Whoever said ‘a lot can happen in a year’ couldn’t have been more correct, because 2025 proved to be one of Arwana’s most transformative years yet.
We entered the year with clear ambition. After the momentum of 2024, we wanted to push even harder, refine our operations, and expand our capabilities. We brought in key internal hires, and outlined new initiatives to elevate how we serve founders and growing teams. Everything seemed perfect.
But as the months unfolded, something more significant started to take shape. The founder’s needs were shifting. More clients wanted flexible part-time support to manage workload without increasing overheads. Others needed help filling specialised tech roles as digital projects became a bigger priority. The pattern was unmistakable: businesses were looking for smarter, more adaptable ways to scale.
Instead of staying locked into our original plans, we leaned into what the market was telling us. That decision reshaped the rest of our year.
Between April and May, we introduced two strategic expansions to better serve the modern founder.
First, we launched “Get a Dedicated Part-Timer for £699/month,” a plan designed to give founders flexible and cost-efficient access to skilled talent without committing to a full-time hire. We also expanded into tech hiring, allowing us to recruit for roles such as full-stack developers, UI/UX designers, data analysts, and other essential technical positions that many of our clients had been requesting.
These new services represented a shift in how Arwana supports the modern founder: more flexibility, more capability, more affordable and more strategic value.
2025 became the year we strengthened our foundation, evolved our services, and positioned Arwana for the long-term growth we’re building toward in 2026 and beyond. Here is a recap of the year so far
The State of Offshore Staffing in 2025
2025 continued along the path set during the pandemic era, with remote and hybrid work fully embedded as standard strategies for businesses. Companies increasingly sought global talent pools to scale efficiently, and control cost. According to the Oyster 2025 Global Hiring Trends & Impact Report, contractor engagements on the Oyster platform rose 46% from 2023 to 2024, highlighting the growing demand for flexible, project-based talent. Consulting and contract-based hires also grew tenfold year-on-year, signaling a major shift toward flexible staffing solutions.
Tech roles dominated global remote hiring.
The same report shows that for hires made in 2024, 35% of global remote hires were in Information Technology, reflecting the increasing need for specialised technical skills across industries. Remote/offshore staffing has finally become a core business strategy. As noted in Remote’s 2025 Global Workforce Report, global hiring is now treated as a mainstream talent approach, with companies embedding cross-border staffing into long-term workforce planning.
Despite the opportunities, finding specialised talent locally remained challenging. Businesses needed affordable, reliable, highly skilled professionals who could be onboarded quickly and contribute immediately. In response, Arwana strategically evolved in 2025. We launched a dedicated part-time service to provide flexible, cost-efficient support and expanded into tech hiring, creating pipelines for high-demand roles such as full-stack developers, and ui/ux designers.
What We Achieved at Arwana in 2025
Total Roles Filled & Key Hiring Highlights
2025 was a year of steady, meaningful progress for us. We placed 33 talented professionals across marketing, admin, creative, and tech-leaning roles. For a small team like ours, every successful placement felt like a shared with another founder who could finally breathe a little easier.
Industries We Served
We had the opportunity to support founders across six different industries this year, including e-commerce, tech, confectionery, consulting, and education. Each industry came with its own rhythm and challenges, and serving this mix helped us become more adaptable and thoughtful in how we match talent to a team’s real operational needs.
Growth of Our Client Community
One of the highlights of 2025 was the growth within our client community. We welcomed 8 new clients, all based in the UK, and every single one of them returned to make another hire with us. As a small agency, that level of retention means everything. It told us that the work we’re doing is resonating with the founders who trust us with their teams.
New Service Expansions
We also took meaningful steps forward with our services. Earlier in the year, we launched our Dedicated Part-Time Talent offering at £699/month, designed for founders who need consistent support without the commitment of a full-time hire. By the end of the year, this service accounted for nearly a quarter of all placements, showing how much modern teams value flexibility.
We also expanded confidently into tech hiring for roles such as developers, and data analysts. This shift allowed us to support founders who needed more specialised talent while maintaining the same care, clarity, and reliability that define Arwana.
Client Satisfaction & Impact
We closed the year with an estimated 82% satisfaction rate, strengthened by clearer processes and a stronger focus on both skill and cultural fit. Many of the professionals we placed stayed well beyond six months, becoming core members of their teams. The messages we received from clients saying their new hires had become indispensable was the highlight of our year.
Client Wins & Case Studies
2025 wasn’t just a year of growth internally, it was a year of real wins for the founders and businesses we supported. Every client’s story reminded us why the work matters. Here are a few moments that truly stood out.
Helping a Founder Scale Without Burning Out
One of our early wins this year came from a UK-based e-commerce founder who had been running operations alone for months. He came to us exhausted, and behind on fulfilling tasks. We placed a part-time administrative assistant who quickly became the backbone of her day-to-day workflow.
