If you’ve arrived on this blog, then it’s likely your business operations involve managing a contingent workforce.

And that means you’re aware of how many moving parts this entails and that you probably have a never-ending list of administrative tasks piling up on your desk.

If you saw our recent blog on how an MSP (Managed Service Programme) can take the pain points away when you’re managing your contingent workers, then you’re undoubtedly ready and waiting to get started with an MSP of your own.

But where do you start?

In this blog we’ll walk you through a simple five step process of everything you need to consider to start the journey of making managing your contingent workforce a breeze. (And if you get to the end and find you might actually need a bit of help auditing your contingent workforce – just get in touch).

Let’s go!

Step 1: Audit Your Contingent Workforce Needs

Volume of Contingent Workers

First things first, it’s important to begin by getting a clear picture of what your contingent workforce population currently looks like. Understanding not only how many contingent workers you have, but also what their worker status is, how much you’re spending on contingent workers, and their tenure will help to identify your current requirements.

You can use this information to map out how this might change in the future based on your business needs and ensure that you’re picking an MSP partner with the financial stability to manage your contingent worker spend.

Diversity of Skills and Roles

During your initial audit, you should also consider the range of skills and the types of roles you’re hiring for.

Do you need a variety of different skills or are you focusing in on once niche skill set? Do you need these roles to be based across multiple locations or are they all centralised?

Mapping out these requirements and handing them over to an MSP partner will help to streamline the process and avoid you having to keep multiple plates spinning.

Flexibility and Scalability Needs

During this step you should also have a think about your future business plans. Do you anticipate any fluctuations in demand? Maybe you’re looking to expand one of your business lines and you need people on the ground to make it happen?

By utilising an MSP you’ll be supported in strategic workforce planning and be far better set up to rapidly scale your business by getting feet on the ground, where you need them.

Step 2: Define Your Goals & Priorities

Key Objectives

So now you know where you’re currently at with your contingent workforce, it’s time to take a look at where you want to go and lay out on paper exactly what you want to achieve with an MSP.

This might be cost savings, ensuring compliance with necessary regulations, getting better access to quality talent or maybe even reducing the administrative burden on you and your teams.

Current Pain Points

During this step you should also assess what challenges you’re currently facing while managing your contingent workforce.

Maybe there’s a lack of visibility across the business on what’s going on with the contingent worker population, maybe you’ve got concerns about IR35 or maybe it’s just that you’re finding it difficult managing multiple talent suppliers and the quality of people you’re currently getting isn’t quite what you’re after.

Desired Level of Control

You should also try and decide exactly how much direct control you want over your contingent workers versus how much you’re comfortable completely outsourcing.

MSPs can vary in how they manage vendor relationships so make sure you know exactly what you’re after at the outset. Would an automated and ‘technology first’ approach work for you and your business, or do you think your hiring managers would prefer an MSP partner who can be onsite when deploying new workers to offer more hands-on support?

Step 3: Research MSP Models & Service Options

Choose the Right MSP Model

Next up its time to do your research and scope out what sort of MSP might be the best fit for you. Consider the needs that you defined in Step 2, and with these in mind determine which MSP model might be the best fit. (You can remind yourself on the differences between a master, neutral or hybrid MSP model in this blog).

Consider Statement of Work (SOW) Management

Do you use SOW contracts for your project-based work? If you do it’s worth making note of this during your research phase as you might benefit from an MSP that integrates both contingent labour and SOW management.

With an MSP this could be a day one service or even part of a continuous improvement programme, so make sure you know if it’s relevant to your work.

Ability to Influence the Solution

Now you’ve nailed Step 2 and decided what level of control you require, take the research phase as an opportunity to assess what level of influence you need over your MSP provider. If you want this to be a little more customisable, keep a look out for MSP partners who can tailor their solutions to your specific industry, workforce needs and the location you want the talent to be based.

Step 4: Calculate ROI and Budget Considerations

Estimate Potential Savings

If you’re looking to get started with an MSP of your own, then you’re probably already aware of the potential cost savings that this can bring you and your business. With benefits such as competitive supplier negotiations, rate card management, direct sourcing discounts and even just more streamlined processes, MSPs can deliver you a huge range of possible savings.

During this step, have a go at evaluating the potential financial impact you could get from an MSP to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck as you get started.

