New for 2023!

CTO Pulse
Check Report

20
23
 Contents
A Message from the Managing Director
Unpacking the UK Tech Landscape
Inside the UK Start-Up Scene
Hiring & Talent Insight
Overcoming Hidden Bias in Interviews
Crafting Job Specs that Attract
Optimising your Talent Operations in a Downturn
Building Inclusive Tech Teams
Retaining Your Best Talent
Flexible Working
Building a Stand Out Employee Benefits Package
The Power of Mentoring
Optimising Your Software Engineering Interview Process
The Low-Code / No-Code Revolution
Cloud & Cyber Security
AI, ChatGPT & Beyond...
Cross-Functional Product Teams
The Evolving Role of an Agile Coach
decisions moving forward.
Start-Up Spotlight
Lessons from a Start-Up Leader
When is the right time to bring in a CTO?
Contractor Pay Rates Benchmarking
as the catalyst for expansion, and as a
Permanent Salary Benchmarking
Technology & Product Leadership
Software Engineering
Platform, DevOps & Security
Data & Business Intelligence
Product & Agile Delivery
CTO Pulse Check Report
01
Introduction
03
05
07 For nearly two decades, Burns Sheehan has In this report, we provide you with
09 been fortunate to collaborate with the valuable insights into the current state of
10 leading technology-driven organisations in the tech job market. Including salary
the UK & Europe, ranging from start-ups, trends, market insights from private equity
11
scale ups and unicorns to global and VC funds, hiring advice and actionable
12
enterprises. Our continuous engagement takeaways from our team of specialists
13
with both our candidate and client and hiring managers within our network,
15 communities has provided us with an and, for the first year, an in-depth look at
17 unrivalled understanding and of the the thoughts and feelings of our CTO
19 constantly changing technology landscape, network in a CTO Pulse Check report.
21 and we're excited to share that knowledge
37 with you. Our market report emphasises We understand that making informed
38 the patterns we have observed and hiring and employment decisions is
41 highlights the elements we anticipate will essential to any business, and we hope by
45 play a significant role in the tech sharing our knowledge we can equip
51 recruitment landscape in the upcoming employers and candidates with accurate
52 months. insights to help make the most informed
23 The tech industry has typically exhibited
25-28 strong growth and confidence, regardless
27 of broader economic fluctuations.
29 Innovations in technology frequently serve
37 Sean Burns
result, the demand for skilled tech
39-40 CEO
professionals considerably outweighs the
41-48 sean@burnssheehan.co.uk
supply. Nonetheless, for the first time in
49-52 decades, we are observing indications that
53-56 the tech sector may not be entirely immune
57-64 to deceleration.
65-76
02
 A Message from the
Managing Director
Higher inflation and rising borrowing costs last year hit technology companies' share prices,
leading to multiple rounds of company layoffs and a lack of investment intent. Three months
ago, Mark Zuckerberg told us Facebook’s management theme for 2023 is the ‘Year of
Efficiency’ and we’ve seen many of our clients speak about “consolidating” and
“streamlining” in the last 6 months. Sustainable growth over hyper-growth. However in
April, the latest monthly sentiment index by Lloyds Bank showed business confidence
reached its highest level since May last year. Economic forecasters are now finally talking
about growth, and optimism is contagious. Hiring intentions have improved since the start of
the year and vacancies are steadily rising - albeit cautiously.

The UK has created 162 private companies worth more than $1 billion, placing it third on
the global unicorn ranking. We are a nation of entrepreneurs and as a judge on Tech Nation's
Rising Stars programme this year, I witnessed the emergence of a new generation of
ambitious, persistent, and resilient tech Founders. New trends are emerging, and
Generative AI will continue to expedite technological innovation and reduce barriers to
entrepreneurial entry. Health technology with big data and AI will supercharge opportunity
and augmented reality will revolutionise sectors such as education.

In the last quarter, we have seen significant growth from clients in B2B,
Consulting, & Security sectors. Consumer businesses have continued to
manage delivery expectations with a tighter budget; however, positive
hiring behaviour is now emerging. In our recent CTO pulse check,
retaining & hiring talent remained one of the most important items on
their agenda as achieving business priorities will always be dependent
on employing a great team of people. As recruitment specialists we
know first-hand how important business confidence is to our clients,
Chris Spranklen
and it's great to see the economy moving in the right direction.
Managing Director
The Tech reboot has begun.
chris@burnssheehan.co.uk

03
 1 in 5 CEOs say Digital
Transformation is their biggest
Unpacking the UK Tech Landscape challenge, with leaders hiring
key tech and security roles to
The UK tech market is a vibrant space with for their workforces. Meanwhile the earliest
support this. 37% 36%
many businesses who are global leaders, stage and pre-profit businesses have also
innovating within their niche. As a sector it’s felt the squeeze. The businesses that have
had to deal with a lot lately, from the been least impacted by these trends are CHIEF INFORMATION CHIEF FINANCIAL
SECURITY OFFICER OFFICER
disruption and knock-on effects of COVID- usually mature, resilient, profit and cash-
19 to the collapse of SVB and rising interest generating, growth businesses, often found
rates. Despite this, the sector goes from in the mid-market.
strength to strength, and we’ve seen
20%
continued opportunities for investment in Our portfolio companies as ever are highly 31% 30%
the UK tech sector. focussed on finding great tech talent, as to
growth cannot be delivered without DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
From a funding perspective we've seen exceptional people – as such I see a good
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY CHIEF DATA
some changes, partly due to the wider market out there for talented tech 17% OFFICER OFFICER
macroeconomic changes, particularly professionals looking for their next
interest rates, but also from the shift in big challenge. Customer acquisition also
tech valuations. Transaction volumes have remains a constant focus, as it’s the main KEEPING TEAMS HAPPY & MOTIVATED
returned to normal levels, with a greater growth lever for the businesses we are
emphasis on businesses that are showing invested in. 15% 30% 28%
profitable growth. While there’s still
appetite for pre-profit companies, it is not
MAINTAINING A HIGH-PERFORMANCE CULTURE
as widespread as it used to be. We have CHIEF OPERATIONS CHIEF REVENUE
always focused on resilient businesses and 14% OFFICER OFFICER
EBITDA growth, which while it maybe not
Duncan Ramsay
as exciting, is back in vogue in the
Partner
investment community. FINDING THE BEST TALENT
28% 25%
Different parts of the market have been
impacted differently by these trends. The
top end of tech has been hit harder, which Read the full report by ECI.
we've unfortunately seen have implications CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY CHIEF PEOPLE
OFFICER OFFICER
05 Source: ECI, Growth Characteristics Report November 2022 06

Inside the UK Start-Up Scene
The current trend in the start-up
ecosystem is the delicate balance
between chasing growth and attaining
profitability. There’s been quite a lot of
nervousness around the fact that
valuations have calmed down, particularly
in the US tech market, which is starting to
spill over into the UK. And it’s driven quite
a few founders to think that reaching
profitability as soon as possible is what all
investors want to see, which isn’t the
case. The focus should be on sustainable
and efficient growth, and achieving a
balance that benefits both founders and
investors.
If a company has an exciting market
opportunity, UK investors shouldn't
dampen their potential by pushing for
immediate profitability. Instead,
demonstrating the ability to efficiently
seize the opportunity is crucial. A great
product and a well-sized team are key
components in achieving this, rather than
just scaling up sales and marketing
efforts. It's about finding the balance to
effectively sell and grow in a sustainable
way.
07
When it comes to fundraising, start-ups
need to prove the value they bring to the
market now more than ever. Your
elevator pitch needs to be on point, and
you need to show how it translates into
your sales process. This is crucial when
presenting to both potential customers
and investors. If you can prove your
worth and secure funding, you can use it
to get ahead of the competition with a
smart sell of your great product.
Laura Sisson
Investment Manager
Despite the spotlight on female founders since the
launch of the Rose Review, it’s disappointing that
there has been little progress in increasing the
9%
amount of funds invested in female-led businesses,
especially in the tech sector.
OF THE UK'S
UNICORNS ARE
FEMALE-FOUNDED
Having male investors who understand
the problem and are prepared to
champion and facilitate growth for
female-led businesses is equally, if not
more important than the work that we can
do as women in those firms. It's all about
£3.6bn
providing education, raising awareness,
and finding male investors who can help
us to achieve that mission together.
RAISED BY FEMALE
FOUNDERS IN 2022
Source: Business Leader
 Overcoming Hidden
Bias in Interviews
" Creating a more inclusive interview process
is crucial for building diverse and effective
teams. As interviewers, we must be mindful
of the subtle signals we send to candidates
and the qualities we look for in them.
Studies show that leadership qualities such
as collaboration, strong communication,
and creating alignment are crucial in
building high-performing teams. These
traits are often considered more "feminine,"
but they're not exclusive to women or
limited to one gender. By emphasising these
qualities in the interview process, we can
attract candidates who are more likely to
be effective team players and contribute
positively to the team's performance.
Natalia Baltazar
Director of Product Engineering
To ensure that our biases don't affect our decision
making, interview training needs to have a level
of standardisation within an organisation. A few
tips are:
01
Panel-led interviews with diverse interviewers
allow different points of view to be heard about a
candidate to overall reduce bias throughout the
interview process
02
Written feedback should be given separately
before speaking to each other to avoid
influencing one another and to ensure
interviewers are giving an honest assessment.
03
Interview guides can offer guidance ahead
of time around the qualities you're looking
for and potential red flags to avoid while
helping to cement cultural change.
04
Structured interviews are very important, but a
level of flexibility and adapting the interview
process when needed is also important so that
all candidates can be evaluated fairly. For
example, neurodiverse candidates with ADHD
or autism may require modifications from the
regular interview process.
10

