help fill them.

And perhaps businesses need to start taking more of a ‘glass half full’ approach to candidates who have retrained, not merely viewing them as team members who need more training for the technical elements of a job – especially given that’s the side that is probably easier to teach.

Plus, these are often the candidates who can fill those harder-to-plug gaps in your business where leadership, decision making and expertise is crucial.

For businesses, it is a growing sector that is ripe for picking – and if you are one of the 20 per cent mulling over a career change, then Emily’s advice is clear.

‘Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone – you may not have the direct experience required but chances are you have a huge number of portable skills to bring to a new environment.’

Laura Barker, Head of Talent Development at recruitment firm Talentheads, explains why developing your talent helps your business reach its full potential and why investment into recruiting doesn't just end at the initial hire!

For many involved in recruitment, the belief is once you have hired your candidate it ends there (most recruitment businesses end there too). We think that’s nonsense.

At Talentheads, getting those key hires through your door is only the start of what we provide – and what a good recruitment firm should do.

Because it isn’t just about filling a vacancy.

Yes, you want these roles filled. But you want to ensure these team members not only fit with your business, but they will flourish and develop with you for the long term, growing with you and your business.

And that’s where Talentheads dramatically differs.

We strongly believe in the idea that the greatest results come from investing in the Talent Success Cycle.

Basically, this is a full cycle approach – and having carefully matched up 500 individuals with new positions since 2021, we know that it works.

It starts with our unique approach to your growth; Talentheads’ USP is that we embed ourselves within your business to learn and understand your firm’s culture so that by the end, we know your business inside out.

That enables us to select people who match your business’ values and ethos. In theory (and as we’ve discovered, in practice) this leads to attracting your ideal candidates, hiring the right talent for your business, those who want to be part of your business and stay for the long-term, who focus on the success of your business.

But that final part is pivotal to the Talent Success Cycle, your employees develop within your business. As your talent moves through your organisation, becoming the leaders and hiring managers of the future, new talent enters and the cycle begins again.

Our unique model means we use our expertise and experience to elevate your learning and development strategy. Leading and supporting on development and training, growing and coaching your staff and freeing you up to grow your business.

It is a streamlined approach, focussing on the success and development of your people with flexibility around the needs of your business, saving you time, money and energy as you have the internal team already in your business providing the full talent cycle.

With everything in-house, you have no need to look for further provision.

We can do it because of our model – we are already in your business so who better to help grow your staff?

We know your business’ strategy. We know where the skill gaps are. And we know where future roles may arise.

By developing your team and possessing a unique insight into your business, our joined-up approach helps to futureproof your firm, helping all of your team reach their full potential.

Through your talent developing and moving up and through your business, we are here to continue to build your team.

If a vacancy arises then the cycle begins and we are here to attract your next employee, we have your succession plans in place with either an internally developed team member or from your external talent bank.

That can be enormous for your business, especially as many of the growing number of firms utilising Talentheads are also fast-growing themselves.

With your plans in place, and your strategy, recruitment, training and coaching taken care of, then there are no issues if a vacancy arises. There are no extra costs or unsettled team!

Removing the issues of re-recruiting and training a replacement leaving your business vulnerable and unable to work at capacity – Talentheads are here, building your successful team with no impact on your business.

Embracing the whole Talent Success Cycle model, those concerns can be firmly banished.

Not only does it create that much-needed depth in house but ultimately, Talentheads’ model is about recruitment and development, so once you’ve got your new hires through the door, our job is to ensure they reach their full potential and grow, along with you and your business.

The beauty of the Talent Success Cycle is its flexibility around the needs of your business. If your recruitment needs to increase, you dial up that area, if the need is lower you can then dial up in another area…strategy, training and/ or coaching! It provides the flexibility to fit with your business growth!

We already know they fit your ethos – but we pride ourselves in coaching and guiding them so that they see a clear career path within your firm.

We make them feel engaged. We make them feel invested in. And we make the process easier – for everyone.

We were approached by Eva Clarke, a student at KEVI school in Morpeth who has been given and amazing opportunity to do TREK with her school. Talentheads are sponsoring Eva so she can go and make a difference in the community, be brave, and leave a legacy.

We sat with Eva to have a chat about what TREK is and what the sponsorship means to her:

What is TREK?

