Should you choose an IT recruiter or a tech consultancy?

Should you choose an IT recruiter or a tech consultancy?

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Posted by Benjamin Sims

Vacancies in the UK’s IT sector have nearly doubled since 2020, with three-quarters of decision-makers saying there’s a critical skills gap in their teams.

If you’re part of that 76 percent, then you‘re already struggling to:

  • Deliver projects on time
  • Foster growth and innovation
  • Meet stakeholder needs

And the problem isn’t just about getting quality candidates - it’s about hanging on to them too.

Unfilled roles mean added pressure on the staff you already have. This puts them at risk of burnout, widening your skills gap even further.

Add to that the 31 percent of IT workers who were searching for a new job last year and it’s clear no IT team is immune from the crunch.

But there’s light at the end of this staffing tunnel.

Sure, you could turn to an IT recruiter for help. But that’s not the only option. A better one is to turn to a tech consultancy.

What does a tech consultancy do?

Full disclosure, as a tech consultancy, Tech City Teams would say this is the best solution to your staffing problem. But there’s good reason.

We deliver results

Time spent sifting through candidates for that perfect match is time not spent on projects. Cultural fit matters when you’re hiring, but what matters most for your project is results.

When you work with the right tech consultancy, the focus is on the work. At Tech City Teams, our focus is on delivering project outcomes that make a difference to your business goals.

We bring energy

Tech City Teams brings the dynamism of a start-up into your company. When you partner with us, you benefit from fresh perspectives, new ideas, and boundless enthusiasm for your projects.

We also bring flexibility and adaptability. We don’t have one single way of working. We engage with clients to find a constructive and productive way of working that meets them where they are.

We bring diversity and depth of expertise

Alongside start-up energy, the right tech consultancy will also have knowledge rooted in considerable experience.

Sure, you might find the perfect person for your role if you recruit. But they’re just one person. Their knowledge only goes so deep.

With a consultancy like Tech City Teams, you get the experience and expertise of an entire team. This means you can draw knowledge from different specialisms. And this knowledge is constantly growing through hands-on experience with diverse projects as well as regular training.

We go a step beyond

Someone might be able to fill your role with their specific hard skills. But there’s more to team members than just their specialisms.

At Tech City Teams we hire T-shaped people. What does that mean? It means we hire people who have the breadth of knowledge and soft skills necessary to work across disciplines, while also specialising in a particular area of expertise.

And we concentrate on keeping those people happy, engaged and productive. You get quality outcomes, delivered by a team that cares. And without the burden of onboarding, managing, and supporting new hires.

The reality of using an IT recruiter

As your capabilities and stakeholder demands grow, you might consider building an in-house team. Reaching out to an IT recruiter could seem like the sensible choice, even as you continue to work with a tech consultancy.

After all, IT recruiters have databases filled to the brim with candidates. But quantity and quality aren’t the same thing.

For one thing, it’s possible their candidates didn’t apply for your role. Recruiters often source candidates from job boards. And they use candidates who’ve applied for other roles they’ve advertised.

The trouble is, IT is a catch-all term. So, an IT recruiter’s pool of IT candidates will be broad.

What does this mean for you? Well, if you’re looking to employ a data engineer, get ready to sift through CVs for data analysts, data architects and maybe even IT service engineers.

IT recruiters also only focus on the initial screening stage of recruitment, so are less likely to recognise the red flags that some CVs raise.

All of this means, while using a recruiter is sometimes right, it also requires a lot of time and effort on your part. And even then, it’s not always reliable.

A partnership that works

At Tech City Teams, we bridge your skills gap with more than just skills. We’ll help define your problems, and find the solutions that work and help your business grow.

It’s because a tech consultancy understands… tech. And because we’re a consultancy, we remain on hand when you need us. That means if you have any questions now or down the line, you can simply talk to us.