Crafting Job Specs that Attract
" We hired 3 Software Engineers in under
4 weeks and our fast time to hire was a
result of a few key factors. Being
remote-first allows us to tap into a
wider pool of talent, and being a winner
of Tech Nation’s Rising Stars
competition gave us great visibility and
credibility in the tech industry.
As a mission-led business, it was
important to attract candidates who
resonated with our purpose. We worked
with Burns Sheehan to effectively
communicate our story and values to
the market, featuring on The Start-Up
Diaries podcast to share the journey
behind Vidivet, and bringing our job
specs to life with information decks that
highlighted key stakeholders and
provided insights into our latest funding
round. "
Ben Sweeney
Founder
11
Optimising your Talent
Operations in a Downturn
" A talent team's responsibility goes beyond
just filling roles, and when hiring
WHAT STANDS OUT TO YOU MOST requirements pause or slow down, talent
WHEN READING THROUGH A We developed company-wide interview
teams should expand their capacity to focus
JOB SPEC? training using surveys results &
on strategic initiatives. At Runa, we
presentation decks to increase interviewer
developed our talent strategy for 2023
confidence. We learnt that we need to add
around three key pillars: Operational
more video content, real-life examples &
Excellence, Attraction, and Reporting.
COMPLETE PAY incorporate role play to training, which is
01 TRANSPARENCY
something we’re working on.
Operational Excellence underpins the
talent team’s ways of working and sets
the foundations for high performance.
TEAM SETUP, We doubled in size in 2022 and were
MEMBERS &
WAYS OF mindful that new starters hadn’t been We identified our strongest, most trusted
WORKING
02 interviewers & set them up to role model
exposed to interviewing the 'Runa' way.
for new & existing interviewers. To make
So we focused on building robust and
this scalable, we used interview intelligence
scalable processes, upskilling the wider
to provide on-demand training resources
business, and creating a centralised
for those not present in the interview. This
INSIGHTS INTO learning hub for easy access to resources. "
THE TECH STACK & increased our software engineering interview
03 HOW TECHNOLOGY
IS USED TO Continue reading: capacity by 50%.
INNOVATE A Talent Team is just for hiring, right?
Oliver Lochhead
Source: Burns Sheehan 2023 Community Survey Senior Talent Manager
We use Notion for our external playbook
which often gets positive feedback for it’s
transparency.
12
 Dewi Rees "As a Technical Director at the FT, I've had the privilege of working for a
Technical Director company that’s committed to achieving its DEI goals, which requires
deliberate and sustained efforts, through a multi-faceted approach.

Building Diverse & Inclusive
Tech Teams
Burns Sheehan is committed to promoting
diversity and inclusion in the tech sector.
Our goal is to increase the visibility of
underrepresented groups in tech through
events, our Start-Up Diaries podcast, and
our Future Leaders mentoring programme.
In honor of International Women's Day, we
placed by Burns Sheehan
brought together Technology Leaders to
discuss ways to address the underrepresen-
tation of marginalised groups in the tech
industry and promote a more inclusive
workplace. The discussion covered a range
of topics, from creating more equitable
hiring practices and fostering a culture of
belonging. We've shared valuable insights
from this event throughout the report, and
you can read all the takeaways here:
Closing The Gender Gap In Tech
Leadership
These are 6 areas we've seen a real impact at the FT and throughout my
personal career."
Identify high performers in your organ- Use tools to ensure job descriptions
isation & prepare them for leadership aren't off-putting to female candidates.
roles through training, workshops & Prioritise personality & background
mentoring. The goal should be to help over technical skills that can be learnt,
them transition into those roles when & ensure diverse representation in your
43% of all candidates 22% of all candidates
they become available internally. interview panels.
placed by Burns
had an Ethnic Minority Sheehan were
Background non-male
Empower your teams to create employee- Sponsoring workshops & organisations
run groups focused on supporting such as codebar gives you access to
different communities. They play an underrepresented communities in tech,
integral role in connecting individuals & enabling you to tap into their talent
52% of mentees & mentors 58% of all speakers at
in Burns Sheehan's Futures our Burns Sheehan providing a sense of community & culture. pools and networks, & attend job fairs.
Programme were women events were non-male

Plain language and honesty about your business needs shouldn't be underestimated,
whether it's for diversity or any requirement. In a recent software engineer
apprenticeship, we were transparent about our goal to improve gender diversity and Publish updates on progress you’ve Early conversations about tech careers
saw impressive results - the highest percentage of female applicants ever and 7/10 made towards your DEI goals, & make & visible role models are crucial.
apprentices hired are now successful software engineers. People relate to honesty and those public too. At the FT we also report Leaders can empower women entering
openness, so use plain language to communicate your needs for a positive impact. on our pay gaps. It keeps us accountable the industry by acknowledging the
Sandy Lacey-Aberdein & aligns with our values of integrity, imbalance that still exists & becoming
Head of Talent Acquisition inclusion & trust. allies.
13 14
 WHAT WOULD BE THE KEY REASONS FOR
DISENGAGING WITH YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYER?
Retaining Your Best Talent
While employers may believe that BUILDING A CLEAR CAREER
competitive salaries are the main reason PROGRESSION FRAMEWORK
for employee turnover, talented individ- STEP
01 43% 36% 29% 27%
uals usually don't leave solely due to Determine the different levels & assign
compensation. Instead, a lack of learning appropriate titles to each level.
and growth opportunities for career STEP

advancement tends to be the primary 02 These might include technical, leadership

factor that leads to disengagement. & communication skills. LACK OF UNHAPPY LIMITED CAREER LACK OF CHOICE
According to our community survey (for PROGRESSION WITH SALARY FRAMEWORK IN FLEX WORKING
STEP
the second year in a row) low career 03 Include goals & KPIs that are aligned with
progression was the top reason for
the company's overall strategy & goals.
employees disengaging with their current
STEP
employer.
04 What training, mentoring & on-the-job learning
For employees, a clear progression will be provided to help achieve the set goals. WHAT INTERESTS YOU
framework should be a roadmap of how STEP MOST IN A NEW EMPLOYER?
they can advance within your company, 05 Clearly outline the expectations that need
and what's expected at each stage of their to be met in order to be promoted.
development. It should help them STEP
understand where their role fits into the 06 Create an extension plan for your high-
company structure, and how their performing employees who exceed expectations. 47% 36% 35% 34%
contributions can make an impact. For STEP
hiring managers, it will enable you to 07 Discuss in 1-2-1s, training sessions &
identify high-potential employees and make it public in employee handbooks.
provide them with the necessary support
STEP
and opportunities they need to succeed.
08 BASE SALARY CREATIVE BENEFITS IMPACTFUL POSITIVE COMPANY
Provide regular feedback and support to PACKAGE COMPANY MISSION VALUES
help employees reach their goals.
Employee Retention in STEP
Technology Teams 09 Don't let your framework stagnate.
Whitepaper Download Continuously review to ensure it remains
relevant & aligned with the company's goals.
Source: Burns Sheehan 2023 Community Survey 16

Flexible Working
The standard expectation from our clients that
operate in a hybrid model remains at
1-2 days in the office per week. This is in line
with the preferences of our tech community,
as our 2023 survey revealed that 57% of
employees want some degree of in-person
interaction each week. 2 days a week in-
person came out on top, and 12% said they
prefer to be fully remote.
We have noticed that several companies that
originally had more flexible policies are
making significant changes to their
requirements, expecting employees return to
the office on a more regular basis for
collaboration purposes. Companies that alter
their expectations regarding the frequency of
employees coming into the office should
consider the negative impact this can have on
team satisfaction and time to hire for new
employees.
Some organisations have adopted tiered
frameworks where requirements differ
between teams and individuals. For example,
several of our clients expect managers to be
in more frequently than ICs. These models
help clarify their approach to flexibility, and
communicate why flexibility can't be the same
for everyone all the time. They're based on the
concept of organising work around activities,
rather than operating a blanket approach.
17
INTRODUCING A 4 DAY WORK WEEK OF OUR NETWORK VOTED FOR
" Implementing a 4-day workweek has been A 4-DAY WORK WEEK AS A
successful for our business. We measure
success through productivity, business
TOP EMPLOYEE BENEFIT
performance KPIs, and employee well-
When looking for new hires, it's crucial to WANT SOME DEGREE OF
being. IN-PERSON WORKING
outline your company's flexible working
INTERACTION EACH WEEK.
policy in job specs so that candidates can
Looking at the results, all of the metrics are
make informed decisions before applying.
trending positively. It's not just about Source: Burns Sheehan 2023 Community Survey
If coming into the office on a regular basis
business performance, but also recruitment,
is required, explain why. Whether it's to
efficiency, effectiveness, attrition, well-
create a positive culture or to improve
being, and days lost due to sickness or long-
collaboration, creativity and ease of
term illness. It also sets us apart from
communication, it needs to be relayed to
competitors and other employment options. As a largely remote team, it's important to focus
the candidate so that they can get
on transparency and inclusion. For us, that
onboard with the company’s decision
The intangible value goes beyond metrics; means creating an environment where everyone
making and not see it as a detractor.
we want healthier, engaged employees and has a voice and feels comfortable sharing their
the 4-day week differentiates our employee ideas.
value proposition in a competitive world.
IDEAL NUMBER OF DAYS WORKING
This can only be achieved through We prioritise open communication and maintain
IN-PERSON WITH YOUR TEAM
disciplined and controlled investment, so it's a low formal structure to encourage
2 DAYS A WEEK (24%)
anything but a relaxed approach." participation. We have a culture where we
1 DAY A WEEK (19%) encourage hands up on a virtual call to help
Mark Mullen quiet voices be heard, and Slack for those who
Co-Founder & CEO
3 DAYS A WEEK (14%) find speaking hard.
NEVER / FULLY REMOTE (12%)
We also recognise the importance of catering to
different working styles, which is why we offer
ONCE A MONTH (10%)
both in-person and virtual interaction through
S5 Ep1 | The 4-Day Working Week:
ONCE A FORTNIGHT (7%) our London and Manchester offices. Our bi-
Tried, Tested & Implemented weekly retros enable us to reflect on our
5 DAYS A WEEK (6%)
progress and adapt to the needs of our team.
4 DAYS A WEEK (4%)
Mila Budeva
ONCE A QUARTER (4%) Head of Community
Source: Burns Sheehan 2023 Community Survey 18
 TOP 4 EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
BASED ON LENGTH OF TIME IN INDUSTRY

