Disrupt to deliver: How Busy Bees are modernising hiring to power change

Change isn’t easy. Especially when lives, and trust, are on the line.

In 2023, Natalie McGuiness joined Busy Bees, the UK’s largest nursery group, as their Head of Talent Acquisition, during a period of rapid growth. Nearly 400 nurseries. Thousands of hires every year. And a recruitment system stuck in the past.

The ATS? Outdated, inefficient, and frustrating. Managers were drowning in spreadsheets. Candidates were slipping through the cracks. Productivity was low, and morale even lower. She faced resistance, risk-averse culture, past tech failures, and skeptical nursery managers.

The solution was a new ATS and onboarding platform designed with people first. The results speak for themselves, 3–6 hours saved per hire. More time for managers to focus on their teams, apprentices, and, most importantly, the children. The impact went beyond efficiency. It strengthened culture, trust, and care quality.

Some key takeaways were:

• People first, technology second.
• Build trust through transparency.
• Embrace negative feedback, it’s a roadmap to success.
• Align solutions with business goals, not just processes.

Want to hear Natalie’s insights in her own words? Watch the full video and see how Busy Bees transformed recruitment at scale.

It’s a roadmap for anyone leading change in complex, people-focused organisations.