What will your priorities be coming into the CPO role at BCN?

I'm coming into a great business where have a very engaged team that do a great job, so it's to improve on what we’ve already got. We want to be the number one employer to work for within tech, what some people call the ‘employer of choice.’

When people are looking to work in a tech business, they want it to be leading the way, making a change, and at the forefront of development within that space.

Why is attracting talent such an important issue for you to tackle?

I think attracting the right talent goes right across the board, irrelevant of industry. It’s getting the right people, that are the right fit for the business, that are going to provide the right outputs.

There is a war on talent, in tech and in other areas. Things are moving very quickly and from where we are at BCN, we need to be front and centre. We need to have a strong employee value proposition – an employee brand – that people can hook onto. A DNA that has shared value.

I've never worked in a business before where we've got so many brilliant intellectually curious people and it's about how we as can offer them an opportunity to be empowered and encouraged to do what they do best.

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It's about us providing that real meaningful work for them to do and to fulfil them whether they’re in one of our amazing offices or, with our flexible working approach, in our remote working roles as well.

How do you create an attractive value proposition for tech talent?

I’ve worked on a lot of EVPs (employee value propositions), and it’s about making it real to employees. We’ve all seen the adverts and glossy brochures, but it’s about that authenticity. So, when we're posting on LinkedIn, we use our people to bring our job descriptions to life. We put people online to talk to people about what their job is and what it means to them.

We’re also a growth business, organically and through acquisitions. We listen to those acquired businesses and are always open to improving and listening to people’s feedback—but we’re honest about what we’re going to do and when we’ve done it.

Sometimes people want things we know we know doesn't align with our strategy or roadmap, so it’s about having integrity to not make false promises.

That includes new starters coming on board. How was the recruitment process? How was onboarding? What worked and didn’t work about the tailor-made 90-day programme we have? And also when people exit the business. Why did you leave? What are the reasons? What could we do better? We’re learning and listening all the time.