Budget for Implementation Costs

You should also take the time to consider any upfront costs your business will have to make when initially implementing your MSP. This might be anything from new technology that will need to be integrated, supplier transition costs or even factoring in the cost of training.

Compare MSP Costs to In-House Management

Finally, it would be worth factoring in the costs of managing your contingent workers in-house versus the fees associated with an MSP. Having this laid out will help you demonstrate the cost saving benefits to the stakeholders in your business.

Step 5: Evaluate Potential MSP Providers

Industry Expertise

And now we get to the fifth and final step in getting started with an MSP. When you’re looking to get started with rolling out an MSP it’s important that you do your research on potential providers. It’s recommended to look for MSPs with experience in your industry (or similar industry) as this will ensure they have specialist knowledge and can tap into relevant networks for you.

We’d recommend looking for suppliers who are happy to introduce you to current clients and invite you to meet their teams so you can take any references you need and meet the people who will be delivering your service.

Service Level Support

When comparing potential MSP providers, one of the aspects you should evaluate is the level of support you’ll be offered, particularly during implementation and for ongoing account management.

Do you have the option of on-site support if you need it? What sort of resources are available to you for troubleshooting? These are important things to get answers to out the outset to avoid any last-minute panic down the line.

Plan Your RFP Process

Last but my no means least, make sure you set yourself up for success in the RFP (Request For Proposal) process by planning out what questions you need to ask.

During this stage, you need to be able to adequately ascertain whether the MSP providers you’re considering have not only the size, financial stability and experience to meet your needs, but also that they align with your company values and that you can feel confident they’ll represent and communicate your employer brand effectively.

Top Tip – Why not ask the providers you’re considering if they’ll share their RFP templates with you so you can get more of an idea of the key questions you need to be asking?

Ready to get started?

A Managed Service Programme (MSP) can help you to ditch the admin and deliver real business value from your contingent workforce.

Now you know what steps you need to take to get started, why not get stuck into figuring out which MSP model is right for you? We’re on hand to help guide you on which MSP model might work for you and your business, as well as what each of their benefits are.

Our mission is to deliver a best-in-class MSP service, and we use our unique combination of brilliant people, effective processes, innovative technologies and seamless collaboration to deliver this. As part of this mission, we’ve put together our Ultimate Guide to MSPs to set you up for success – and all you need to do is fill in the short form below.

Have any more questions? Please do reach out to Elizabeth Hawkins for a chat about how you can get started with managing your contingent workforce today on [email protected]

We’re pleased to present our brand new Monthly Spotlight Report focusing on Product Owners.

In this Report we deep-dive into the Product Owner market to provide you market-leading insights into everything from candidate location through to salary data to make sure your offer stands out in the crowd.

With our data showing a 2% nationwide increase in Product Owner headcount AND our hiring volume for this role going up by a whopping 50%, now is more important than ever to get a solid grasp on this market so you’re ready to make your next move.

We even lay out what a typical career path is for this role to give you an insight into what makes these candidates tick. Is it now more about the nature of the work vs a cutting edge tech stack?

Set yourself up for success by downloading your copy via the form below!

In case you missed it, we recently launched our Financial Services Hiring Trends Report which focuses on Digital, Technology, Change and Transformation hiring in the Financial Services sector. The Report delves into how hiring in 2024 compared to the previous year, how hiring demand was split across the UK and what the job market looked like across the financial services sector.

But what exactly were the most in demand and most hired roles in this sector, and what does this tell us about trends we can predict for the rest of the year?

Most Hired Roles

Software Engineer and Developer

Our data showed us that Software Engineer and Developer roles soared above Business Analysts as the most in demand roles for 2024. This is likely thanks to the significant investment We have seen this trend in action already during Q1 of 2025 by placing 42% more Developer roles than we have Business Analysts.

Business Analyst

The demand for Business Analysts has traditionally always been high in the financial sector thanks to companies looking to optimise their processes, improve efficiencies and integrate the latest technologies, and this was yet again the case in 2024.

Data Analyst

The role of Data Analysts remained essential as many financial services organisations searched for candidates who can turn huge amounts of data into actionable insights. As, data underpins the business strategies of many financial organisations moving forwards, this continued surge in demand is expected.

