“I’ve never received an AI-generated CV from a candidate”, said a recruitment business owner to me last month. My response? “How would you know?” The conversation reminded me of one I had years ago, pre-pandemic. It was when DBS checks were long, manual processes and the recruitment business owner...

If you’re in recruitment, you’ve probably felt the pressure mounting from both economic shifts and the growing demands of clients in a world that’s rapidly changing due to AI and digital transformation. It can feel overwhelming. Many are working with teams that have limited BD experience, and it’s...

More and more of the recruitment business owners and leaders in my network are experiencing a growing phenomenon. What is it? Their clients (the end-hirers) are insisting that they work under their terms of business for suppliers, rather than the ones issued by the agency. And that is to be...

You don’t only see a doctor when you are 100% well, do you? And the same applies to a business coach. It’s an interesting fact that, in recruitment at least, some owner/managers regard a NED or board advisor as their last luxury, a sign that their business has “arrived”.   Now, while it’s...

In Spring last year, I started working with a client who ran a small business (25 staff) placing tech infrastructure and UX specialists. They’d done pretty well during the job-rich year of 2022, and the owner was ambitious for 2023.   In fact, he wanted to increase net profit by 50%. His cost...

A business I work with has 45000 candidate records on his CRM. This was a mature business. At the same time, his team were spending 20% of net fee income (yes, 20%) on job boards and CV download services. That was having a big impact on net profit. He was a bit flummoxed. “Do we need to write...

Lots of recruiters I know are struggling to build new business at the moment. In some cases, they have a team who have no experience of BD and can’t have a conversation with a client unless it’s about a specific job or candidate. In others, they find that market outreach has changed and banging...

There are 3 main things your commission scheme must deliver on: It must motivate the right behaviours for your business, in your market sector(s), in the prevailing market conditions. It must be attractive enough for recruiters to actively work to gain commission. It must be affordable to your...

One of my clients, Matthew, rolled his eyes at our last meeting. “Clients have become such tarts! They’ll engage with anyone these days who promises them a CV.” Matthew was frustrated. Despite bringing on and billing 46 new clients this year, his business still felt “hand to mouth” with no...

Everyone who knows me also knows that I am a dedicated champion of L&D. It’s central to performance. I took a postgraduate diploma in L&D. I have since used my knowledge to build and deliver countless bespoke, in-house learning programmes. I understand the science of learning. I’ve won...

In Part One of this two-part series, I wrote about the distinction between sales success and profitability. Managing costs is the obvious place to start. In Part Two, I want to focus on the areas that very few recruitment business leaders have a grasp of… Efficiencies If you run a perm recruitment...

Fostering good habits within your business builds an infrastructure that makes virtuous behaviour more automatic. The result?  More success in realising your organisation's goals, while bolstering the opportunity to take on more challenging goals. Take a read of the infographic below to discover...

Most recruiters I know are enjoying a period where demand from clients is the highest they have ever known. Sensibly, many have taken the opportunity to revisit things with clients, explaining their role and responsibility in managing recruitment to a successful outcome. And many are asking for...

Every day my inbox is chockful of new bits of “news” for recruiters – cataclysmic labour shortages, unhappy employees, “revenge resignations”, the skills/jobs mismatch, the rising costs of running a business... the list goes on. One recruitment business owner, of 5 years, told me yesterday that he...

The pandemic has made it absolutely clear that we are not “all in the same boat”. More accurately, all recruitment businesses have been through the same storm - but our ships are different. Many recruitment businesses I know had their best ever year in 2020, and have continued that growth in 2021....

I interviewed with a client last week to recruit internal staff for her recruitment business. I listened to four interviewees talk us through their successes. Every one of them, unsurprisingly, glossed over their biography as if the whole thing had been planned in detail from the day they joined...

One of the biggest fetishes in business is especially worshipped in the recruitment industry. A “never give up” mindset, the determination to “power through”, a value system that celebrates “grit” and dogged repetition. Some recruiters I know argue that this is more important than ever. I don’t...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...