Why Popp is One of the UK’s Most Loved Workplaces.
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How Building an Award-Winning Culture in AI Recruitment created a workplace recognised as one of the UK's most loved companies to work for.
Popp transforms recruitment by empowering talent acquisition professionals to work faster, hire higher-quality candidates, and scale hiring operations infinitely through advanced artificial intelligence applications. The company developed from lessons learned during some of the UK's biggest challenges, when co-founders Sam and James led critical government and NHS pandemic response teams, scaling emergency operations that processed thousands of applications and onboarded hundreds of people to the pandemic workforce every month.
When they brought on Ilyes Benmansour as CTO, a specialist in building large-scale AI systems, they created Popp with a distinct vision: to help recruiters scale their intuition rather than replace it. Their platform allows seamless integration of unique hiring methods into an AI-powered assistant capable of conducting thousands of in-depth screening conversations simultaneously, effectively increasing capacity so human team members can focus on where they add the most value - strategic business contributions and building amazing relationships with their future teammates.
Behind their technological innovation lies a workplace culture that recently earned Popp a place on the Breakthrough Culture Award list, recognising them as one of the UK's most loved companies to work for. The company has built an environment where employees grow alongside the business itself, reflecting the founders' own journey as first-time entrepreneurs.
Popp views investing in their team as their core strategy for building a generation-defining technology company. The founders apply principles from special forces operations, where lean teams of experts from complementary backgrounds achieve remarkable results through inclusive decision-making, skill development, and empowerment. This has enabled them to rapidly accrue some of the world’s largest global companies as their clients in record time.
Employees receive share options, ensuring everyone participates in the company's success. Popp invests heavily in developing team members through coaching benefits, generous learning and development budgets, and continuous conversations that help employees navigate the steep learning curves inherent in a rapidly growing business.
Balance remains central to the Popp workplace philosophy. The company maintains reasonable working hours, respects personal time during evenings and weekends, offers hybrid working arrangements, and provides generous holiday allowances. The leadership team believes productive work stems from personal empowerment and fulfillment. The Popp team defies simple categorisation, representing diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Common traits among team members include ambition, a strong work ethic, confidence with steep learning curves, a willingness to grow with the business, maturity to manage time independently, passion for mission-driven work, and comfort with taking ownership, making mistakes, learning, and moving forward.
Their recruitment process reflects their commitment to transparency. The company uses their own AI software to identify potential talent, then introduces top candidates to the entire team. They present an honest picture of both achievements and challenges, ensuring mutual commitment from the start. A referral programme further strengthens their talent pipeline, based on the principle that exceptional people attract other exceptional people.
Popp's perspective on artificial intelligence extends beyond their product to their values. Their AI Manifesto emphasises empowering people through technology that enhances human capabilities rather than replacing them. Every system they build incorporates intention, fairness, and inclusivity at its core, with independent algorithmic auditing ensuring bias-free technology and compliance with the most stringent regulations. This has enabled Popp to win the trust of enterprise talent acquisition teams, as well as partnering with the world’s largest staffing enterprises including Randstad Enterprise and Robert Walters, businesses trusted by international clients to bring the very best technology to market.
Transparency drives their approach to both AI and workplace culture. Just as their technology explains decisions rather than operating as a "black box," their workplace operates with clarity and openness. This parallel between product philosophy and company culture creates alignment across all aspects of the business.
The Breakthrough Culture Award recognition validates Popp's belief that ambitious technology companies can maintain human-centred values while pursuing rapid growth. By creating a workplace where employees feel enthused, excited, and appropriately challenged, they've built an environment that attracts and retains exceptional talent in the competitive AI sector.
As Popp continues to transform recruitment through AI that scales human intuition, their workplace culture demonstrates that the same principles apply internally. By developing people alongside technology, they're creating a company where both can reach their full potential, free from unnecessary constraints.
