We get her thoughts on Talent, Start-ups and Leadership.
We sit down with Caroline Hall, the visionary behind The Small Consultancy, to discuss her journey in recruitment, the firm’s growth, and the challenges and opportunities within the private equity, venture capital, and high-growth sectors.
Since founding The Small Consultancy in 2018, Caroline has built a reputation for delivering exceptional talent acquisition results at speed, helping businesses across Europe, Africa, and Asia scale their teams. With a unique understanding of the needs of start-ups and scale-ups, her firm goes beyond traditional recruitment, offering fractional talent management support that truly integrates with clients’ business growth.
Join us as Caroline shares insights into the evolving talent market, advice for founders and CEOs, and what’s next for The Small Consultancy as it continues to expand.
Can you briefly share your background and what led you to create The Small Consultancy?
I fell into recruitment in 2011 having spent several previous professional years in commercial roles such as branding, sales etc and started my recruitment career on the agency side before I made the move to in-house recruitment in 2014. I was approached by a Recruitment Consultancy in 2018 to help them hire Recruiters and The Small Consultancy was born. It was a very organic start and we moved into the PE space in 2020 when we worked on the Montagu carve out of Janes from IHSMarkit. We have since worked on a number of key projects covering a variety of sectors and building teams across Europe, Africa and Asia. We are now a team of 4 and growing year on year.
What inspired you to focus on talent acquisition and advisory services in the PE, VC, and scale-up space?
Having moved into this market we have found our niche as we excel at delivering exceptional results at pace and from the get go as we truly understand how important ROI is when an investment has been made. We love the different industries we touch on and embracing the challenges each one faces.
How would you describe The Small Consultancy’s mission and core values? And what differentiates them from other talent firms in the market?
We truly understand what it means to a scaleup/startup when they have received a round of investment and how important hiring is to the success of the business. We understand talent attraction and retention is key to growth and hiring the right employee at the right time is vital. We offer fractional talent management support so you have inhouse expertise as your business grows.
How have you seen the talent landscape evolve in the PE, VC, and start-up sectors over the past few years?
It has been a really challenging market for everyone over the last few years and investors are more cautious about what investments they are making. More focus on green/sustainable areas which are definitely growing but confidence needs to pick up across all areas and companies really start investing again.
What are the most significant challenges businesses face when attracting and retaining top talent in these high-growth environments?
Instability and the general fast pace of a startup/scale up can pose challenges on employees who aren’t used to that kind of environment. Its so important you get buy in from application stage and candidates understand the challenges the business is facing and why their hire is critical to the company. Also it is hard to ensure your ‘voice’ is heard over the LinkedIn noise as to why potential employees should work for you when you are still establishing your culture etc.
How does The Small Consultancy help companies navigate the unique talent needs of carve-outs and scale-ups?
We ensure that we become your in-house brand ambassadors and go beyond filling roles; we live and breathe your brand and set up a fully functioning hiring process in place to ensure we are attracting exceptional talent. We review the whole application process and work closely with Marketing to really promote the overall business to heighten candidate attraction. We help train hiring managers in interview techniques and when the project is over we (where applicable) hire a permanent internal TA team/member with the recruitment function in place.
What advice would you give founders and CEOs of high-growth companies who are looking to build or scale their teams?
Hire The Small Consultancy!
How do you see the role of talent consultancy evolving as companies grow and scale?
It is really important to embrace new technologies (AI etc) and use it to speed up the application process so its less admin heavy but the human touch is still critical when it comes to hiring decision making. Ensure your company culture and vision are at the heart of what you are doing and you are bringing in the right talent at the right time so your growth plans are achievable. Exceptional communication is key so that employees are always kept up to date with new developments. Talent is at the centre of the business and are real drivers for the business.
What drives you personally as a leader in the talent advisory field?
I love my job; I relish seeing a business grow & success and seeing people I have hired over the years achieve amazing career opportunities and growth. I love what The Small Consultancy offers and provides for clients.
What’s next for you and The Small Consultancy? Are there any exciting plans or projects on the horizon?
Growth! We have ambitious growth plans and we want to expand the team across all areas. We love what we do and want to see more start-ups achieve the success they are striving for!
About The Small Consultancy
The Small Consultancy provides in-house recruitment support to PE/VCs and their portfolios of scaleups and startups. Understanding that many scaleups like the expertise of an in-house recruiter but do not need a full-time employee, The Small Consultancy provides their specialist recruiters on a flexible basis to meet the needs of each company.
To engage The Small Consultancy today for flexible in-house recruitment or people services, get in touch with us today.