Within the first eight weeks, his workload reduced by almost 40%, allowing him to focus on new product development and partnerships. By Q4, he reported her highest revenue month of the year because he finally had consistent support. What started as a simple administrative hire became the foundation for more stable, sustainable growth.
Reducing Hiring Time From Months to Days
Another win came from a consulting firm that had been trying to fill an admin role for nearly three months with no luck. They had gone through multiple interviews, wasted time, and were beginning to feel like the right person simply wasn’t out there.
We took over the process and delivered a shortlist within 6 days, placing a candidate they loved in less than two weeks. The hire not only handled their admin backlog but revamped their internal organisation, improving their client turnaround times by over 30% in the first three months.
A Client Who Expanded Beyond the First Hire
One of our favourite moments this year came from a small UK tech startup that originally approached us for a part-time marketing assistant. Their first hire settled in so well that within two months, they returned for a second hire, this time in product design. By the end of 2025, they added a third: a full-stack developer.
With a stronger, more balanced team, they were able to ship product updates faster, and reduce founder workload by nearly 65%, and finally stabilise their release cycles. Their team is now the most diverse it has ever been, and the most productive.
Internal Improvements That Made Arwana Better in 2025
This was a year of thoughtful rebuilding at Arwana, a period where we looked inward, listened closely to our clients, understood our client’s point of view and reshaped our internal engine to serve them better.
One of our biggest milestones this year was the launch of our Part-Time Hiring Offering. Throughout 2024, we kept hearing the same thing from founders and small teams in the UK: “We don’t need a full-time hire yet, we just need consistent, reliable support.” This became the foundation of the new model. It allows growing businesses to access vetted offshore talent for 20–25 hours per week, giving them flexibility, and the freedom to scale up only when the timing is right. For SMEs, this has become a perfect “bridge hire”, substantial enough to move the business forward, light enough to fit early-stage budgets.
We also made a significant leap by expanding fully into Tech Recruitment. What started with a single developer request quickly grew into a full service line covering UI/UX designers, full-stack developers, software developers, data analyst, and technical support. As demand grew, we realised that simply matching CVs wasn’t enough, founders needed candidates who could hit the ground running. To meet this, we strengthened our vetting process, adding technical assessments, task-based evaluations, and consultations with industry experts.
These improvements from flexible part-time solutions to stronger tech hiring pipelines helped Arwana deliver talent that truly fits, speeds up execution, and supports business growth.
Industry & Hiring Insights We Learned This Year
2025 taught us a lot about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to hiring for small and growing businesses. At Arwana, we were on the ground, matching talent with teams, and it gave us a unique perspective on what founders really need.
Marketing was the most sought-after role this year. Digital marketers, marketing assistants, paid ad specialists, and social media managers were in constant demand, and for good reason. They were often the first hires that helped businesses reach new customers, and tell their story effectively.
We also noticed that the hires who truly made an impact shared the same traits: initiative, problem solving, adaptability, great work ethic, and clear communication. The team members who could step in, understand the founder’s priorities, and take ownership of tasks often became indispensable within weeks.
The founders who succeeded most this year were those who treated their hires as true team members. They clearly defined responsibilities, set expectations, gave consistent feedback, and created space for their new team members to contribute meaningfully.
What to Expect from Arwana in 2026
As we look ahead to 2026, Arwana is focused on building on the foundations laid in 2025. Last year taught us what works, what founders need most, and how we can deliver with speed, and quality. This year’s learnings are now shaping a stronger, more prepared Arwana for the year ahead.
Our Part-Time Offering will scale significantly in 2026. We know that flexibility and cost-effective support are exactly what small teams need, so we’re refining the model to make it even better. More founders will be able to access reliable, skilled support without committing to full-time hires, helping them free up time, and reduce stress.
On the tech recruitment front, 2026 will see Arwana deepening our tech recruitment with more specialised recruiters to keep up with the growing demand. We plan to cover a wider array of technical roles while maintaining the same attention to vetting that has become our hallmark.
Behind the scenes, we’re investing in stronger client success systems. Expect even more proactive support from team Arwana. We want founders to feel confident that when they work with Arwana, they have a reliable partner supporting their growth.
2026 is shaping up to be a year of growth, and deeper partnerships. We enter it better prepared, more focused, and ready to help our clients scale even better. For founders looking to build their teams efficiently, we’re excited to continue providing the people, processes, and support that make growth not just possible, but sustainable.
Looking Ahead Together
As we wrap up 2025, we want to take a moment to thank every founder, partner, and client who trusted Arwana with their teams. Your confidence in us has made this year of growth, learning, and restructuring possible.
At Arwana, our commitment remains the same: to provide affordable, reliable, high-quality talent, and to be a true partner in your business journey. We know that building strong teams isn’t easy and we understand it very well. It’s because of this problem that Arwana was created.
If you’re ready to start 2026 with a team that can deliver results and help your business scale efficiently, let’s make it happen. Book a discovery call to work with us, we’d love to support your business too.
