OGL Group continues rapid expansion with record new recruits and major site refurbishment

Following significant growth in 2021, OGL Group reached a milestone with 300 staff members across its Midlands and London office locations and is well on the way to exceeding its target of 350 staff by the year end having already seen more than 20 new recruits joining its workforce in the first quarter of 2022.

This exceptional growth, particularly during a pandemic, is being driven by organisations – both in the private and public sectors – wanting to invest in digital transformation solutions to deliver greater efficiencies, as well as cyber security to strengthen their posture against the growing threat from cyber crime. This has led to the need to employ more staff to meet the demands of their growing customer base.

To accommodate its expanding team, OGL Group has recently undertaken a major development and refurbishment project at its Kidderminster site which is almost complete. “We are just putting the finishing touches to areas such as our gardens, which now form a central feature at the site and will be a great space for our staff to relax and take time out," said Debbie Barton, chief operating officer.

The development project has seen the addition of over 10,000 sq ft following the acquisition of a number of surrounding properties. The newly upgraded site boasts a suite of high-tech rooms kitted with the latest AV and networking technologies, an interactive reception area and garden-facing meeting rooms, welcoming visitors and OGL Group’s growing workforce.

The OGL Group’s cyber security arm, CyberGuard Technologies, has attracted talent from across the UK, and grew its team by 20 per cent in the last three months with plans to expand by a further 50 per cent by the end of 2022. Increased investment in cyber security by organisations within manufacturing, financial services, building societies and NHS trusts, is driving demand for CyberGuard’s services due to their reputation as a leading MSSP in these industries.

“The fast pace of the industry, and the ever-evolving technologies being adopted by CyberGuard, is what is really attracting people to us as they want to build their career within a thriving and successful business. And the backgrounds of our new recruits are also as varied and interesting. One of our latest recruits has come from a military background, where he was managing communications for the SAS," said Sean Tickle, head of CyberGuard.

Thanks to its reputation as a local business who place a real emphasis on providing career progression opportunities, many of OGL Group’s current employees are long service team members. From a workforce of over 300, almost 80 have been with the company for more than 10 years. Phil Hawkes joined the company in 1983 is now senior software consultant, and one of the team behind the development of its ERP business software, prof.ITplus, the predecessor to OGL’s new Profit4 system.

Debbie continued: “We are generating lots of job opportunities for both experienced professionals but also those wanting to join the industry, either from school or college at entry level, through to someone looking for a career change into IT. Our new recruits are saying that they chose to come and work with us because of our reputation as a progressive and career development focused employer, and because we really care about our staff and encourage and recognise exceptional service.

“Coming from a variety of backgrounds, some of our new recruits are switching from careers in fields that have nothing to do with IT, but no matter where they have started their career path, if they have a passion for working in the technology industry then we welcome applications for any of the vacancies we currently have advertised. And even if we don’t have the right vacancy available now, we encourage anyone who really wants to work with us to send in their CVs as all our teams are growing fast so our needs are constantly evolving.”

OGL Group is currently recruiting for a number of positions, including roles within technical support, sales, cyber security, as well as software development and administration. One of their newest recruits, George Harper, knew he wanted to work at OGL from a young age and follow in his father’s footsteps. George’s father worked at OGL back in 2000 to 2008 as a senior networking engineer and George remembers being taught all about computers so when he was given the opportunity to join OGL he commented: “It’s a dream come true; they are a great company to work for. OGL has not only provided me with an amazing opportunity, but being on the VDI team allows me to help customers every minute of the day which appeals to my nature of wanting to help others.”