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 Armstrong
Laura 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 episode
- Laura 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 takeaways
One 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.
Timestamps
- 00:00 Introduction
- 02:00 What Laura does and who she helps
- 03:00 Why she stayed in the tech sector
- 05:00 Why she launched Armstrong Talent Partners
- 08:00 What makes her approach different
- 10:00 The biggest hiring challenges in tech
- 14:00 Skill shortages and market gaps
- 18:00 The cost of poor hiring
- 20:00 What businesses get wrong in hiring
- 22:00 Hybrid work, flexibility and candidate demand
- 25:00 Better interview processes
- 30:00 Lessons from building her business
- 34:00 Where to connect with Laura
Connect with Laura Armstrong
Would 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/getfeatured
Final thought
This 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.