Data Engineer

As data-driven decision-making continued to take hold of businesses, there was a continued necessity for clean and well-structured data, especially among those companies in the financial services sector who are hoping to leverage AI tools. We therefore saw a huge growth in the demand for Data Engineers both on a permanent and interim basis in addition to a desire to grow their own data talent through innovative capability development models.

Hiring Predictions for 2025

In terms of hiring demand, I believe we can head into the rest of 2025 with a cautious optimism. Throughout the first few months of the year, we saw resourcing requirements for permanent hiring improve by 6% during Q1 of 2025 compared to Q4 2024 and contingent talent demand improve by 2%. Already a lot of our clients are expressing an interest in hiring in greater numbers this year, and a particular theme we are seeing is hiring for Artificial Intelligence skill sets. Many of our clients have indicated they are considering how this will impact their ways of working and how they can transform to successfully leverage any benefits AI may offer in a compliant and ethical manner.

I believe there will continue to be a strong demand for talent in the financial services space, particularly for data roles.

However, I do predict that employer preferences will start to shift away from a skill sets focus, and more towards the capability of candidates.

The word ‘Curiosity’ is coming up more and more frequently in discussions with Financial Services technology clients in relation to the type of person they would like to hire; be that permanent or non-permanent.  In a world where technological advancements are fast evolving, our clients want to hire adaptable talent with a hunger to learn and to have a keen interest in ‘Why’ and ‘What Value’ the products they are building will deliver to the end user; be that the end customer or colleagues.

Increasingly during our briefings for individuals and teams, our clients are looking for a baseline technical skillset but the adaptability of the candidate to grow.  This means that we not only need to select candidates for their skillset and background, but also for behavioural characteristics like aptitude and agility.

We are already advancing in this direction through our Sanderson Projects service and also our exclusive permanent campaigns whereby cognitive behavioural testing and behavioural interviewing are embedded into the selection process.

This approach will provide clients with an approach that promotes cultural fit and alignment to company values, and retention and satisfaction within their workforce into the future.

In addition to hiring for capability at the experienced end of the market, we are also seeing a ‘grow your own’ approach to talent for the future.  This is due to the rise in organisations identifying their future talent shortages and focusing on how they can prepare for this via capability development programmes in order to hire more junior, diverse and talented individuals, develop them in role and ensure they have the skills their teams need both now and into the future.

Next steps

Are you ready to find out more?

As we start Q2 and look to the summer, now is the time to start thinking about enhancing operational efficiencies, addressing your skills gaps and supporting the reskilling of your existing workforce with the right blend of permanent employees, contractors and consultancies.

Arm yourself with data including exact talent pool numbers, tenue statistics, gender breakdowns and regional hot spots for the roles discussed above by downloading a copy of our Financial Services Hiring Trends Annual Report via the short form below.

Have any further questions or considering how your business can get ahead of these predictions? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me on [email protected]

We’re pleased to present Sanderson’s brand-new Technology & Digital Insights Report for Q1 2025.

With signs of growth on the horizon we get stuck into latest trends so you can get ahead of the curve and win the best talent in what’s shaping up to be a competitive market place.

Have you noticed the shift in businesses looking to invest in specialist skill sets?

According to our data the demand for Data Engineering roles specialising in Cloud Technologies like Azure is surging as many companies integrate big data, AI and machine learning into their operations.

But if you want to keep up with data security requirements, enable scalability and stay on top of emerging methodologies, you’ll need people who can work across multiple platforms with a focus on:

⚠️Python
⚠️JavaScript
⚠️Node
⚠️Typescript Languages

With these trends set to continue through 2025, you’ll want to download the full report via the link below to ensure your Tech, Data and Cyber salaries are stacking up against others in your region and set your business up for success.

If you’re in the market for a more standardised, compliant and cost-efficient approach to the sourcing, onboarding and managing of your contractor population, you might be thinking of engaging with a partner for an MSP (Managed Service Programme).

However, one size does not fit all and there are different approaches and models to consider, all of which we discussed in our recent Guide. Whilst all MSPs bring a dedicated account team to drive efficient processes across the different stages of managing contingent workforces, from attraction, selection, onboarding, pre-engagement screening, and then offboarding, the major difference is the approach to candidate sourcing.

In this blog, we run through the different models and how they might benefit your organisation so that you can decide which one is right for you.

