Blog
Successful Adaptation: Making ROI the case to potential new clients
In my last blog, I discussed whether a genuine specialist can make a move to a new recruitment market. The answer is a conditional “yes” – as the key to a specialist making the move relies on successful adaptation. And successful adaptation boils down to one thing – how you sell your proposition....
Can a Genuine Specialist Make a Move to a New Recruitment Market?
A few years back, I was in the position of explaining to a substantial recruitment workforce why their contracts had to change to a new recruitment market. Some staff were clearly suspicious of the changes. Some of the staff were finding the legal language a little hard to understand. I explained...
So you want to try a new market? Part two
In my last blog, I began to outline what you need to do to maximise your chances of success when entering a new market. Here is part two – you can get a refresher on part one here, or continue reading to for the final four points… This is a guide only, please seek professional help when entering a...
So, you want to try a new market? Part One
In one of my recent blogs, I referred to the VUCA environment (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) in which most recruitment businesses now find themselves. In this world, agility is key. That may mean: Rapidly changing your proposition or product Finding new geographies Entering...
We don’t want to be micromanagers… or do we?
To adapt Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a recruitment leader must never, ever be a micromanager. Every time the phrase comes up, recruiters tend to shake their heads sagely and concur that micromanagement is a bad thing. But in the present situation particularly, perhaps...
Three learnings for leaders in a VUCA environment
VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. It describes the environment of constant, unpredictable change that is now the norm in certain industries and areas of the business world. Once you recognise that you are in a VUCA environment, the only logical approach for...
After the love has gone – Why recruitment business owners must get a shareholders’ agreement
Getting a shareholders’ agreement is a must for recruitment business owners. Sadly, lockdown pressures have laid bare the dysfunctionalities of lots of relationships, in partnerships with “pre-existing conditions” that weren’t apparent in good times. In some cases, partners responses to the...
Starting up a temp/contract desk? The seven big mistakes you must avoid
So, you’ve got the message. Your recruitment agency is a lot more resilient and attractive to investors if it has a serious temp/contract capability. Interestingly, about 75% of start-up recruitment firms start – and stay – largely perm placement oriented. And I’d like to suggest that it’s no...
Post-Pandemic Training: How to Make Every Penny Count
Lockdown has presented recruitment businesses with an opportunity to reassess their staff skills, knowledge and training. I know many business owners who have realised that busyness often camouflages a lack of skills among staff. James, who owns a healthcare agency told me “I discovered that many...
Q&A – What does a Recruitment NED do?
You can do better than “get back to normal”. If you’re a recruitment business owner who has started seeing some signs of recovery in your sector – and I sincerely hope you have – you’ll be thinking about bringing people back to work and getting productivity back to normal. I’d like to suggest that...
Why I’m Not Giving Up on Marketing – And Nor Should You
A few weeks ago, I was helping a client with their cash flow forecast prior to a CBILS application. One of the changes he’d made to his budget pulled me up short. He had completely deleted his marketing spend. His thinking went like this: I built this business without marketing, other than e-shots...
Recruitment: And now for something completely different…
A really interesting aspect of the current crisis is how, even in the recruitment industry, it has affected businesses so differently. Some are actually better off and experiencing increased demand. Some specialise in markets which are so candidate oriented, including international remote workers,...
Anything to Declare? The Value in Client Re-Education
The other weekend I got stuck behind someone who I’ll call “NOT a frequent flyer” or NAFF, for short. He wasn’t any older than me, was wearing an expensive-looking suit, and it was quite clear that he didn’t do airports very often. At check in, he took half an hour to find his boarding pass and...
Are Your KPIs the Right Ones for Today’s Market?
I met a new client this week who has did really well during the recession. And his business is doing well now – just not as well as some of his competitors. We looked at his management accounts and then at his Key Performance Indicators. Get this – he had set minimum standards for each of his...
