Our own Ollie Whiting, CEO, featured as Guest Editor of this edition of Connect Magazine, which explores how to maintain culture whilst scaling at speed.

“GoldSand Digital is delighted to welcome Ollie Whiting to the Guest Editor hot seat for this third edition of Connect. As Director of Permanent and Regional Recruitment at La Fosse Associates, Ollie has supported much of the content idea generation in this edition and has below, given his thoughts on the topics covered.

It’s often said that people are the heart of any organisation, crucial to growth and success. Within the world of recruitment, people arguably matter more than most.

There’s no denying that recruitment is a hugely competitive industry, and it’s a recruitment organisation’s team that is its differentiator. Building a strong team can make all the difference to growth, and it’s this that’s inspired this third edition of CONNECT.

I joined La Fosse in December 2015, following six-and-a-half years at a global talent acquisition specialist, and one of the particularly primary attractions was the fact that I knew it was a values-led organisation – and that’s down to our founder, Simon La Fosse.

After spending 15 years helping to build a technology recruitment firm and taking it to market, he took a step back and saw an industry that, by and large, seemed to just treat people as commodities. He believed that we could do better, and built an organisation around that ethos.

Since I first stepped foot in the door, there’s one word that really shines above all others – culture. That’s testament to the people who work here – after all, for any growing organisation, holding onto its core values can be hugely challenging. It’s that topic which is explored in our first feature: How does a growing organisation keep sight of its culture?

Excitingly, we speak with David Buttress, former CEO of global food delivery service Just Eat, to hear his take. Having co-founded the food giant with one other in a basement, before overseeing its growth into a global business with, at the time of his departure, over 2,100 employees, Buttress should know.

What lessons can the recruitment industry learn?

Finally, Chris Cranshaw, Marketing & Bid Director at Digital Gurus, offers his views, specifically with regard to Corporate Social Responsibility. Consumers now consider more than quality goods and services when choosing a brand, and positive press can make all the difference when it comes to attracting and retaining the best employees.”

For more information and to move forward with your IT and tech recruitment plans, get in touch with Ollie.Whiting@lafosse.com.