Building a Stand Out Employee 0-2 2-5 5-10 10+

Benefits Package YEARS YEARS YEARS YEARS

To create a truly attractive benefits package, With focus shifting to survival over growth
companies need to consider all aspects of for many businesses, staff retention is
the employee experience, including critical. An attractive EVP, built by listening 1st
opportunities for growth, social connection to employees will support your workforce
4 DAY BUDGET PRIVATE STOCKS/ SHARES
and community, and meaning and purpose. and attract candidates when hiring freezes WORK WEEK FOR L&D HEALTHCARE /EQUITY
It's not a one-size-fits-all, as people's subdue. Rising costs have forced
priorities are very personal, so it's important companies to cut traditional financial
to take a holistic approach. benefits and bonuses. Instead, firms are
offering additional flexibility and annual
INDIVIDUAL
leave to support employees beyond base
salary. Explore more examples here: 2nd
Practical Ways To Top Up Your Employee ABILITY TO ANNUAL EXTRA ANNUAL GENEROUS
Benefits In The Cost Of Living Crisis NOMADIC WORK BONUS LEAVE (30+ DAYS) PENSION (+10%)
SHORT-TERM

LONG-TERM

A positive candidate experience can be a

valuable employee benefit that sets the tone
for their career with you. It covers the
emotional journey a candidate takes from 3rd
application to their first day of work, and it
can be measured by the level of TRUST they
COLLECTIVE * GENEROUS EXTRA ANNUAL GENEROUS PRIVATE
feel throughout. A strong candidate PENSION (+10%) LEAVE (30+ DAYS) PENSION (+10%) HEALTHCARE
*Source: Harvard Business Review
experience can be achieved by focusing on
Several of our clients have introduced tiered the five key pillars of the TRUST framework:
benefit packages to demonstrate their T -TRANSPARENCY
commitment to loyalty and retention. For
example, having the opportunity to work
R -RECIPROCITY 4th
from anywhere in the world after 3 years U-UNITY
ANNUAL GENEROUS ABILITY TO ANNUAL
service, or the opportunity to take an S -SPEED BONUS PENSION (+10%) NOMADIC WORK BONUS
extended sabbatical.
T -TRUTHFULNESS
19 Source: Guide Source: Burns Sheehan 2023 Community Survey 20
 The Power of Mentoring 97% 37% 63%

Having a mentor as a tech professional can
be a powerful tool for achieving your career
goals. A good mentor can provide guidance,
support, and insight to help you navigate the
complexities of career progression and
leadership, and open doors to new
opportunities.
If you're considering finding a mentor, here
OF THOSE WITH A MENTOR, YET ONLY 37% OF AND 63% OF WOMEN HAVE
are a few tips to help you get started: 97% SAY THEY ARE VALUABLE PROFESSIONALS HAVE A MENTOR NEVER HAD A FORMAL MENTOR
STEP
Identify your goals & what you hope to
01 achieve from the partnership.
STEP Look for someone who has the
02 expertise, experience, & network that

A successful mentoring partnership requires

you need.
5x 6x
STEP Reach out to potential mentors & explain
commitment from both parties. Mentees 03 why you'd like to work with them.
must be receptive to feedback and willing to
STEP Set expectations & boundaries for the
put in the work required to achieve their 04 partnership, including how often you'll MENTEES ARE PROMOTED 5X 25% OF MENTORED EMPLOYEES HAD A MENTORS THEMSELVES ARE
goals, while mentors should be available to MORE OFTEN THAN THOSE SALARY-GRADE CHANGE, VERSUS 5% OF 6X MORE LIKELY TO BE
meet, what topics you'll cover, & how
offer candid guidance and support. WITHOUT MENTORS NON-PARTICIPANTS PROMOTED
you'll communicate.
Communication is critical, and both parties
Source: Guider
should be open, honest, and transparent STEP Be open, honest, & receptive to
about their expectations, goals, challenges 05 feedback, & be willing to put in the work
150+ 95%
and feedback. required to achieve your goals. 50+
mentors & hours of would
recommend
mentees collaboration to a friend
matched

The moments where I have greatly valued mentoring are when I had more experienced or
Unlock your potential and accelerate your career with The Futures
senior individuals who were willing to discuss challenges with me. During my time at
Programme, a voluntary mentoring scheme connecting tech professionals
Autotrader, there were a couple of highly ranked individuals who encouraged me to confront
with experienced mentors.
problems head-on and to discuss what scared me about those situations. They shared their
own experiences when they had gone through similar circumstances or felt the same emotions. Through one-to-one mentoring sessions (in person or online), you'll gain
valuable skills and expand your network, opening up opportunities to
Having a relationship where I could be open and honest without fear of judgment was
explore fresh perspectives and mindsets. Receive practical guidance and
incredibly helpful for building my confidence, and I will never forget it.
support setting effective goals, and gain clarity around your next steps
Catherine Trotter towards personal and professional development.
Senior Director
22
Start-Up Spotlight
START-UPS SEE CUSTOMER
We talk to start-up founders and leaders day ACQUISITION & SALES AS
in and day out, so we've got a good THEIR BIGGEST CHALLENGE
understanding of the common challenges
they face and the biggest obstacles they
encounter on a daily basis.
BIGGEST PERCEIVED CHALLENGES
OF EUROPEAN START-UPS
In this section, we've shared some of the
valuable insights we've gathered from CUSTOMER ACQUISITION & SALES (23%)
guests on the Start-Up Diaries podcast.
We've had the opportunity to speak with ATTRACTING & RETAINING TALENT (11%)

technical leaders who have shared their

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION (10%)
learnings on common challenges that
many start-ups are likely to face,
CASH FLOW & LIQUIDITY MANAGEMENT (9%)
including how to remain competitive with
your salaries, hiring diverse teams, and MANAGING GROWTH (9%)
managing the culture shock of
redundancies. We understand that as a INTERNATIONALISATION (7%)
start-up founder or leader, you're likely to
go through these challenges yourself, and OPTIMISING PROFIT MARGINS (6%)
we hope that the insights we've gathered
will help you navigate these situations
more effectively.
Source: CB Insights via Sifted: Starting Up Smart

Chris McGowan
Managing Director - North HIRING INSIGHTS
& Host of The Start-Up Diaries 6 Points To Consider When
Competing With Scale-Up Heavyweights

24
 Lessons from a Start-Up When is the right time to
Leader bring in a CTO?
Differentiate your Employee Value Proposition
" These days every business is a tech business, so OF START-UPS CITED DIS-
Employers need to think creatively about how to make themselves attractive to
having someone leading the tech from the get- HARMONY AMONG THE TEAM AS
employees, especially in a competitive market for talented technologists. THE TOP REASON FOR FAILING.
Mark Mullen go is critical. This doesn't necessarily need to be
Co-Founder & CEO It’s important to invest in differentiation and experiment with new ideas to make the a 'CTO', so don't get hung up on job titles.
workplace more appealing to employees. A mutual relationship exists between an SAID NOT HAVING THE RIGHT
employer and an employee, and it's important to make the time spent with each other The role of this person will evolve as the start-up TEAM WAS THE TOP REASON
valuable. grows. To begin with, you need someone hands- FOR FAILING.
on. As you grow you need a team builder and
visionary, and as you approach maturity you’re Source: CB Insights via Sifted: Starting Up Smart
Focus on creating a more diverse & successful culture
looking at a strategist and manager. Finding
There is still a high demand for hiring in the tech industry, despite recent news about everything in one person is hard, but if you let
redundancies. However, there is still a gap between supply and demand, and this will people grow in the roles, you’ll be surprised If you hire a Tech Lead to take on the role,
Hayley Roberts only increase after the recession period. what can be achieved. get them a coach, mentor or CTO advisor
Co-Founder & CEO to give you the strategic cover you need.
We need to reduce the elitist view of technical roles and make it easier for people to If you’re not in a position to hire a CTO yet I
get into the industry. This could involve showcasing success stories and role models often advise founders to look at bringing in a Tap into your investor network when
to make technical roles seem more accessible and less intimidating. We need to think technical Co-Founder. Being able to dedicate searching for an advisor. They have
differently and act differently to create a more inclusive and diverse environment. 100% of time to tech means you can increase connections that are priceless. If you're on
speed to market for early versions, but finding a budget, consider hiring a part-time CTO
the right tech Co-Founder isn’t easy." until you're ready for a full-time hire. This
Building a strong team culture is crucial way, you won't feel tied down when the
In my experience, it's important to empower and trust your team members to drive Aleksa Vukotic time comes to make a bigger decision.
their departments or areas forward. When hiring, I look for people who are smarter and CTO
Chris Spranklen
Brett Shanley more talented than I am and have more knowledge in their specific areas. Once they're Managing Director
Founder & CEO on board, I let them take the lead and advise me on next steps.

I see myself as the composer or conductor of an orchestra, while my team members

are the key players. By working collaboratively and trusting each other, we can build a
strong team culture and achieve our goals together.
25 26
Click to listen to the episode
 Prepare for the cultural impact after redundancies

Lessons from a Start-Up There is a significant cultural impact on those who remain in the company after
redundancies occur which often isn’t anticipated or adequately prepared for. The
employees who are left behind have to say goodbye to colleagues whom they trust
Leader Rona Ruthen
Former VP of
Customer Operations
and care about, and this can create fear and uncertainty about their own job security.
They may also worry about their workload and what the departures mean for their
own role in the company. The uncertainty, fear, and sadness experienced by those
who are left behind can have a significant cultural impact on the overall morale and
Funds still have capital to invest in start-ups atmosphere of the company.