“Thanks For All Your Work, But We Already Know That Candidate” – Minimising Wastage in Your Business
This week I spoke to a client, a small business owner who prides himself on client relationships and understanding candidates. When we reviewed last month’s results, he explained that he had lost two of his expected fees after submitting CVs, when the client told him that the candidate was already...
12 Questions You Must Ask Yourself If You Own A Recruitment Business (Or Would Like To)
I’ve spoken to a lot of small recruitment business owners over the years, working as a N.E.D. and advisor in the recruitment industry. As you’d expect, a lot of them are experiencing similar frustrations: “I know we offer a great service, but lots of employers just won’t give us a chance” “I want...
Six Credibility Robbers That Recruiters Use
We all know recruitment is a competitive business. Winning business from clients is hard enough. But there are certain “habits” that are widespread – endemic, even- in the industry that are making it even harder. I’ve consulted with 14 “clients” (line managers and HR professionals who are targets...
Off-CV Information: Why Who You Know Should Matter More Than What You Can Do
College drop-out? Have you tried applying for a job online recently? It’s a dispiriting mix of anonymous adverts – and yes, I think some of those jobs are fake – and automated responses. Almost no adverts invite candidates to speak to the consultant involved. And this is happening at a time of...
Bridge the Attention Gap: How Visual Media Can Transform Recruitment 2.0
Recruitment Business Owners I talk to are always asking how to get their people enthused about speaking to new clients and candidates. Here’s something that could resonate with them now… The issue was rooted in the way recruiters advertised job roles. It was an apparent trend to post text-based...
How Can Innovative Practices Benefit Recruitment Agencies?
Alison Humphries will be speaking at Innovation Breakfast, an event co-hosted by strategic consultancy Recruitment Leadership and leading video technology company Odro, on October 18th at The Studio in Manchester. The morning networking session aims to answer the question – how can Innovative...
6 Examples of Active Management in Recruitment
Have you recently done a round of monthly 121s? Whatever you call them (personal development meetings, planning, review, action plan), the chances are you spent a large part of them reviewing activity and performance from a month that finished two weeks or more ago. And a lot of conversations go...
So, You “Just Fell Into Recruitment”, Did You?
Talk to people round the industry and I guarantee that about half of them will use this phrase. Some even without thinking. When you consider what a recruiter’s job is about, there’s really no excuse. Every time a potential recruiter hears this, it highlights the idea that recruitment is not a...
Three Ways to Innovate in Your Recruitment Business
“If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said faster horses” attributed to Henry T Ford Henry T Ford made the first mass-produced car, and his production methods made it affordable to many. It didn’t guarantee him success for ever, because he wouldn’t adapt to customer demand. From...
A Tomato Is A Fruit: Why Rules And Processes Have Their Limits
Anyone who has worked with me to grow a recruitment business will know that I am a big fan of good processes. Used intelligently, the right processes will; Reassure clients and candidates of consistent standards Ensure compliance Save you lost time and opportunity cost, as well as expensive errors...
Why You Can’t Wait To See What Happens
I had a call recently from a recruitment business owner/manager, J. We had arranged (and rearranged) a meeting to follow up on the one we had in a few months earlier. At that point, J had “just wanted to get through the holiday season before embarking on any new initiatives”. This time, J wanted...
Are Your Team With You Because They Want To Be? Or Because They Haven’t Had The Right Offer Yet?
According to LinkedIn, 20th September was the date last year that they registered record numbers of job searches and applications. If you are a growing recruitment business, it could be your staff looking for a move. Demand for experienced recruiters is huge, and employment at record levels. In...
Triple Your Results from Business Development without a Single Extra Call
A lot of mediocre recruiters give up on business development because they don’t get results from it. It’s easy to recognise them; they avoid personal contact, hiding behind emails, endless research and other, more urgent tasks. In most cases, it’s because the only results they recognise are a...
How Visual Media Can Transform Your Business
Are you one of the recruiters who are starting to find quality candidates hard to reach? And when you do they have already been approached about your vacancy? Are you always wondering how you can differentiate yourself from the crowd? Did you know: Online video is the fastest growing ad format...
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