"It is with M10, a Christian organisation group in collaboration with Youth With Admission. It is a 10 day trip to Ensenada, Mexico. In this part of Mexico there are a lot of people who are living in poor conditions. A lot of them don't have houses, or their houses aren't properly built meaning they are built with scrap metal and other found materials. Our mission whilst we are there is to build a house for a family. It's not a quick fix operation, it's a long-standing mission. We are also going to youth and adult centres, daycare sites and dump sites to help out. We will be making a small impact, but a small impact is better than nothing."

What made you want to do TREK?

"Obviously the main reason we are going is for the improvement of the area and to make a difference to the people there, but it will also be massively important for us and contribute to our understanding of poverty awareness and awareness of things that are happening in different countries."

What does the sponsorship from Talentheads mean to you?

"I'm doing a variety of sponsorship activities but the price of the full trip, excluding vaccinations is £3k, and all of that money goes directly towards the cause to get project materials. The sponsorship is directly helping the cause and it also makes me feel really supported, it's representative of helping the community and being supportive towards such an important cause."

Good luck Eva and everyone else who is getting involved with TREK this year, you're all doing an amazing thing and we are so happy to be a part of it.

Talent acquisition firm Talentheads has enjoyed an incredible 12 months, with unprecedented growth and turnover - and a few major awards in the mix, too. Founder Sam Spoors discusses how an unwavering belief in her unique approach to talent and recruitment has allowed the Morpeth-based firm to flourish.

Here at Talentheads, we work tirelessly to help other businesses grow.

And we also want to ensure that our own business is blooming – and that’s exactly what we’ve done throughout 2023.

You see, we’ve also grown a lot this year.

Our team has expanded. Our client list has ballooned. And our awards cabinet has some shiny new occupants.

They are all results of our talented and tenacious team’s hard work, as well as the unwavering belief our people and clients have in our unique approach to talent and recruitment.

For far too long, the recruitment sector has been content with just putting bums on seats and some firms have been willing to fill job vacancies with anyone in possession of a half-decent CV.

However, I launched Talentheads with the aim of flipping the sector on its head.

We instead embed ourselves within our clients’ business to understand their culture and talent and recruitment needs. We match and develop the right candidates with the right firms, based not just on their CV but also their values and how well they will fit in with the team.

That approach is paying off. This year, Talentheads recorded a 51 per cent increase in year-on-year turnover.

That growth has enabled us to bolster our ranks with some fabulous fresh faces.

We’ve added seven new team members, while demand for our bespoke service has resulted in three of our team being awarded well-earned promotions.

And like any family that grows, sometimes you find your home is suddenly too small.

Having snowballed in size since we were founded three years ago, we simply outgrew our old HQ – so we kicked off 2023 by setting up base at Austin House, in Morpeth’s Sanderson Arcade.

Given how proud we are of our Northumberland roots, there was never any intention of upping sticks and leaving Morpeth. Our fantastic new base has been the perfect spot to continue towards our goal of doubling the size of our team over the next couple of years.

But our growth isn’t all about turnover and new hires. To grow as a business, we also need to develop ourselves – and to give back.

That’s why charity, community and philanthropy have been at the core of Talentheads throughout 2023.

We sponsored three local youngsters, selected by Swim England, to help them fulfil their dream of competing at the World School Games in Brazil.

Our team laced up their walking boots and racked up the steps to support Alzheimer research, sponsored a fantastic ladies day event for the same cause, and participated in a fashion show for the wonderful Stockton-based charity Daisy Chain, whilst we also opened our doors to local businesses and held wellbeing events.

These special events enabled us to meet some extraordinary people. However, they also reinforced the extraordinary culture that exists at Talentheads.

As professional recruiters and talent experts, we pride ourselves in finding staff that fit into that company’ culture.

So, it is vital we do the same – that’s why we were delighted to this year be awarded the People’s Platform Award.

The award recognises forward-thinking businesses that operate on the forefront of workplace culture. Firms that embrace employee innovation and are committed to their people’s wellbeing and satisfaction.

We were ranked in the top 50 companies in the UK. And that wasn’t the only major success we enjoyed.

I was also overwhelmed to be named 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year by the North East Chamber of Commerce. It was an emotional moment, and capped off a rollercoaster few years for both the business and myself.

However, it was only made possible by those around me.

And it reinforced my unwavering belief that here at Talentheads, we are all doing big things and changing the recruitment industry for the better – forever.