Monday Interview: Geoff Shepherd, CEO of iSource Group
The boss of Leeds-based IT, digital and change management recruitment specialist iSource Group has outlined how the company is continuing to thrive and expand.
And Geoff Shepherd said the firm will confront the challenge of being able to find the right kind of staff by establishing a training academy.
Shepherd has worked in the recruitment sector for about 25 years, mostly providing executive services to tech companies. As well as being CEO of iSource Group he is founding director of B2B membership group the Yorkshire Mafia.
He and a business partner first set up iSource Group in Leeds in May 2008 to provide recruitment services to tech sector employers at all levels, ranging from help desk staff to chief information officers. The company is now located at Brewery Wharf.
It operates nationally and overseas, having worked in 11 different countries over the last 12 months. The business employs about 75 staff, mostly based in Yorkshire, and has a turnover of £8.5m.
Shepherd said: “We’re still a growing business. We’ve recruited five more people in the last two months and should have another five slated to join us by midway through this year.
“We may end up being a multi-location business, though that’s something we’ll need to look closely at.
“Taking on good people is a challenge. We’re got a very collegiate, supportive culture and we’re quite careful about how we hire and who we hire.
“In the next 24 months we’ll be booting up our in-house training academy so we can train our own people instead of recruiting them from our competitors. We know there is a shortage of talent in the recruitment industry, so it’s better to be able to grow your own talent.”
He said the tech industry was proving resilient in the face of political and economic uncertainty, because businesses are now so reliant on technology.
“Technology isn’t going away,” he added. “It underpins every business and you can’t just switch it off so it’s almost recession proof.
“For us, Brexit hasn’t been an issue. We do have some European clients but we’re actually doing even more work with them and I don’t see us slowing down. We’ve just hired a German speaker and a Dutch speaker.
Shepherd said iSource Group is leading a new initiative called Silicon Yorkshire, which aims to build a platform for tech employers, organisations, event organisers, academic institutions and other groups throughout Yorkshire to help them grow and connect with each other.
“This has already got 1,400 early adopters in just 20 days,” he explained. “We hope that in its first year Silicon Yorkshire will grow to 10,000 members.”
