Company: BenchBee
Founder and CEO: Hassen Hattab
Website: https://benchbee.io/
About BenchBee
BenchBee launched in September 2024 as the UKs first talent sharing platform for IT and Tech consultancies. It was founded by Hassen Hattab after more than a decade of witnessing the same paradox across the sector. Digital skills were in high demand, yet billions of pounds worth of specialist capability were sitting unused on company benches. At the same time, 81% of UK businesses were reporting critical skills shortages. The industry did not need more job boards. It needed a new model.
Challenges Overcome:
BenchBee was created to break the costly hire or fire cycle that had defined consulting for years.
The platform focused on three core issues:
The first was the visibility crisis. Research showed that £3.06 billion worth of expertise sat idle every year, even as the UK economy lost £4.4 billion due to missing skills. The most capable staff were not available to businesses that needed them. They were fully employed but between projects, hidden inside consultancies and unable to contribute where demand was highest.
The second was the cost trap created by traditional recruitment. Organisations were paying 15% to 20% fees on inflated salaries while dealing with long hiring timelines and inconsistent candidate match. Many mid sized consultancies were losing millions each year through bench waste and slow, inefficient hiring processes.
The third challenge was the trust deficit. Businesses faced a choice between permanent hires that increased fixed cost pressure or freelancers with variable standards. Screening lacked consistency and accountability was limited.
BenchBee solved these issues by creating a member driven talent sharing economy. The platform connects vetted consultancies directly, allowing them to share specialists, across two organisations, during bench periods and access qualified professionals already active in the sector. A simple subscription model with no commission fees makes the process predictable, transparent, and low risk.
Industry Impact:
BenchBee has changed how consultancies access, deploy, and retain talent. Instead of competing for scarce skills, companies can now collaborate to keep specialists fully utilised. When one consultancy has engineers on the bench, another can draw on that capability immediately to support delivery, meet deadlines, and fill urgent short term needs.
This shift delivers real human benefits. By reducing periods of underutilisation, BenchBee helps companies maintain stable employment and avoid unnecessary layoffs. In a cost of living crisis, consistent work and income matter deeply for staff and their families. Stability also supports mental wellbeing, breaking the cycle of hiring and releasing talent that has long affected workforce confidence.
The wider economic impact is substantial. BenchBee unlocks hidden capacity, reduces recruitment waste, and supports efforts to address the forecasted £27.6 billion drain on the UK economy caused by digital skills shortages by 2030. The platform proves that the UK does not lack talent. It lacks access.
Consultancies using BenchBee are reporting higher productivity, stronger margins, and greater long term resilience. The future belongs to the organisations that collaborate the smartest and place people at the centre of their model.
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