#2: Travelstart — the recruitment story.

We chat to Lee Watts, Recruitment & People Analytics Manager at Travelstart, on how this “startup” became 300+ staff strong.

Originally published at https://www.get5.io/podcast/2-lee-watts-travelstart-recruitment-story

In our second episode of Working better, together., Lee Watts gives some great insights into how Travelstart “grew up” from being a tech startup to a market leader in the travel tech SaaS market — strategically, but quickly!

Conceived in Sweden, Travelstart first opened its doors in 1999, as the brainchild of Travel visionary Stephan Ekbergh. In true start-up fashion, Sweden’s first online travel agency was run from an old coffee roastery in the town of Helsingborg. Nearly two decades, plenty of learning, growth and one African immigration later, Stephan still heads up Travelstart, which is now based in the Cape Town CBD.

Lee is of the opinion that in terms of (human) resources and “drive-towards entrepreneurial spirit,” African tech companies seem to be about 18 months behind the international tech market, but are starting to catch up!

“Speed is the ROI of execution.”

In this podcast, Lee gives a breakdown of the methodology Travelstart has employed in recruiting over 180 people in only 2 years, as well as how culture is taken into consideration in their recruiting process as each individual inevitably augments the organisational culture of the company. This measurement he calls their “commitment blueprint.”

Hope you enjoy! Hit play below to watch the interview video.
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