Despite the negative sentiment in the market, deals are still being done. While Management should focus not only on the day of the redundancies, but working
valuations may have decreased and the fundraising process may take longer, funds still towards enabling a sense of security in the state of the company and in people's
Lizzie Lord have capital to invest in start-ups. To navigate the current conditions, plan ahead and roles, allowing time for conversations about what happened.
Raise Ventures be prepared. Financials are under increased scrutiny so having a well-organised and
Manager
solid financial model is crucial.
A bottom-up approach can enable hypergrowth
Unlike before, where revenue growth at any cost was prioritised, investors are focused
on cash burn and capital efficiency. Startups need to demonstrate a clear path to The key is to empower team members at all levels by providing them with direction
profitability and articulate their plans for the future. and guardrails, while also giving them enough space to make their own decisions and
take ownership of them. This allows team members to feel like they are contributing
Anna Keren
as leaders themselves, rather than just executing steps from a cookbook.
Chief Technology &
Product Officer
Look for the right person, not just the right background This fosters a culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous learning, which is
essential for enabling hyper-growth in an organisation.
At AccessPay, we've very intentionally tried to build a culture that's really open &
inclusive. During my career I’ve been impacted by people making assumptions about
Anish Kapoor my ability or how far I can progress, maybe due to background or experience. So I’ve
CEO made sure that at AccessPay it’s all about giving people an opportunity, and then it’s
up to the individual what they do with that opportunity.
M E E T T H E L E A D E R S
What I have found is that those people who have had a convoluted path and have had O F
to fight for every opportunity are the type of people that we want in our business, and T O M O R R O W ' S T E C H
G I A N T S
have actually driven it forward. It works two ways: we believe in them, and they do
amazing things. Listen, stream & download now

27 Click to listen to the episode

Introduction THE IR35 STATUS OF A CONTRACT
USUALLY RELIES ON THE FOLLOWING

According to the June 2023 UK Report on Jobs Inside: The client has significant
by KPMG & REC, temp billings in London in- control over how, when, and where
creased for the 7th consecutive month. This the work is done.
trend is evident among many of our clients who
Outside: Contractor has more
are actively investing in their contract
autonomy over how, when, and
workforce.
where the work is done.

Before releasing a contract role, it's crucial to

ensure IR35 compliance and determine if it Inside: A contractor cannot send a
Inside:
falls inside or outside IR35. The determination substitute to do the work. They're
of the role will have tax implications and will expected to personally carry out the
impact the day rate charged. Inside IR35 roles contracted tasks.
result in lower take-home pay, prompting Outside: The contractor can send a
Outside:
higher day rates than outside contracts as a substitute if needed & the client
compensatory measure. As a contractor, it’s accepts the possibility of someone
important to seek specialist advice tailored to else fulfilling the contract.
your circumstances if you’re unsure about the
status of any contractual roles you apply for.
Inside: The client and contractor
Inside:
The rates provided serve as a general guide, as have clear obligations for work
individual roles will vary based on several provision and acceptance.
factors. For guidance tailored to your specific Outside: Contractor has more
Outside:
requirements, please reach out to the team flexibility in accepting work
directly. If you're looking to hire contractors assignments.
into your team, reach out to our Managing
Director Chris to see how we can help at Inside: Contractor does not bear
Inside:
chris@burnssheehan.co.uk. significant financial risk.
Outside: Contractor bears financial
Outside:
risk for the project.

Joana Fedosenko
Director of Finance *The data shared is accurate as of June 2023 - date
joana@burnssheehan.co.uk of publication.
30
 Our Expertise

Contractor Market Technical Leadership

Outside IR35 Inside IR35

Engineering Leadership £700-£1,000 £850-£1,200

CTO £1,000-£1,500 £1,200-£1,700

Don't let legal jargon discourage you. The process of determining if a role falls inside or outside
IR35 is usually quick and simple. However, it's crucial to ensure accuracy as each contract is Software Engineering
unique and requires its own determination. At Burns Sheehan, our Contractor Care team will Outside IR35 Inside IR35
guide you through the entire process. From assisting you through thedetermination process, to
Software Engineer £400-£500 £500-£600
setting up the contractor on payroll, we'll ensure it's a smooth and positive contract experience.
Senior Software Engineer £550-£650 £650-£750
To simplify the process and minimise complications, I recommend assigning someone from your
Lead Software Engineer £650-£750 £750-£850
team who is knowledgeable about the role's working practices and responsibilities to manage
the process. As the end client, it is crucial for you to provide accurate answers JavaScript Engineer £400-£500 £500-£600
to ensure the correct determination of the role. Failing to do so may result in
Senior JavaScript Engineer £500-£600 £600-£700
potential liability for taxes and National Insurance contributions.
Lead JavaScript Engineer £650-£750 £750-£850
After determining if the role falls inside or outside IR35, there will be different Full Stack Engineer £400-£500 £500-£600
subsequent processes to ensure ongoing compliance. Your recruitment partner
Senior Full Stack Engineer £550-£650 £650-£750
will be available to assist you and offer guidance throughout these processes.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at IR35@burnssheehan.co.uk. Lead Full Stack Engineer £650-£750 £750-£850
Pamela Silva
Operations Compliance
Manager Quality Engineering
Outside IR35 Inside IR35

"Contract rates are being squeezed by market conditions and have Quality Automation Engineer £300-£400 £400-£500
dropped 10% or so over the last 6-9 months. Previously the average Senior Quality Automation Engineer £400-£500 £500-£600
Senior Software Engineer rate would be closer to £600-£700 per day
Lead Quality Automation Engineer £550-£650 £650-£750
outside of IR35."
SDET £450-£550 £550-£650

Senior SDET £500-£600 £600-£700

Simon Evans
Senior Director

31 *Benchmarking data reflects daily pay rate. 32

 Platform, DevOps & Security Data Science & Analytics
Outside IR35 Inside IR35 Outside IR35 Inside IR35

Platform/DevOps Engineer £500-£650 £600-£750 Data Scientist £400-£500 £500-£600

Senior Platform/DevOps Engineer £550-£600 £650-£700 Senior Data Scientist £500-£600 £600-£700

Lead Platform/DevOps Engineer £700-£800 £800-£900 Lead Data Scientist £550-£750 £650-£850

SRE £650-£700 £750-£800 ML Engineer £550-£600 £650-£700

Security Engineer £500-£550 £600-£650 Data Analyst £400-£450 £500-£550

Senior Security Engineer £550-£650 £650-£750 Product Analyst £400-£450 £500-£550

Lead Security Engineer £700-£800 £800-£900

Infrastructure Engineer £450-£550 £550-£650

Project Management
Network Engineer £450-£550 £550-£650
Outside IR35 Inside IR35
Tech Support £250-£300 £350-£400
PMO Analyst £350-£400 £450-£500

PMO Manager £500-£600 £600-£700

Project Manager £500-£600 £600-£700

Data Engineering
Outside IR35 Inside IR35 Senior Project Manager £600-£700 £700-£800

Data Engineer £450-£500 £550-£600 Programme Manager £650-£750 £600-£700

Senior Data Engineer £500-£600 £600-£700 Senior Programme Manager £750-£850 £850-£950

Lead Data Engineer £600-£700 £700-£800

Analytics Engineer £350-£450 £450-£550

Senior Analytics Engineer £450-£550 £550-£650

Lead Analytics Engineer £550-£600 £650-£700

33 *Benchmarking data reflects daily pay rate. 34

 Our Expertise
Product Management
Contractor Market Product Owner
Outside IR35

£400-£500
Inside IR35

£500-£600

Senior Product Owner £500-£600 £600-£700

Product Manager £450-£550 £550-£650

Senior Product Manager £550-£650 £650-£750

When it comes to hiring contractors, there's often a common assumption that it will be
considerably more expensive than hiring a permanent employee. But when you take into
account factors such as national insurance, employee benefits, and additional add-ons,
the cost difference isn't as significant as you might think.
Agile Delivery
Contractors are highly skilled and specialised for the specific tasks at hand. They require Outside IR35 Inside IR35
minimal support and can complete the job efficiently, resulting in faster delivery. They're Scrum Master £500-£600 £600-£700
also typically either immediately available, or have a short notice period of just one week,
Agile Coach £550-£650 £650-£750
enabling you to swiftly address urgent projects or fill critical skills gaps.
Senior Agile Coach £650-£750 £750-£850
In more volatile markets like the one we're currently experiencing, bringing
Business Analyst £400-£500 £500-£600
in highly specialised contractors for specific projects of shorter durations,
rather than committing to someone for an extended period of 3, 4, or 5 years, Senior Business Analyst £500-£600 £600-£700
can be a practical and low-risk option for achieving your project goals. Delivery Manager £550-£650 £650-£750

Nick Wright Senior Delivery Manager £650-£750 £750-£850

Director, Head of Data

"Contract rates can vary significantly based on various factors such as project Product Design
scope and duration, business size, and the level of responsibility in the role. Outside IR35 Inside IR35
The rates we've provided represent averages for the typical roles we encounter
Product Designer £350-£450 £450-£550
at Burns Sheehan. If you're unsure, reach out to us directly and we'll be able to
offer personalised guidance that aligns with your Senior Product Designer £450-£550 £550-£650

specific requirements." UX Researcher £300-£400 £400-£500

Jonny Guy Senior UX Researcher £400-£500 £500-£600
Associate Director

35 *Benchmarking data reflects daily pay rate. 36

Introduction
When it comes to salary benchmarking, it's
crucial to compare against competitors at a Whilst there are exceptions, the levelling of
similar headcount, growth, and funding each role is based on the following.
stage. Our comprehensive salary guide However job titles and seniority will vary
outlines the average salaries for various amongst employers:
tech roles across different stages of
funding. Mid Mid: 3+ years experience
Senio.
Senior: 5+ years experience
From our experience, pre-Series A Lead
Lead:
: 6+ years experience + line management
organisations tend to offer salaries at the Principal:
Lead 8+ years experience (excludes line
lower end of the spectrum, while PE & VC management)
backed organisations are more likely to
advertise roles at the maximum end of the For leadership roles, salary benchmarks have
salary scale. been estimated based on the level of
investment of the organisation.

If you're looking for more information on

specific job roles or need help with your
hiring strategy, feel free to reach out to our
Managing Director, Chris Spranklen at
chris@burnssheehan.co.uk.

We hope that this report will help you make

informed decisions and stay ahead of the
curve in the ever-changing tech industry.

*The data shared is accurate as of May 2023 - date of publication.