Let’s get stuck in…

Master Vendor MSP

Master Vendor is an MSP solution in which one MSP partner takes responsibility for the management of the end-to-end process and the sourcing of candidates themselves. They build a second-tier supply chain but only utilise it if they require additional help.

A Master Vendor MSP partner acts as the primary resourcing provider for your organisation. The partner will take direct responsibility for candidate sourcing, pre-screening and management, as well as building talent pipelines for future vacancies. They will only engage with other agencies if they cannot fulfil the role and need a bit of extra help. Basically, they’ll completely take the resourcing challenges and time-consuming admin tasks off your hands.

Advantages

This model offers a more streamlined process as one partner takes responsibility for all activity. Not only does this bring more accountability for hiring difficult to fill roles but will often result in quicker placements and a creation of talent pipelines for future roles, driving down your future time to hire.

Master Vendor MSP enables you to leverage economies of scale to realise significant cost savings through a simple pricing structure. A Master Vendor MSP also creates consistency of experience. The candidate experience will be more consistent as they are only dealing with one point of contact, and it will also help to improve the amplification of your employer brand messaging.

Challenges

When looking to engage with a master vendor MSP provider, selecting the right partner is key.

If you operate in a particularly niche market or are needing to flesh out your team for a very technical project, then be aware that some suppliers might not have the direct sourcing capability to provide access to the niche talent or specialised skills you require. It pays to do your research. A specialist master vend partner will be able to demonstrate the ability to source at least 90% of all roles directly.

This is particularly relevant if you’re needing to recruit over multiple locations, or even regions, it should also be noted that with a master vendor approach, it may be difficult to deploy workers consistently across a multi-region solution.

Neutral Vendor MSP

Next up, you’ve got your neutral vendor MSP model. When you’re working with an MSP partner in a neutral vendor capacity, this mean they will be acting as an intermediary between your company and the roles you need filling, and multiple other recruitment agencies. Think of them as being able to play the field for you.

They’ll review candidates from all these different sources and present the best options to you, regardless of source.

Advantages

The neutral vendor approach will spread out your risk and diversify your talent supply chains, which can then provide you with wider and more diverse access to talent.

You could also maximise some cost savings thanks to the transparency of this approach and being able to review the pricing structures of multiple different suppliers. A diverse supply chain builds scalability and flexibility into a solution.

Challenges

However, a neutral vendor approach may not achieve the same cost savings as a direct sourcing model as there will be two organisations to pay for each hire made, the agency supplier as well as the MSP partner.

Also, you should pay special attention to how each agency is presenting your employer brand to avoid a misalignment in how you’re being represented.

Hybrid Model MSP

Then you’ve got your hybrid model MSP partner. This combines some elements of both the vendor-neutral and the master vendor approaches.

With a hybrid model, the MSP partner may deliver to you via direct sourcing, while also appointing other primary suppliers and opening some of your roles up to a wider pool in the supply chain.

Advantages

A huge advantage you get with the hybrid model is flexibility as you’ll be able to choose the best model per job category. This could mean that your technology hiring is conducted via a neutral vendor approach, while your HR function is handled through a master vendor. This will optimise costs and efficiency while maintaining access to diverse suppliers.

This approach also means you’re not going to be limited by jurisdictions. You can easily hire across various geographical locations and get the best talent on the ground thanks to the expertise of different suppliers based where you need them – say goodbye to compromising on worker quality.

Challenges

However, a hybrid model approach does come with its own set of potential challenges. When you’re working with different MSP models operating for different job categories it can become a hugely complex process to manage. The hybrid model can work very effectively for large, multi-region contracts, mitigating risk and ensuring compliance with local regulations. For mid-size solutions (100 – 750 contractors under management) it may prove overly complex and not deliver the same benefits as the other models.

Which model is right for you?

So, which model do you think is right for you?

Well, it depends. The most appropriate model will depend on factors like your organisation’s size, industry sector, geographic scope, the mix between generalist and niche skills that you’re hiring for, not to mention your strategic goals.

Looking for more information?

We’re on hand to help guide you on which MSP model might be right for you and your business, and how you can get started.

You can find out more in our comprehensive Guide to MSP. Answering all of your questions from what the benefits are through to how to get started, this Guide will set you up for success.

