The CEO of LDC-backed Talos360 is predicting a ‘transformative’ 12 months as the business world gets to grip with AI.
Janette Martin was speaking after the SaaS recruitment tech provider commissioned new research which will be revealed at an exclusive panel discussion on April 30th in the Manchester offices of KPMG
Key findings of ‘The Future of Talent’ report included:
- 96 per cent of hiring managers said their business is currently facing people challenges with employee retention (41 per cent) being the biggest;
- 57 per cent of female employees were in favour of flexible hours for menopause support;
- 44 per cent of employees were concerned about how companies use AI to help them hire and how reliable the technology is; and
- Only 28 per cent of hiring managers were happy with AI helping candidates write CVs.
Martin: “The key thing that jumps out of this report as a challenge for employers, is people retention.
“Keeping staff and having that good culture and engagement is a key focus for any business.
“What happens over the next 12 months will be quite transformative in terms of where we find ourselves on the future of talent.
“Whether you’re an employer or a candidate, some people are embracing AI and see the benefits and gains that come with that.
“Some people are nervous and very hesitant and there’s a whole bias question that can’t really be answered right now.
“One of the challenges for employers when looking at CVs and applications is knowing if they’re AI-generated. Are they seeing the real person?
“There are stories about candidates using AI to fire out hundreds of CVs at the same time.
“I had a conversation recently and some candidates are using AI to ‘cheat’ on assessments so you really don’t know if the person coming through your application process is the real person you’re going to get at the end of it.
“Lots of companies are not wanting to go near the generative AI platforms for fear of their data being available.”
As part of ‘The Future of Talent’ report, Censuswide quizzed two separate sample groups on behalf of Talos360.
Sample one comprised 1,019 employees working in organisations in the UK with 10+ employees, who had been looking for work within the previous 12 months. Sample two comprised 251 hiring managers at UK companies with over 100+ employees.
Martin said it was vital the company continued to carry out industry-leading research.
“As much as we’re a technology and solutions provider to our customers, it’s really important for us as a business to be a thought leader in the market,” she said.
“We have thousands of followers who join our weekly webinars, our quarterly workshops, who really look to us for that insight on what’s happening in the talent market.”
Talos360 has grown turnover to £11m and staff numbers to 95 after receiving investment from LDC in 2022.
Martin said: “They were exactly the partner that we wanted. I’ve worked with private equity before. I wanted a partnership where we weren’t told what to do and were encouraged to be entrepreneurial. That’s been the case with LDC.”
She said after a year of integration in 2023, Talos360 had an eye on acquisition in 2024.
“It’s definitely part of our strategy,” she said. “Now is the right time for us to look in the market to see if there’s anything out there that we would acquire that would help us bring even more to our portfolio that would benefit our customers.’
Martin will be speaking at ‘The Future of Talent’ event on April 30th alongside Dean McGlone, chief revenue officer at Talos360, Adam Ward, CEO of Airtime Rewards and Joy Parkinson, chair of Miniml.
They’ll be joined by Senda Kavindele, director, ESG / inclusion / diversity / equity / office senior partner, KPMG; Simon Swan, founder of Hiring Hub and Simon Gomez, founder and director, GMZ Talent.
The event is free to attend but spaces are limited. Register here