30
 Our Expertise

Technology &
Product Leadership C-Suite Average Base Salary 2023 Series A+ Average Salary

Pre-Seed/Seed Series A+ IPO+ 2022 2021

In the current economic climate, the role of Engineering Leaders has never been more Chief Technology Officer £160,000 £200,000 £220,000+ £190,000 £185,000

important. Whether working at strategic or squad level, those leading are vital in relaying the Chief Product Officer £140,000 £160,000 £200,000+ £140,000 £135,000
company vision and galvanising their teams to deliver on business goals where revenue and
Chief Data Officer £130,000 £165,000 £200,000+ £160,000 £155,000
profit have replaced growth and scale as key priorities.
CISO £150,000 £200,000 £275,000+ £155,000 £140,000
The days of bloated software engineering orgs are over (for now!) as companies look to be
lean, protecting their runway and being as attractive as possible to future investors.
Therefore, leaders need to be able to demonstrate the breadth of their skills, driving
performance, quality and speed of delivery while encouraging engineer engagement by
fostering a positive culture. It’s a delicate balancing act, requiring leaders with a variety of
skills which leads me on to my main point…

While the market has changed and salaries are no longer increasing rapidly, top end salaries
on offer haven’t noticeably decreased. However, fewer companies are throwing caution to the
When determining equity, always
wind to compete and more have settled for the middle ground, competitive but not extreme.
take the candidate's
The big shift is in what they expect for these critical hires. There is more of a focus on hiring
circumstances into account.
people who already have the experience they’re need so, in essence, candidates are having to
However, our leadership network
make sideways moves or maybe a small step up. This presents challenges on both sides - CHIEF INFORMATION often consults the Index Ventures
Companies risk hiring people who are ready (or want) bigger challenges, so when the market SECURITY OFFICER
benchmarks as a helpful reference
does shift they are likely to leave and candidates must decide if it’s
point during equity discussions.
worth leaving their current company for a similar role that might not CHIEF TECHNOLOGY
offer the immediate progression they crave. It certainly doesn’t make OFFICER
Rewarding Talent: A guide to
hiring any easier!
stock options for European
CHIEF DATA OFFICER
entrepreneurs (Index Ventures).
Simon Evans
Senior Director
Source: ECI, Growth Characteristics Report November 2022
39 40
 Our Expertise

Software Engineering
Software Engineering
Leadership Average Base Salary 2023 Series A+ Average Salary

When speaking to my network it has become clear that there’s often a degree of Pre-Seed/Seed Series A+ IPO+ 2022 2021
miscommunication among candidates when applying for Engineering Manager roles, as many Quality Engineering Manager £100,000 £110,000 £120,000 - -
assume that the role is hands-off due to the lack of coding responsibilities on the job
Engineering Manager £100,000 £120,000 £125,000+ £115,000 £115,000
description. Only during the interview process do they learn that it's actually hands-on. This
leads to a lot of dropouts after just one or two interviews, as candidates feel the role is more Head of Engineering £120,000 £130,000 £140,000+ £125,000 £120,000
like a Technical Lead than a people-focused Engineering Manager. VP/Director of Technology £140,000 £160,000 £180,000+ £155,000 £140,000

To prevent this confusion, hiring managers should clearly specify whether the role is hands-on
or hands-off on the job description, or even include the percentage of hands-on work required.
Quality Engineering Base Salary 2023 Average Salary

Min. Average Max. 2022 2021

Grace Duffy
Senior Recruiter, Automation Engineer (Web) £40,000 £65,000 £75,000 £62,500 £55,000
Software Engineering Senior/Lead Automation
Leadership £80,000 £95,000 £110,000 £80,000 £70,000
Engineer (Web)

Quality Engineer (Mobile) £65,000 £75,000 £80,000 - -

Senior/Lead Quality
£80,000 £100,000 £110,000 - -
Engineer (Mobile)

SDET £70,000 £75,000 £85,000 £75,000 £60,000

I think it's vitally important to not give people ceilings, just because they're not
Senior SDET £90,000 £100,000 £110,000 £95,000 £80,000
leading a team. The positive impact individual contributors make shouldn't be
overlooked, certainly in Software Engineering. Not everyone wants or needs to go Lead / Principal SDET £110,000 £120,000 £140,000 £110,000 £95,000
into management, and it's important that salaries are a dimension of the leverage
and impact that an individual has, rather than the number of people that they lead.

Frankie Woodhead
S6 Ep 8 | The Realities Of
Director of Product & Engineering Rapid Scaling

41 42
 Our Expertise

Software Engineering
Backend Engineering Base Salary 2023 Average Salary

We've witnessed a significant shift in the types of opportunities that are most attractive to Min. Average Max. 2022 2021
software engineering talent. Start-ups offering high growth and extensive equity have been Software Engineer* £60,000 £70,000 £80,000 £62,500 £52,500
replaced with businesses that have established customer bases and more sustainable growth
Senior Software Engineer £80,000 £90,000 £100,000 £90,000 £85,000
plans. The layoffs throughout the course of 2022/23 in the start-up scale-up world have
Lead Software Engineer £100,000 £110,000 £115,000 £105,000 £100,000
resulted in some exceptional Software Engineers on the market, particularly those with
Python skills. We've also seen growth in demand with clients working within the Microsoft Staff Engineer £100,000 £120,000 £130,000 £120,000 -
ecosystem, which has proven to be more resilient due to its enterprise-level nature. Principal Software Engineer £120,000 £130,000 £150,000 £130,000 £120,000

We see the role of a Software Engineer continue to diversify, with

candidates being increasingly expected to demonstrate product,
data or infrastructure focused skills. It's important for Software
Engineers to be versatile & to keep an eye on the horizon; the
speed at which technology is evolving is faster than ever so it's
important for Engineers to stay on top of this.
Ollie Strong
Software Engineering Team Lead

I'm a proponent of Software Craftsmanship and encourage engineers to be

Whilst we look for technical ability in one of our core languages we want developers
proactive and not passive when joining a team. Instead of just conforming to
who are eager to expand their skills, and also bring in new ideas to help solve
existing practices, I suggest challenging them and trying different approaches to
problems. The days of a developer just being a great Java or C# coder are long gone.
see what works and what doesn't. It's about understanding trade-offs and
Our teams are responsible for everything from user research to deployment, so
learning from them.
there's the chance to get involved in all areas from idea to solution.
Julien Lavigne Du Cadet Nick Cooke
S5 Ep 9 | From 0 to 1 Million
VP of Engineering Head Of Development
Users in 36 Hours: Building A
Platform That Can Rapidly Evolve

43 44
 Our Expertise

Software Engineering
JavaScript Engineering Base Salary 2023 Average Salary

React and Node.js continue to dominate as two key JavaScript frameworks. React is Min. Average Max. 2022 2021
considered the ‘go-to’ when building frontend web apps ahead of Vue.js and Angular, with Frontend Software Engineer £55,000 £65,000 £75,000 £65,000 £55,000
Node.js being favoured for its versatility when building front and backend applications.
Senior Frontend Engineer £75,000 £90,000 £105,000 £90,000 £85,000

There's been a greater emergence of Next.js over the past 12 months for server-rendered Full Stack Engineer £60,000 £70,000 £80,000 £70,000 £65,000
single-page apps, following the release of Next.js 13 towards the end of last year. Nest.js is Senior Full Stack Engineer £85,000 £90,000 £110,000 £90,000 £85,000
also becoming more prevalent on the backend when partnering with Typescript, which is
Lead Engineer £95,000 £105,000 £115,000 £105,000 £92,000
more and more commonly being used for BFF (backend-for-frontend).
Staff Engineer £110,000 £120,000 £130,000 £115,000 -
It will be interesting to monitor the emergence of Rust and its use for JavaScript tooling.
Principal Engineer £120,000 £130,000 £150,000 £130,000 £105,000
Various releases over the past five years or so have seen it gain greater popularity - I will
definitely be keeping an eye on its influence on the JavaScript ecosystem in 2023 and beyond.

How To Define The Role Of A Senior Software Engineer

Career progression is high on the agenda for most employees. The impact
an Engineer has on their team and the wider organisation is probably the key MOST PROMINENT LANGUAGES IN TECHNOLOGY STACKS
factor in assessing whether they will be considered a Senior in the market.
REACT
To measure this effectively, companies need to offer a clear, structured PYTHON TYPESCRIPT JAVA NODE NATIVE .NET PHP ANDROID

guide to enable them to improve and achieve their personal goals.

Tim Cain
Senior JavaScript Recruiter

45.9% 43.2% 33.8% 33.8% 29.7% 23% 16.2% 14.9%

Source: Burns Sheehan 2023 CTO Outlook

45
 Optimising Your Software
Engineering Interview Process
" One thing I learned from my hiring
experience is the importance of tracking
progress through interview stages and
identifying drop-off points.
If you're not getting enough applicants,
you may have an advertising problem. If
you have a tech test in the way and lots of
applicants aren't getting interviews,
consider dropping the tech test. And if
many candidates reach the pairing
exercise but perform poorly, perhaps the
tech test needs adjustment. It's essential
to build the funnel and look for problems.
Also, assess how new hires perform three
months after joining. While take-home
tests and pairing exercises have their pros
and cons, they help balance finding the
right talent and the risk of bad hires.
Dan Knight
Vertical Lead - Fashion Tech
47
The Low Code /
No Code Revolution
Low code and no code tools have become
increasingly popular as organisations look to
LEAST FAVOURITE STAGE OF
AN INTERVIEW PROCESS optimise IT processes and reduce costs. As well
as their ability to reduce development time and
TAKE HOME costs, they can also help bridge the gap between
TECHNICAL TEST technical and non-technical teams, leading to
more user-focused and effective solutions.
PSYCHOMETRIC /
PERSONALITY TESTING
With faster development cycles and the ability to
iterate rapidly, organisations can bring products
CASE STUDY / to market more quickly, giving them a
PRESENTATION
competitive advantage and potentially increasing
revenue. We are seeing more companies
Source: Burns Sheehan 2023 Community Survey
leveraging no-code and low-code tools to build
an MVP, before moving away from them when
they are ready to build out the full product or the
next iteration of it.
Recently, a lot of clients have shifted their
interview methods from pairing exercises The addition of generative AI is expected to
and take home tasks to technical Q&As lower barriers to adoption even further, with low
and code reviews. code leaders Notion, Bubble and Microsoft's
Power Platform all integrating AI features into
For in-demand talent, a well-structured their platforms.But the rise of low code and no
hiring process with timely feedback at code tools isn’t without challenges.
each stage is crucial. Organisations need to ensure platforms are
secure and comply with data protection
Corey Higson-Morris
regulations and strike a balance between
Senior Software
empowering non-technical users and maintaining
Engineering Recruiter
control over the development process.
As a non-technical CEO/Co-Founder,
using a no code / low code platform like
Bubble has been a game-changer. It gave
me a better understanding of the build
process and allowed me to take on more
of a project manager role while still being
in control of what was being developed.
Sam Royle
Co-Founder & CEO
S6 Ep 12 | The Power of Low-Code &
No-Code Tools
As the sector is struggling to keep up with
demand, we were able to offer no code / low
code solutions to our clients. Companies
want applications built quickly - sacrificing
a level of customisation for a speed at which
we can develop. This makes it a perfect
solution for replacing excel workbooks and
SharePoint applications that require some
level of complexity without having to fully
develop an application.
Being able to accommodate these needs has
really helped offer a fast and effective
service to our client base at this challenging
time.
Stephanie Yacoubian
Talent Acquisition Lead
 Our Expertise
Platform & Security
Platform, DevOps & Security Leadership Average Base Salary 2023

