By Steven Jagger, CEO of Maxwell Bond

 

As we reach the halfway point of 2025, businesses across the UK are entering a crucial phase: high growth targets in the face of one of the tightest labour markets in recent history.

From Deloitte briefings to LinkedIn’s #FutureReady event and C-Suite roundtables, one message is clear — if you're not evolving your hiring strategy, you're falling behind. Here’s why the smartest businesses are rethinking recruitment and how Maxwell Bond is helping them do it.

 

The Shift from “Time to Hire” to “Quality of Hire”

For years, companies have been laser-focused on “time to hire” and reducing recruiter costs. But that metric is outdated. It ignores opportunity cost, process inefficiency, and most critically, candidate experience.

Take the now-infamous example of Virgin Media, who reportedly lost £5M annually due to poor candidate experience. Today’s hiring landscape, dominated by AI and “easy apply” platforms, creates enormous admin strain on TA teams.

One of our clients received 1,500 applications for a single senior role — within 48 hours. With talent teams managing upwards of 30 roles simultaneously, the challenge isn’t just about hiring quickly — it’s about hiring the right people without burning out your internal teams.

 

Labour Market Outlook: Insights from Deloitte

At a recent session with Ian Stewart, Chief Economist at Deloitte, it became clear that while the UK economy is set for recovery — particularly in the second half of 2025 — businesses will face continued pressure when it comes to attracting and retaining mid-to-senior talent.

Key highlights:

  • Labour market tightness remains a critical challenge.
  • Unemployment increases will impact mostly lower-skilled roles.
  • Growth will shift toward the public sector, fueled by government investment.
  • Geopolitical uncertainty is the number one cited business risk.

For ambitious, scaling businesses, that means competing harder for top-tier talent — and building processes that allow you to win.

 

LinkedIn & The Skills-Based Hiring Revolution

At LinkedIn’s #FutureReady event in Manchester, Sara Goulding shared some staggering data: by 2030, 70% of the skills in today’s workforce will be obsolete. We are living through the largest workforce transformation in history, driven largely by AI.

In response, LinkedIn is championing skills-based hiring — shifting focus from static CVs to dynamic assessments of aptitude and attitude. It’s not about sideways moves anymore; it’s about unlocking potential and adaptability.

If you’re still hiring purely on past experience, you’re already behind.

 

Our Take: Learnings from Maxwell Bond

At Maxwell Bond, we’ve adapted our own hiring model to reflect the changing market — and it’s worked. We've achieved consistent year-on-year revenue growth by:

  • Prioritising candidate experience.
  • Emphasising quality over speed.
  • Adopting smarter use of data and AI in our recruitment processes.

Clients working with us are reducing hiring timelines, increasing retention rates, and improving ROI — because we understand what it takes to hire for tomorrow, not just today.

 

Roundtable Takeaways: Growth, Leadership, and Getting Comfortable with Decision-Making

Rounding out the week, I joined two executive roundtables hosted by Mark Carnighan and our own CTO community. The sentiment was overwhelmingly positive: 2025 is a year for growth — across enterprise, international markets, and tech innovation.

But one thing stood out: successful leaders aren’t waiting around for perfect conditions. They're making bold decisions, committing to clear hiring strategies, and partnering with the right people to help them execute.

As I said in the session, “Decide. Make your decision black and white, avoid the grey area of indecision, and just get on with it.” There’s more than one route to success — the key is choosing yours.

 

Final Thought

Whether you're hiring your next developer, scaling your leadership team, or future-proofing your workforce strategy, Maxwell Bond can help you navigate the new world of talent acquisition.

We’re not just another recruitment agency — we’re your strategic hiring partner, built for 2025 and beyond.

 

Interested in joining our next C-Suite or CTO roundtable? Let us know — we’d love to welcome you.