Scale My Recruitment Business
Scaling a recruitment business requires more than ambition and activity. It requires a commercial model that delivers consistent performance, strong leadership capability, and operational discipline. If you’re ready to strengthen your foundation, accelerate growth and create a business that can grow without relying on you, this is where that work begins.
Alison Humphries
Hon (FREC) | Strategic Consultant to the Recruitment Industry
Expertise Grounded in Real Results
With four decades in the industry, Alison Humphries has recently scaled recruitment businesses from boutique operations to award-winning market leaders, advised companies through international expansion, and led businesses to high-value exits.
Her experience spans contingent, retained, temp/contract, RPO, statement of work and consulting models to give you insight, structure and strategy grounded in proven commercial success, not textbook theory.
Signs you’re ready to scale
You’ve grown, but:
- Profitability hasn’t kept pace with revenue
- The business still relies heavily on you (or a small number of key billers)
- Processes and reporting are inconsistent or unclear
- You’re firefighting more than leading
- Growth feels accidental rather than predictable
- Hiring, onboarding and performance management lack structure
- You know there’s more potential, but execution feels messy
- Your leadership team needs clearer direction and accountability
If even two of these feel familiar, you’re not in the start-up phase anymore - you’re in the scale phase.
What changes when you scale successfully?
Businesses that scale effectively experience a measurable shift:
- Higher margin and stronger commercial discipline
- Clear operating rhythms, not reactive decision-making
- A leadership team that drives performance without your constant involvement
- Predictable hiring and onboarding processes
- Higher consultant productivity and accountability
- Better client relationships and higher fill rates
- A roadmap that leads to sale readiness, succession, or strategic independence
Scaling creates stability, confidence and optionality, not pressure.
How We Approach Scaling Your Recruitment Business
A structured, four-phase programme designed for recruitment leaders in the early stages of scaling – or those who want clarity, confidence and structure before accelerating growth.
This programme gives you the foundations, governance and capability required to scale well.
What You’ll Gain
What ROI Can You Expect?
If fully implemented, typical results include:
20%
Savings on Overheads
Optimise your operational costs with strategic efficiency improvements.
200%
increase in sales
Achieve transformative sales growth through an optimised strategy.
£100K+
Risk Mitigation
Identify and minimise dangerous risks that could cost your business significantly.
What’s Included
Session 1: Build your brand
• Define your brand and positioning
Identify your target audience and ideal client profile
• Build compelling value messaging and your point of difference
• Prioritise business risks and opportunities
• Leave with a clear growth and positioning plan
Session 2: Gain commercial confidence
• Strengthen contracts, policies and commercials
• Learn how to negotiate terms that protect your revenue
• Build a realistic financial model to support hiring and investment decisions
Session 3: Develop your people strategy
• Set KPIs that drive accountability and performance
• Understand legal obligations as an employer
• Learn how to train and develop consultants effectively
• Build an Employee Value Proposition that attracts and retains talent
• Includes a tailored policy handbook built specifically for recruitment businesses
Session 4: Accelerate sales growth
• Strengthen sales strategy and business development processes
• Identify inefficiencies and gaps in your conversion funnel
• Use AI and automation to build loyalty and consistency
• Align sales and marketing for a seamless client journey
Investment & Commitment
• £1,500 + VAT per ½-day session
• Minimum commitment: 4 sessions
• To be completed within 6 months
• Delivered in-person or via Zoom
(Travel and accommodation apply for sessions 50+ miles from Manchester.)
Proof In Practice
HOT 100 recruitment business
Is This Right For You?
This programme is suited to leaders who:
- Want to grow with clarity and structure
- Are preparing to hire, scale or expand
- Need confidence in their commercial model
- Want a strategic partner, not another theoretical framework
If you’re ready to build a business designed to grow sustainably and intentionally, this programme gives you the roadmap, capability and confidence to do it.
Book a consultation to explore whether this programme is the right fit.
Prefer an embedded partnership or ongoing advisory support?
If you feel you may need hands-on support such as fractional advisory or executive partnership, there are alternative ways to work together.
Is your recruitment business ready to scale?
Take our free benchmarking tool to understand how healthy your recruitment business is.