Pre-Seed/Seed Series A+ IPO+

Series A+ Average Salary

2022 2021

Head of Platform/DevOps £120,000 £150,000 £180,000 £130,000 £115,000

Head of Security £120,000 £160,000 £180,000 £140,000 £120,000

Head of SRE £120,000 £155,000 £180,000 - -

Our clients have been consistently hiring for SRE/Platform/DevOps roles, with a
notable emphasis on candidates who possess knowledge of "DevSecOps" in addition
to the traditional tech stack.
Platform/DevOps/SRE Base Salary 2023 Average Salary
We have certainly noticed an uplift in clients expectations of candidates to come Min. Average Max. 2022 2021
into the office 1 or 2 days per week, however, companies that are more flexible in
Platform/DevOps Engineer £60,000 £70,000 £85,000 £67,500 £65,000
this regard tend to have greater success in attracting top talent.
Snr. Platform/DevOps Engineer £80,000 £95,000 £110,000 £95,000 £90,000
AWS remains the primary commercial cloud platform, but there Lead Platform/DevOps Engineer £90,000 £120,000 £150,000 £117,500 £110,000
has been an increase in start-up/scale-ups using GCP and larger
SRE £60,000 £80,000 £90,000 - -
organisations migrating to Azure. Kubernetes remains a highly
desired skill, and Infrastructure as Code using Terraform is a Senior SRE £90,000 £105,000 £120,000 - -
major requirement for clients, with less focus on software Lead SRE £100,000 £130,000 £150,000 - -
engineering skills.
IT Manager £55,000 £65,000 £75,000 - -

Tom Dunford
Associate Director,
Platform, DevOps & Security
PREFERRED CLOUD PROVIDER
What's your focus as a DevOps team for
2023?

Improving Cloud security 35%

Automating and streamlining 32%
Increasing system reliability 19%
Reducing long-term costs 14%
55% 31% 8%
Source: Sam Robinson, LinkedIn
49 Source: Felix Rayment, LinkedIn 50
 Cloud & Cyber Security Security
Min.
Base Salary 2023

Average Max. 2022

Average Salary

2021

Security Engineer £70,000 £80,000 £90,000 £80,000 £75,000

Data from our 2023 CTO Pulse Check
revealed that Cloud was the number one Senior Security Engineer £75,000 £95,000 £120,000 £95,000 £90,000
adoption area in technology for 2023. Principal Security Engineer £145,000 £130,000
OF CTOS HAVE PLANS TO £110,000 £150,000 £180,000
Red Hat's 2023 Global Tech Outlook also ADOPT CLOUD IN 2023
confirmed that security and Cloud
infrastructure are the top IT funding
OF TEAMS LACK SKILLED Infrastructure Base Salary 2023 Average Salary
PROFESSIONALS IN CLOUD
priorities across industries and regions, INFRASTRUCTURE Min. Average Max. 2022 2021
with 44% of respondents ranking security
Infrastructure Engineer £50,000 £60,000 £70,000 £60,000 £55,000
in their top three priorities and cloud
infrastructure at 36%. Senior Infrastructure Engineer £70,000 £80,000 £95,000 £80,000 £80,000
OF CTOS HAVE PLANS TO - -
ADOPT CYBERSECURITY Network Engineer £50,000 £60,000 £70,000
In today's digital landscape, cybersecurity IN 2023 - -
Senior Network Engineer £70,000 £80,000 £95,000
has become a critical component of
OF TEAMS IDENTIFIED Technical Support Engineer £35,000 £40,000 £55,000 - -
technological advancements. Companies CYBERSECURITY AS A
are heavily investing in protecting their MISSING SKILLSET
systems, networks, and programs, and
highly skilled cybersecurity professionals Source: Burns Sheehan 2023 CTO Outlook
are in high demand. In fact, 21% of CTOs
identified a cyber security skills gap in
their organisation. We embedded a security mindset into our DevOps
processes by creating a security champions programme.

The programme engaged different teams through

workshops, seminars, and tournaments, which led to
Cloud & Digital services, Cybersecurity, B2B SaaS businesses, earlier detection and remediation of vulnerabilities, and
and Data & Analytics are areas of high activity and interest for a more secure production environment.
investment in the tech market – these sectors are all exposed
Shaojing Elfin Lee
to strong growth drivers, and there are a number of profitable Cyber Security Lead
growth businesses in them.
Watch the full talk.
-Duncan Ramsay, ECI Partners

51 52
 Our Expertise Data Leadership Average Base Salary 2023 Series A+ Average Salary

Pre-Seed/Seed Series A+ IPO+ 2022 2021

Data & Business Intelligence Head of Data Analytics £100,000

£110,000
£115,000

£125,000
£130,000

£140,000
£115,000

£125,500
£105,000

Head of Data Engineering £125,000

Head of Data Science £100,000 £130,000 £160,000 £130,000 £125,000

Director of Data £120,000 £150,000 £180,000 £135,000 -

The Data landscape has continued to change over the past year, particularly in areas such
as Analytics Engineering, Product Analytics, and Product Data Management. Technical skills
remain important, but equally important is the ability for these professionals to be
Data Engineering &
commercially-minded and work effectively with stakeholders. Analytics Engineering Base Salary 2023 Average Salary

Min. Average Max. 2022 2021

Data Engineering has always been our busiest area and this continues to be the case, but we
Data Engineer £55,000 £60,000 £70,000 £60,000 £55,000
are seeing a big shift towards the need for Seniors & Leads to adopt DevOps &
Infrastructure related technologies – namely Kubernetes & Terraform which are becoming Senior Data Engineer £75,000 £85,000 £100,000 £85,000 £80,000

the new buzzwords of Data Engineering. Lead Data Engineer £95,000 £110,000 £125,000 £110,000 £105,000

Principal Data Engineer £100,000 £120,000 £140,000 £120,000 £120,000

In Data Science, companies are now more aware of the need for a
Analytics Engineer £45,000 £55,000 £65,000 £55,000 £47,000
solid Data Engineering framework before hiring a Data Scientist, a
change from previous years where Data Science was seen as the Senior Analytics Engineer £70,000 £85,000 £100,000 £77,500 £62,000
most attractive hire without the necessary infrastructure in place. Lead Analytics Engineer £85,000 £100,000 £110,000 £97,000 £77,500
We've noticed in particular that SMEs are focusing on making sure
Data Engineering & / or Analytics Engineering is the bedrock of the Nick Wright
function before moving into Science & Analytics. Director, Data & Data Analytics &
Business Intelligence
Product Analytics Base Salary 2023 Average Salary

Min. Average Max. 2022 2021

Data Analyst £40,000 £47,500 £55,000 £47,500 £47,000

Senior Data Analyst £55,000 £65,000 £75,000 £62,500 £65,000

Lead Data Analyst £75,000 £85,000 £90,000 £80,000 £75,000

Product Analyst £55,000 £65,000 £75,000 - -

69% 31%
Senior Analyst £65,000 £75,000 £85,000 - -

Lead Product Analyst £75,000 £87,500 £100,000 - -

53 Source: Nick Wright, LinkedIn 54

 AI has grown increasingly important in recent
years, most recently with large language
models evolving & opening up new use-cases
AI, Chat GPT & for businesses from all industries, particularly
Data Science Base Salary 2023 Average Salary

around research, analysis, & chat.

Beyond... Data Scientist
Min.

£45,000
Average

£60,000
Max.

£70,000
2022

£60,000
2021

£55,000
It's really interesting to see how quickly AI
Senior Data Scientist £75,000 £90,000 £110,000 £87,500 £80,000
has moved from something intriguing, to
something that's delivering tangible value for Lead Data Scientist £85,000 £100,000 £130,000 £100,000 £105,000
The rise of AI in the UK tech market is
accelerating rapidly, with the sector businesses we are invested in as well. Principal Data Scientist £100,000 £120,000 £140,000 £120,000 £120,000
taking 14% of all UK VC investment in -Duncan Ramsay, ECI Partners ML Engineer £50,000 £65,000 £75,000 £65,000 £55,000
2022 (Tech Nation via UKTN).
Senior ML Engineer £80,000 £90,000 £100,000 £87,500 £80,000
AI startups Quantexa, Stability.ai, and
Beamery are among the latest Principal ML Engineer £100,000 £115,000 £130,000 £115,000 £110,000
organisations to reach unicorn status in
the UK.

