A Shoreditch-based recruitment business has been awarded £5,000 worth of funding thanks to Sage, Official Insights partner of cricket’s The Hundred.
This award comes as a result of Pollen Careers owner Sophie O’Brien’s entry into the Sage Small Business XI competition, which was launched by cricket legend Stuart Broad earlier this summer. In winning, Pollen Careers joins nine other businesses who have formed the Sage Small Business XI with Broad, and have won a share of £50,000 in grants and other experiences linked with The Hundred.
Sage, the leader in accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology for small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs), launched the competition as part of its Official Insights partnership with The Hundred to champion inspiring business owners across the country.
Pollen Careers is an entry-level careers platform on a mission to empower job seekers and champion SMEs to enhance their hiring reach and equality. Current hiring practices rely heavily on CV screening, which filters candidates based on basic metrics and has resulted in mass applications with minimal feedback. Pollen Careers was founded to address this cycle of bias and to pave the way for a more accessible approach to hiring.
The £5,000 will support the business with their plans to expand their reach to their rapidly-growing community. The grant will help further develop their matchmaking technology and expand their team to meet demand from job seekers and employers, continuing to build Pollen Careers into a long-lasting business-for-good.
Sophie O’Brian, Founder of Pollen Careers said: “At Pollen, we’re trying to change traditional, long-term hiring attitudes and behaviours that often hold companies and candidates back. It is great to know that our hard work within recruitment has been recognised by people outside of our network of job seekers and employers.
“This recognition helps validates our mission, and encourages us to continue working to make a difference. We can’t wait to meet the other winners who run businesses at a similar stage to ours, hear about each other’s challenges and learnings, and motivate each other to succeed.”
In addition to supporting the growth of Pollen Careers, Sophie alongside nine other national winners, will gain access to Sage’s innovative technology, insights, and expertise, helping alleviate the pressures they face as small business owners.
Cath Keers, Chief Marketing Officer at Sage added: “We are extremely pleased to announce Pollen Careers as one of our ten winners of the Sage Small Business XI competition. Championing small businesses is a huge priority for Sage and we are excited to see the impact this will have for Sophie and the outstanding work Pollen Careers does in their local community.”
