How to Choose the Right Recruitment Advisor (or Fractional NED)
Here’s what to consider when finding the right strategic partner for your recruitment business.
With so many voices offering help to recruitment leaders, finding the right person, someone with credibility, clarity, and real-world experience, can make a real difference.
If you’re exploring working with a strategic advisor or fractional NED, here are a few key things to look for.
Not quite. Training is important, and Alison’s won awards for it, but it’s only one part of the picture. Strategic growth, commercial performance, and leadership challenges require a broader view.
Many trainers haven’t led a recruitment business at scale, and may not have experience navigating big-picture decisions.
Look for: Someone who’s run a recruitment business, not just worked in one.
Some tech platforms or membership communities offer great insights, but they’re not designed to help you build and implement a growth strategy.
A strategic partner should work closely with your business, helping you plan, adapt, and follow through, not just sell software or provide generalised advice.
Look for: A recruitment NED or advisor whose work is embedded in your business, not built around upsells or subscriptions.
Absolutely. The recruitment market is shifting fast – from candidate behaviour and digital channels to client expectations and compliance.
Someone who hasn’t recently led a business through those changes – and succeeded – may not understand the market you’re navigating today. Claims are easy. But meaningful results come from hands-on, up-to-date leadership experience.
Look for: A fractional NED or advisor with recent, relevant leadership experience, not just historic case studies.
True support takes time and focus. Some NEDs list dozens of clients – but meaningful results require hands-on involvement and accountability.
Alison only works with a select number of businesses at once, ensuring personalised, practical, and consistent input across every stage.
Look for: A strategic partner who shows up regularly and invests in long-term success, not just surface-level check-ins.
What to expect when working with Alison
Alison offers more than advice – she acts as a hands-on strategic partner. With decades of board-level experience in recruitment, she helps business leaders solve real challenges and drive commercial growth, using a practical, no-nonsense approach rooted in today’s market.
Alison Humphries
Hon (FREC) | Strategic Consultant to the Recruitment Industry
If you’re looking for a commercially minded advisor who gets recruitment, here’s what to expect:
Proven, up-to-date success, including recent trade sales
First-hand leadership experience as a former MD and CEO in recruitment
Practical, honest input backed by 40+ years in the industry
A clear, jargon-free communication style
True accountability and a personal investment in your success
Whether you’re after a recruitment NED, a fractional advisor, or a trusted strategic partner – Alison delivers grounded, results-focused support that makes a real difference.