Chat GPT and other generative AI tools

For a Data Scientist, your Data Engineer is your best friend.
have been making headlines since the SEARCH &
33% Data Scientists need a clean, structured and coherent data
end of last year, with automation EXPLANATION
model to build their models. Get Data Engineering in line first,
promising to change the future of work
and the Data Science magic follows.
by eliminating manual tasks,
streamlining processes, and reducing Mark Stevenson
silos. A survey of our LinkedIn CODE Head of Data Science
DEVELOPMENT
26%
community revealed that 54% 54% of
of
people have
have introduced
introducedgenerative
generativeAIAI
tools into
into their
theirday-to-day
day-to-daywork
work, with
22% using them 'a lot,' primarily for
efficient searches and explanations. CONTENT Nowadays, with the power of data, there are numerous opportunities to offer new features to
25% CREATION customers powered by machine learning. Additionally, there is a huge potential to increase team
Our 2023 CTO Pulse Check revealed efficiency using generative AI tools. While I don't believe that applications like Chat GPT will
65% of
that 65% of CTOs
CTOsplan
planto
toadopt
adoptAI
AIoror completely change the world and make us all redundant, I do think that it will make engineers
ML technologies
Ml technologies this year,
year placing it much more efficient, and this is a great opportunity we are experimenting with now.
third behind Cloud (78%) and Big Data
IDEA 16% Richard Rosenberg
& Analytics (77%). GENERATION
CTO

55 Source: Burns Sheehan, LinkedIn

56
 Our Expertise
Product & Delivery
Product Management Leadership
Pre-Seed/Seed
Average Base Salary 2023

Series A+ IPO+
Series A+ Average Salary

2022 2021

Head of Delivery £110,000 £125,000 £135,000 £115,000 £110,000

Head of Product £110,000 £140,000 £150,000 £130,000 £120,000

Director of Product - £150,000 £170,000 £135,000 £125,000

Over the last 6-12 months, we’ve noticed continued increased demand for specialised
Product Managers, particularly around the areas of Core, Growth and Platform and VP Product - £160,000 £180,000 £140,000 £130,000

expect this to continue into 2023. *Pre Seed/Seed organisations typically have either a Head of, VP or Director of Product, but not all three positions. As a result, salaries for these roles
tend to be similar.

Whilst all Product Managers will always share common skills around communication,
collaboration, user centricity, problem solving and strategic thinking, many companies at Product Management Base Salary 2023 Average Salary
certain stages of growth are recognising the benefits of hiring specialised skill sets. Min. Average Max. 2022 2021
We’ve found that this is particularly true of scale ups (Series B +) who are aligning
Product Manager £60,000 £70,000 £85,000 £62,500 £55,000
product and engineering to a specific part of the customer journey. This often means
increased ownership for the Product Manager in comparison to larger businesses with Senior Product Manager £85,000 £92,500 £100,000 £90,000 £80,000

much larger product teams where each Product Manager may only be focused on Lead Product Manager £100,000 £112,500 £125,000 £100,000 £92,500
isolated features of a product as opposed to owning an entire vertical. Group Product Manager* £110,000 £120,000 £130,000 - -

Product Owner £55,000 £62,500 £70,000 £60,000 £52,000

You can read more about specialised Product Managers here:
The Role of Product Manager is Evolving Senior Product Owner £75,000 £80,000 £85,000 £80,000 £70,000

*Group Product Manager can be similar to Head of Product. As a result, salaries for these positions tend to be similar.

Louise Smith
In my opinion, the right time to hire the first Product Manager is when the company
Senior Director
wants to do more than one thing at a time, such as developing multiple products or
Product & Delivery
features in parallel.

Each stream of work can benefit from having a dedicated Product Manager who can
effectively interpret business requirements for the technologists and ensure that the
development efforts align with the overall business goals.
Anna Keren
CPTO
S5 Ep 8 | What kind of leadership
approach best enables hyper growth?
57 58
 Cross-Functional
Product Teams
" At Beauty Pie, we're moving from project-
based & feature-led development, to
outcome-based cross-functional teams that
deliver tangible business results. Recently,
we restructured our Product & Engineering
teams into 4 distinct verticals , aligned with
core parts of the customer journey. The aim
was to create high-velocity, independent
teams that can move, learn & release fast, &
maximise the team’s ability to focus on the
highest impact work.
In the first few months, we've already seen
an increase in teams' motivation &
ownership, as well as their understanding of
their respective verticals, including technical,
business, & (most-importantly) customer-
related aspects.
Overall, we're seeing smarter & more focused
work, which is driving a meaningful shift
towards targeting business metrics, such as
conversions in our case."
Maria Kucheryavaya
VP of Product
59
The Evolving Role of an
Agile Coach
" The role of an Agile coach is evolving, with a This will lead to a shift away from the broad
trend towards specialisation in specific umbrella of Agile Coaching and towards
areas of the Agile process. These roles more tangible, targeted roles that address
include: specific business needs.
ACQUISITION SHOPPING
(DISCOVER) EXPERIENCE
(CONVERT) Agile Delivery By focusing on specific areas of the Agile
which focuses on the development process process, these specialised roles can
to ensure it is flexible and responsive. provide more effective guidance, support,
Programme Management and coaching to teams, ultimately leading
which targets large programmes of work. to more successful Agile implementations."
SHOPPING RETENTION Product Coach Manuele Piastra
EXPERIENCE (ENGAGE)
(BUY) which addresses the gap in Scrum's Agile Coach
approach to moving from idea to product (Life Science, Finance, eCommerce,
EACH VERTICAL CONSISTS OF: backlog. Healthcare & Digital Publishing)
Product Leader Organisational and Transformation Coach
Responsible for prioritisation & scope which helps leaders establish a compelling
Engineering Manager vision and measurable goals while leading
Responsible for delivery teams with a servant-leadership style.
Dedicated UX Designer
Other Agile coaches prefer to sharpen their
Driving digital customer experience
axe in effectively supporting in other areas,
Data Analyst like DevOps and automated testing. While
Providing data & insights to support this isn't an exhaustive list, as Agile
prioritisation, scope & decisions practices become more integrated into
Cross-functional Engineering Team business needs, we anticipate these roles
Building experiments & solutions will become more consolidated and
connected.
60
 Agile Delivery Base Salary 2023 Average Salary

Our Expertise Min. Average Max. 2022 2021

Business Analyst £60,000 £67,500 £75,000 £62,500 £52,500

Delivery & Project Management Senior Business Analyst £75,000 £80,000 £85,000 £75,000 £68,000

Scrum Master £70,000 £75,000 £80,000 £70,000 £65,000

Senior Scrum Master £80,000 £85,000 £90,000 £85,000 £79,000

Delivery Manager £70,000 £77,500 £85,000 £70,000 £65,000

Over the past few years, we have seen agile methodologies gain more and more
Senior Delivery Manager £85,000 £92,500 £100,000 £85,000 £79,000
popularity in various specialisms, including project management. The urgency for
change and keeping a competitive edge for companies going through a digital Lead Delivery Manager £100,000 £110,000 £120,000 £100,000 £95,000
transformation is driving a need for an approach that is agile, result-oriented, and
Agile Coach £80,000 £90,000 £100,000 - -
manageable.
Senior Agile Coach £100,000 £110,000 £120,000 - -
This trend is expected to spill over into change management and will likely result in
a shift in the skills and competencies required. Traditional approaches may have Project Management Base Salary 2023
emphasised planning and execution, while agile change management requires an
Min. Average Max.
emphasis on flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to manage uncertainty.
PMO Analyst £40,000 £50,000 £60,000

PMO Manager £60,000 £70,000 £80,000

Senior PMO Manager £80,000 £90,000 £100,000

BUSINESS
LEADERS SAY
Ellie Staves
Project Manager £60,000 £70,000 £80,000 DIGITAL
Senior Product & Delivery Recruiter TRANSFORMATION
Senior Project Manager £80,000 £85,000 £90,000 IS THE BIGGEST
Programme Manager £90,000 £95,000 £100,000
CHALLENGE THEY
FACE TODAY
Senior Programme Manager £100,000 £110,000 £120,000

Change & Transformation Base Salary 2023 Source: ECI, Growth Characteristics
Report November 2022
Min. Average Max.

Change Analyst £40,000 £55,000 £70,000

Change Manager £60,000 £80,000 £100,000

Change Director £80,000 £100,000 £120,000

Head of Change £100,000 £100,000 £160,000

61 62
 Our Expertise

Product Design
Product Design Base Salary 2023 Average Salary

Min. Average Max. 2022 2021

Companies have recognised the value of hiring skilled Product Designers for growth. As Product Designer £40,000 £55,000 £70,000 £55,000 £50,000
technology keeps evolving, it's crucial to have a designer who stays up-to-date with Senior Product Designer £70,000 £85,000 £105,000 £85,000 £75,000
design trends and can create an intuitive, engaging user experience.
Lead Product Designer £85,000 £95,000 £115,000 £90,000 £82,500
Read more here:
The Business Case for Hiring a Product Designer. UX Researcher £40,000 £60,000 £70,000 - -

Senior UX Researcher £60,000 £70,000 £85,000 - -

In addition to technical skills, soft skills such as effective communication and trust in the - -
Lead UX Researcher £70,000 £85,000 £100,000
design process are highly sought-after by hiring managers. Strong soft skills can bridge
the gap between business and user needs and reduce hiring time by bringing in Mid-Level UX/UI Designer £40,000 £55,000 £70,000 - -
Designers with a desire to learn. -
Senior UX/UI Designer £70,000 £85,000 £100,000 -

While some Product Designers have returned to the office for collaboration with the Lead UX/UI Designer £85,000 £100,000 £115,000 - -
team, the preferred working policy is a hybrid approach with 2 days in the office per week
to maintain a work-life balance.

A great Product Designer thoroughly understands

their customers, their pain points, and the ways
What style of Product Design Interview that align best with the business's goals by
do you prefer?
adapting their thinking and actions based on the
Portfolio Review 63% most up-to-date insights and data available.
Megan McArdle Take home Design Task 17%
Product Design (UX/UI) Alex Giorgi-Coll
Recruiter Whiteboarding Session 15% Lead Product Designer
Other 4%

Source: Megan McCardle, LinkedIn

63 64
 Introduction

This is our 1st edition UK CTO Pulse Check. The objective is to track the latest
thinking and actions of CTOs representing the UK’s tech scene, so that we can
summarise key trends and patterns to help businesses find opportunity in uncertain
times.

The report was compiled by Burns Sheehan using data collected from 77 Chief
Technology Officers from UK based, tech-led organisations.

If you'd like to discuss any of the data further, or are looking for more information on

C specific areas covered, feel free to reach out to our Managing Director, Chris
Spranklen at chris@burnssheehan.co.uk.

T
O
66
 CTO Pulse Check

Business Strategy & Opportunities THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I FACE AS A CTO TODAY IS...