If you have any further questions or would like to chat to us more, please don’t hesitate to reach out to:

Chesney Windsor – [email protected]

Or

Lisa Goodman – [email protected]

We’re now well into 2025 and it’s been a busy start to the year for Sanderson Government & Defence. But what can we learn from the last few months, and what can we expect from the rest of 2025 in the world of recruitment?

We sat down with G&D’s Head of Recruitment Services James Corcoran for his opinion on how the government and defence market has been looking and where it might be heading.

Focusing on permanent hiring

Well things are changing. It’s been a topsy turvy market over the course of the last 18 months where I’ve seen many organisations swing from putting all their focus on contract hiring, then onto permanent hiring and then back again in a recurring cycle.

But as we started this year, I’ve noticed more stability. Since beginning 2025 with a heavy focus on contract hiring, there’s been a huge shift in interest and conversations leaning more towards permanent hiring. The G&D team have been flying from meeting to meeting lately handing queries from customers on how to design, implement and then deliver numerous projects needing permanent hires.

To be honest, this was a trend I was expecting due to the increase in employer National Insurance contributions the government is implementing, and also the similarities in the market trends to the post financial crisis market. Companies are wanting more value for money with better return on investment, so I’m pleased to see the growth of businesses becoming more attune to the cost of hiring and the value of permanent staff – we’re moving away from the trend of just “hire and hope”.

Filling the skills gaps

Then there’s the change in attitude to the skills gaps that have been present in the government and defence job market.

While some of these gaps will remain due to reactive hiring spurred on by programme wins across the industry, a lot of these gaps will also be plugged. I expect to see a burst of strategic hires taking place in more challenging positions to fill any future skills gaps, as well as training programmes to further plug these gaps.

I strongly believe that its vital companies continue to focus on overcoming their skills gaps to ensure they’re preparing for the future. In my experience it’s key to show stakeholders the return on investment this will bring in order to get everyone on board with hiring pushes or training programmes. We would advise ring fencing a project that has defined outcomes that all stakeholders have agreed on, to increase engagement, foster commitment and prove value for money.

How can we help?

At Sanderson Government & Defence we have a wealth of experience in bringing stakeholders on this journey to ensure your training programme or recruitment drive gets off the ground.

We specialise in starting these conversations, setting up reskilling programmes and sourcing hard to find and hard to reach skill sets that will support your programme of work. The key is to deliver a tailored, outcome orientated service to ensure best value for money and best return on investment – the exact type of work that gets us up in the morning!

If this sounds like something your organisation needs, or you’d just like to chat about how you can start addressing your permanent hiring needs or how to start filling skills gaps, then please do get in touch with me on [email protected]

We recently launched our much-anticipated Financial Services Hiring Trends Report which focuses on Digital, Technology, Change and Transformation hiring in the Financial Services sector. The Report delves into how hiring in 2024 compared to the previous year, how hiring demand was split across the UK and what the most in demand roles were across the financial services sector.

But what did the data show us about trends in London?

Permanent finance vacancies

According to data from VacancySoft and reviewed by our expert recruiters, the hiring demand for permanent vacancies covering digital, technology, change and transformation in the UK financial services sector has remained highest across Greater London and the South-East of England.

In 2023 there were 2194 vacancies in Greater London, and then an equally high 2099 in 2024. Looking at the South-East region, there were 782 vacancies in 2023 followed by 769 in 2024.

These vacancies are miles ahead in numbers compared to the rest of the UK. For example, the North-West only saw 359 and 296 vacancies in 2023 and 2024 respectively, and the West Midlands only had 291 and 256. This confirms that London and surrounding areas are a real hub of talent and that there continues to be a real demand for talent in the financial services sector.

Hiring trends in London

London is one of Sanderson’s largest markets in the financial services sector, with our expertise spanning across General Insurance, London Market Insurance, Life & Pensions, Investment Management, Banking and Building Societies.

When you look at the hiring trends in this region across the world of Finance, it’s clear that London continues to lead the way in UK in digital, technology, change and transformation hiring in the financial services sector. Hiring demand in London has also been more resilient to the impact of external factors like political uncertainty and economic challenges. This is demonstrated by vacancies across the UK declining by 8.5%, whereas they only declined by 4.4% in London – a clear indicator that the market in London remained strong. Also, the trend we saw back in 2023 of a shift away from London towards regional hubs such as Manchester has slowed.

What will the future look like?

