Investment

Recruitment platform Tempo has secured £5 million in a Series A funding round led by the Adecco Group and now plans to increase its headcount from 35 to 50. 

Tempo was launched in May 2017 by entrepreneurs Ben Chatfield and Ollie Povey and uses video profiles to reduce the need for phone screenings and interviews, with job offers also being made within the platform. 

Their disruptive tech recruitment platform uses AI to match jobseekers with vacancies and clients include Monzo, Starling Bank and Bulb. 

Businesses using Tempo are able to cut their recruitment costs by up to 65 per cent, while reducing the hiring process to a matter of days rather than weeks. 

In recent weeks, video interviews have become essential for businesses and Tempo predicts that the virtual recruitment trend is here to stay. 

In 2019 BusinessCloud reported how the company was expanding into Manchester. 

Tempo has also seen signs that firms are beginning to revive pre-Covid recruitment plans, with a 33 per cent increase in interview activity in June vs May. 

Tempo has offices in London and Manchester and has raised more than £8million in investment since it was launched in 2017, with other backers including VC firm Hambro Perks, and Chris Bruce and Michael Whitfield, founders of Thomsons Online Benefits. 

The latest funding round, secured in difficult market conditions, will be used to invest in technology and to expand further in the UK, with plans to increase the headcount from 35 to 50 in 2020. 

Tempo has developed a reputation for its ability to support some of the most exciting scale-up companies in the world as they make a huge number of hires in a short space of time. 

To date, the company has partnered with 2,700 employers across a broad range of sectors including financial services, software, property and e-commerce, and it currently has more than 75,000 candidates on the platform, which offers both permanent and temporary roles. 

Ben Chatfield, CEO and co-founder of Tempo, said: “We started Tempo because we wanted to transform the recruitment process, from what can sometimes feel like a slow trudge, into an exciting and enjoyable journey. 

“Today we have a platform that’s helping tens of thousands of businesses and job seekers through the hiring process, and with the backing of the Adecco Group, we are ready to deliver our vision across the UK and internationally. 

“The UK job market has faced a hugely challenging few months, yet in this time we’ve seen a lot of companies adapt brilliantly by digitising their recruitment processes and introducing video interviews. We’re delighted to have a product which can help businesses to keep moving forward in a post-Covid world, while providing people with much-needed access to work.” 

Teppo Paavola, chief digital officer at the Adecco Group, which is a Fortune Global 500 company, said: “In a short space of time, Tempo is already making a real impact on the recruitment sector with their technology-based approach. 

“We have been impressed not only by the Tempo team and product, but especially by the feedback from employers and job seekers. This investment is consistent with our own focus on digitisation and enhancing our client and candidate experience through leading-edge technology. 

“We are very excited to become part of Tempo’s story and we’re looking forward to adding the experience, expertise and ecosystem we bring as the world’s leading HR solutions partner.”