EXECUTIVE BUY-IN:
82% OF CTOS HAVE A SEAT ON THEIR COMPANY
BOARD OR EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM

INVESTMENT PRIORITIES:
BIGGEST AREA FOR TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT::
BUILDING NEW PRODUCTS & FEATURES

EXTERNAL INFLUENCES:
BIGGEST ISSUES TO DISRUPT TECH ROADMAPS:
CUSTOMER ACQUISITION & HIRING TALENT

BUSINESS PRIORITIES:
TOP BUSINESS PRIORITIES ALIGNED TO
TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY As a company, Spendesk sells software in what is now a highly
61% competitive market. Our success largely depends on how well we create
and update our software to stay ahead of the competition, operate it
efficiently, and do so cost-effectively. Like many CTOs, my top priority
DEVELOPING NEW PRODUCTS OR SERVICES and biggest challenge is to continuously improve our agile product
54.5% engineering process to keep us innovating.

Richard Rosenberg
IMPROVING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE CTO
51.9%

IMPROVING OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY

67 68
 CTO Pulse Check HAVE YOU ADOPTED, OR DO YOU MOST PROMINENT LANGUAGES
HAVE PLANS TO ADOPT ANY OF IN TECHNOLOGY STACKS
Technology & Skill Sets THE FOLLOWING IN 2023
CLOUD (78%) PYTHON (46%)

BIG DATA / ANALYTICS (77%) TYPESCRIPT (43%)

The most significant knowledge gap

JAVA (34%)
according to CTOs is Technical Leadership, AI. /ML (65%)
WHERE DO YOU BELIEVE IS THE
with 36% identifying it as a challenge.
BIGGEST SKILLS SHORTAGE IN CYBER SECURITY (61%) NODE (34%)

Data Engineering was the second largest YOUR TECH FUNCTION?

REACT NATIVE (30%)
skills gap (30%), followed by Cloud VARIANCE TESTING (18%)

Infrastructure (27%). As more companies

ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION (7%) .NET (23%)
migrate their operations to the cloud, it's TECHNICAL
essential to have a deep understanding of 36% LEADERSHIP
IOT (6%) PHP (16%)
cloud infrastructure and how it can support
business goals. And with data becoming an AR / VR (4%) ANDROID (15%)
increasingly valuable asset, companies
must have the necessary skills to extract DATA METAVERSE (4%) SWIFT (10%)
ENGINEERING 30%
meaningful insights from their data and
make informed decisions.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

were identified as a knowledge gap by 23%
27%
of CTOs. As these technologies become
increasingly prevalent in business
applications, companies are looking to
develop the necessary expertise to take
full advantage of their potential. AI / ML
Finally, Cybersecurity was cited as a
challenge by 21% of CTOs. With
cybersecurity threats becoming more
sophisticated and frequent, businesses are
taking steps to ensure they have robust 21%
security measures in place to safeguard
their data and systems.
69
CLOUD
When it comes to deciding on your tech stack, there are several variables to consider.
You'll have to make trade-offs between speed of development and the longevity of your
software, and take into account that different technologies have varying candidate pools
and price points, so the decision will influence your time to hire. Your existing tech stack
will also play a role, as re-platforming can be pretty time-consuming and laborious.
23%
To make an informed decision, seek advice from your team and external sources like
investors and CTOs. Your team may be biased towards certain languages, which could
make hiring additional engineers challenging, so an external perspective is crucial to
ensure your choice aligns with your business goals.
CYBERSECURITY
Dan Knight
Vertical Lead - Fashion Tech
70
 CTO Pulse Check

Hiring & Retention

HIRING FOR STABILITY RATHER THAN GROWTH:
55% SAY HIRING IS 'VERY IMPORTANT' IN TERMS OF
55% ACHIEVING TECH STRATEGY. BUT 40% EXPECT HEAD
COUNT TO REMAIN THE SAME. TOP 3 REASONS FOR TOP
TALENT LEAVING

SALARY EXPECTATIONS HINDERING HIRING:

BIGGEST BARRIERS FACED WHEN HIRING FOR
HIGHER
NEW ROLES: COMPENSATION
01
28% WAS THE AVERAGE PACKAGE
EMPLOYEE ATTRITION RATE
ACROSS 2022 FOR OVER 50%
OF CTOS
INFLATED SALARY EXPECTATIONS
20% BETTER
CAREER
PROSPECTS 02
ACCESS TO DIVERSE TALENT / TRAINING
20%
OF CTOS WERE HAPPY WITH
THEIR ATTRITION RATE
MORE
LACK OF TECHNICAL SKILLS & EXPERIENCE IN CANDIDATES INTERESTING
03
/ EXCITING
WORK
CORE IMPROVEMENT AREAS:
TEAMS ARE SEEING THE MOST SUCCESS OVERCOMING
CHALLENGES BY:

41% 40% 40%

OPTIMISING THE OFFERING FULLY IMPROVING THE

RECRUITMENT REMOTE OPTIONS IN-HOUSE TALENT
71 PROCESS TEAM 72
 CTO Pulse Check WHAT'S YOUR KEY REASON FOR ASKING
PEOPLE TO WORK FROM THE OFFICE?
Hybrid Working Practices
HYBRID WORKING POLICIES:
HOW OFTEN ARE EMPLOYEES EXPECTED TO
WORK TOGETHER IN-PERSON:
30%

VARIABLE - WE DEPLOY A 'WORK WHERE IT WORKS' POLICY

21%

2 DAYS IN THE OFFICE PER WEEK

20%

FULLY REMOTE
WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ATTRACT, RETAIN AND
ATTRACTIVE WORKING ENVIRONMENTS: ENGAGE EMPLOYEES IN A HYBRID ENVIRONMENT?
64% BELIEVE THEIR OFFICE ENVIRONMENT
64% PROVIDES THE RIGHT EXPERIENCE TO ATTRACT
BRING THE TEAM TOGETHER OCCASIONALLY FOR COLLABORATION SESSIONS (89.3%)
EMPLOYEES TO COMMUTE BACK TO THE OFFICE
PROVIDE ACCESS TO SHARED WORKING SPACES (46.7%)

HOW HAS HYBRID WORKING IMPACTED THE FOLLOWING:

INTRODUCED FLEXIBLE WORKING HOURS (40%)
MENTAL WELLNESS 50%

INTRODUCED ‘WORK WHERE IT WORKS’ OR NOMADIC WORKING INITIATIVES (26.7%)

COMPANY COLLABORATION 40%
INVESTED IN MENTORING PROGRAMMES (22.7%)
INCLUSIVITY 40%
RECRUITING TALENT FROM OTHER COUNTRIES TO WORK REMOTELY (22.7%)
WORK-LIFE BALANCE 78%

CANDIDATE ATTRACTION 59%

73 DECREASED INCREASED 74
 CTO Pulse Check

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion While there's an awareness of what needs to be done to improve diversity
and inclusion within the UK tech industry, the actual action being taken is
pretty woeful. People will always bend towards what's easy, due to external
macro or financial pressures. Saying the right thing is easy, but doing the
right thing is the real challenge.

We need to showcase how different people get into tech, highlight success
stories, and provide role models for people to look up to. There is no one
silver bullet, but small incremental changes can make a difference. The first
incremental change you can make is to change yourself and your attitude.
Whether you're an employer, employee, owner or founder, everyone needs
to start thinking differently. When we start thinking differently, we act
differently, and that's the only way we will start to see real change.
43% OF RESPONDENTS SAID WOMEN
MAKE UP BETWEEN 10-20% OF THEIR 72% Hayley Roberts
Co-Founder & CEO
SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM S5 Ep 7 What Can Be Done To Improve
Diversity In Tech?
HOWEVER, 72% OF
RESPONDENTS BELIEVE
THEIR ORGANISATION HAS
IMPLEMENTED DEI POLICIES
THAT ENABLE THEM TO
ATTRACT A DIVERSE POOL
OF TALENT.

ONLY 0-10% OF SENIOR MANAGEMENT

TEAMS ARE MADE UP OF PEOPLE FROM
AN ETHNIC MINORITY BACKGROUND,
ACCORDING TO 71% OF RESPONDENTS

75 76
 About Burns Sheehan
Burns Sheehan are a specialist recruitment agency based in London & Manchester.
We partner with growing organisations with a compelling story to tell and essentially
surround them with world class tech talent. We create industry-leading teams across all
sectors in tech, supplying permanent, interim and contract staff across: Software
Engineering, Product & Delivery, Platform Engineering & Infrastructure, Data, C-Suite &
Leadership

Whether you're looking for a particular hire or building an entire team from scratch, we
work with tech-led businesses to create a personalised solution that works.

We're all about community engagement and building meaningful relationships. Through
powerful, buzz-generating events, podcast
series, and market insights, we'll help amplify
your voice within the tech community so you can always attract the best future talent. With thanks to our contributors:
Aleksa Vukotic, thestartupfactory.tech
Alex Giorgi-Coll, Napo
Anish Kapoor, AccessPay
Anna Keren, thirdfort
Ben Davies, Praetura Ventures
Ben Sweeney, VidiVet
Brett Shanley, Knoma
Catherine Trotter, Slalom
Dan Knight, Mindera
Dewi Rees, The Financial Times
Duncan Ramsay, ECI Partners
Frankie Woodhead, 10x Banking
Report Produced by: Hayley Roberts, Distology
Julien Lavigne Du Cadet, ZOE
Becca Rose
Laura Sisson, YFM Equity Partners
Liam Fulton, Frame.ai
Lizzie Lord, Piper
Manuele Piastra
Maria Kucheryavaya, Beauty Pie
Mark Mullen, Atom Bank
Mark Stevenson, Hook
Mila Budeva, Zaptic
Natalia Baltazar, Healios
Nick Cooke, Heywood Pension Technologies
Oliver Lochhead, Runa
Richard Rosenberg, Spendesk
Rona Ruthen
Sam Royle, SoSquared
Shaojing Elfin Lee, giffgaff UK
Stephanie Yacoubian, BJSS
Wayne Robshaw, Mobysoft

Edited by:
Chris Spranklen

77 78
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