Laura Armstrong on Tech Recruitment, Hiring Better and Winning Talent in a Competitive Market

In this episode of UK Business IQ, Geoff Nicholson speaks with Laura Armstrong, founder of Armstrong Talent Partners, a specialist IT recruitment company based in Glasgow. With around 16 years of experience in tech recruitment, Laura brings a practical and grounded view of what businesses are getting right and wrong when it comes to hiring.The conversation explores the realities of the Scottish tech market, where strong candidates remain in demand and businesses often face real challenges around speed, flexibility, salary expectations and process. Laura shares why she decided to launch her own company, what drives her work, and why good recruitment is about far more than matching CVs to job descriptions.This episode explores Laura Armstrong’s perspective on hiring, tech recruitment and candidate experience based on her professional experience. The ideas shared are intended to help businesses think more clearly about hiring decisions, but the right approach will vary depending on the company, role and market conditions.About Laura ArmstrongLaura Armstrong is the founder of Armstrong Talent Partners, a specialist tech recruitment business based in Glasgow. She works with SMEs, startups and larger companies to help them recruit strong technology talent, with a particular focus on the Scottish market.In this episodeLaura shares how she got into tech recruitment and why she stayed in the sector.She explains why she decided to launch her own recruitment business.She talks about the realities of hiring in a competitive tech market.She discusses why low offers and slow processes damage hiring outcomes.She explains the impact of hybrid working and flexibility on candidate demand.She shares her views on poor recruitment practices and what better process looks like.She outlines practical advice for businesses that want to build stronger teams.Key takeawaysOne of the strongest messages in this episode is that businesses cannot expect strong people to accept weak offers, poor process or unnecessary delay. Laura’s message is clear: if you want great candidates, you need to move well, communicate clearly and treat recruitment as something strategic.The episode also makes a strong case for working more proactively. Good recruitment is not simply reacting to a vacancy. It is about understanding the market, building relationships and knowing what strong people actually want.Timestamps00:00 Introduction02:00 What Laura does and who she helps03:00 Why she stayed in the tech sector05:00 Why she launched Armstrong Talent Partners08:00 What makes her approach different10:00 The biggest hiring challenges in tech14:00 Skill shortages and market gaps18:00 The cost of poor hiring20:00 What businesses get wrong in hiring22:00 Hybrid work, flexibility and candidate demand25:00 Better interview processes30:00 Lessons from building her business34:00 Where to connect with LauraConnect with Laura ArmstrongLinkedIn - ProfileCompany WebsiteWould you like to be featured on UK Business IQ?If you are an experienced business owner, consultant, coach, speaker or professional with valuable insight to share, we would love to hear from you. UK Business IQ is designed to spotlight credible experts who are doing great work and help them become more visible to the right audience. To apply to be considered as a guest on the show visit: http://www.geoffnicholson.co.uk/getfeaturedFinal thoughtThis is a practical and timely conversation for any business that needs to hire well, especially in a market where strong people have options. A strong reminder that recruitment is not just about process. It is about people, reputation and decisions that shape the future of the business.This episode explores Laura Armstrong’s perspective on recruitment, hiring and the Scottish tech talent market based on her professional experience. The ideas shared are intended to help businesses think more clearly about hiring decisions and candidate experience, but the right approach will vary depending on the role, market and business stage.Want to be featured on UK Business IQ?UK Business IQ is where credible UK business owners, founders and experts share the real conversations behind their work, their thinking and their impact.If you are doing great work but feel like too many of the right people still do not know who you are, this could be your opportunity to change that.Find out more or apply to be featured at:http://www.ukbusinessiq.co.ukConnect with Geoff on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffnicholsonuk/UK Business IQ Real Conversations. Real Connections. Real Impact.