It’s clear that London is at the centre of hiring demand in the financial services sector. But what else should we be aware of in this region and sector?

One thing we’ll be keeping a close eye on is the return to the office, particularly in Financial Services firms in London. We’re already seeing more consistent patterns of 3 days per week in the office and a some of our clients returning to as many as 4 days in London across all roles regardless of whether they’re in digital, technology or transformation.

This is a marked swing back towards the majority of the week being spent in the office, and while hybrid working is here to stay, it does mean less choice for job seekers requiring more remote roles.

I’d therefore expect that we start to see less movement in this sector based purely on what hybrid working schedules companies are offering and instead see trends returning to a more level playing field with other factors in the job offering holding more weight as we progress through 2025/2026.

Next steps

Are you ready to find out more?

As we leave Q1 behind, now is the time to start thinking about enhancing operational efficiencies, addressing your skills gaps and supporting the reskilling of your existing workforce with the right blend of permanent employees, contractors and consultancies.

Arm yourself with data produced by Sanderson’s market-leading experts by downloading a copy of our Financial Services Hiring Trends Annual Report by filling out the short form below.

Have any further questions or considering how your London based business can get ahead of these hiring trends? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with Joss Collins on [email protected]

We’re pleased to present Sanderson’s brand-new hiring trends report focusing on Digital, Technology, Change and Transformation hiring in the Financial Services sector in 2024.

This much anticipated report arms you with industry-leading data on how hiring in 2024 compared to the previous year, how hiring demand was split across the UK and what the most in demand roles were across the financial services sector.

It will have escaped no one’s attention that hiring trends in 2024 reflected a year of uncertainty. Thanks to economic challenges and political instability, the year saw many companies having to adopt a cautious approach to recruitment as business confidence was knocked.

Many companies in the financial services sector will currently be reassessing their hiring strategies in preparation for the changes in National Insurance contributions for employers set to take effect in April 2025, alongside ensuring they’re business strategies are aligned with the rapid digital transformation AI is bringing to the sector.

Now is the time to think about enhancing operational efficiencies, addressing your skills gaps and supporting the reskilling of your existing workforce with the right blend of permanent employees, contractors and consultancies.

This report, produced by Sanderson’s market-leading experts, reflects on how the business context has been impacted in the past and provides our predictions for the future of hiring in the financial services sector.

Download your copy by filling out the short form below and get all the data you need in your back pocket.

Have any further questions on the trends discussed in this report? Don’t hesitate to contact William Boney at [email protected]

An MSP explained

An MSP (Managed Service Programme) is an outsourcing solution in which a partner takes responsibility for managing the contingent workforce for an organisation.

The contingent workforce can be made up of temporary employees, contractors and consultants deployed under Statement of Work (SoW) agreements.

Typically, an MSP partner will manage the full contingent worker lifecycle from resource planning and approvals, through the end-to-end recruitment process, to onboarding, payroll, extension management and offboarding. In addition, an MSP partner provides market intelligence and guidance, access to great talent, consistency of process, compliance, cost management and reporting across the contingent workforce.

Who may benefit from an MSP?

When they first started, the main appeal of an MSP solution was focussed on the time savings and efficiencies associated with the management of the contingent worker process.

Enterprise organisations with large contingent worker populations (250+), would appoint a partner to ensure that roles had been approved, to co-ordinate the recruitment process and to centralise time keeping and invoices into one, consolidated format.

The introduction of VMS technology has automated much of this process, enabling MSP providers to expand the scope of the service across multiple geographic areas, or, to focus their attentions on cost saving, risk mitigation, and access to high quality contingent talent.

With more agile MSP partners entering the market, size and scale is no longer a barrier to entry for organisations.

What should I be asking before starting an MSP?

The key questions any potential MSP buyer should ask themselves before getting started are:

Are contingent workers a consistent part of your resourcing strategy?

Would you like to access the best contingent talent in the most cost-effective manner?

Is it important that your contingent workforce complies with local regulations and legislation?

Do you struggle to gain visibility of contingent workforce spend across your business?

Does recruiting, managing, and onboarding contingent workers take up more time than you would like?

Ready to find out more?

If you’re looking to deliver real business value from your contingent workforce and are ready to get started with an MSP, download our ultimate guide to getting started today.

Answering all of your questions from what types of MSP are available to you, what the benefits are through to how to get started, this Guide will set you up for success.

Have any more questions? Reach out to Steve Phillips today [email protected]

Let’s face it, people aren’t born into leadership roles.

It’s a jump to be a leader of people and in many industries or functions where technical activities play a prominent role, individuals with high technical expertise and capability more than likely started out in their roles due to their personal interest and passion in the subject matter. They enjoyed the technical challenge and activity but being able to do something at a high level, doesn’t necessarily mean you can inspire others to do the same. Leading people to be successful is a wholly different focus requiring people to cultivate new skills and be open to stepping outside of their comfort zone.

Emerging leaders often also need significant support from their organisation to develop the right leadership competencies and confidence. So, what are some of the ways that your business can support new leaders as they step up in your organisation?

Here I’ll lay out some of the strategies I’ve seen implemented as well as steps Sanderson take when installing a new leader into a company.

Strategies to help your new leaders make an impact  

Organisations should be providing the right environment, time and support to help leaders to succeed, learn and to develop the skills they need to be great. With the right supports in place, can anyone be a leader if they are genuinely open to learning new skills and get the right help to get there? I’d like to think so.

Some of the strategies you could employ to help your new leaders thrive are:

Setting the scene with behavioural assessments

Before you do anything, it’s important to gain an understanding of the individuals current experience and capabilities, including any past exposure to leadership responsibilities. Conducting 360 review processes can be useful here.

Using behavioural assessment methodology and psychometric testing such as Cognisess can help to analyse an individual’s behaviours to understand their strength, and development areas to tailor support to them as an individual as they move into their new leadership role.

Allow them to fail and learn

Organisations should consider proactively supporting the individual and their team to develop and grow. It’s not just about ticking a box when making a new leadership hire or promoting someone, but also actively providing a runway of support, time and guidance to ensure their success.

You want to prioritise an honest and non-judgemental culture of building a new leader’s confidence, letting them ask questions, test their ideas and give them the space to fail and learn with the headspace they need to build on their leadership skills instead of still being bogged down in the day-to-day operations.

Alongside this, a culture of collaboration and team building can help foster knowledge sharing and build employee confidence and strong collegiate relationships.

Every day is a learning opportunity

Training programmes can complement a new leader’s development by providing access to new ideas and broader perspectives.

Companies should provide emerging leaders the time and space to actively engage in training rather than worrying about it taking away from their day job. Implementing robust leadership development programmes can be a crucial step to close the skills gap and foster strong leaders in any organisation.

Help from a friend

Implementing mentorship programmes can be a great strategy to close the skills gap between technically excellent employees and new leaders.

Giving individuals the opportunity to ask questions from current leaders who have walked a similar path, can be hugely beneficial. It is always easier to leap the hurdle if you see it coming!

Find their own style

Emerging leaders should be encouraged and supported in finding a leadership style that works for them, and nowadays we are tending to see more empathetic styles of leadership. Gone are the days where a more controlling style of leading is supported by a business just because that might have been how that new leader was treated when they were first starting out in the workplace. If a new leader has recently moved into the position, we should allow them to maintain a similar level of empathy and interest in their colleagues’ lives, feelings and workloads, and let them lean into a style of leadership which still leaves their team feeling supported and respected.

How Sanderson approaches appointing a new leader

At Sanderson Executive, we focus on assessing four key considerations when sourcing candidates for a leadership appointment. These ensure the best possible fit for the business, provide a platform for the individual’s success and therefore the best long-term outcome for the businesses we support.

We kick things off by reviewing:

Objective fit

We ensure a credible technical fit, assessing an individual’s skillset, experience and successes.

Subjective fit

We explore the candidate’s approach and cultural priorities, their leadership experience and interest, along with their ability to operate strategically.

Motivation

We’ll consider their personal motivations and whether the position genuinely fulfils these desires and both now and int he future.

Practicalities

Lastly, we carefully consider any practicalities that might impact their ability to take on the position along with their appetite to mitigate any of them.

Next steps

Do candidates need to be a perfect fit across all four of these areas?

Absolutely not! Often a balance of strengths and considerations exist for all and it’s important to understand this picture to make the right long-term appointments and shape the individual’s runway for success on joining.

If you’re looking to appointment into your leadership team, let us go the extra mile and help secure your future leader. Get in touch today to discuss your talent challenges.

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