YouTube Description:

Welcome to the weekly Recruitment Podcast by The Recruitment Network (TRN) – where we share real conversations to help you build your recruiting team, level up recruiter performance, and stay ahead in an ever-changing recruitment market.

TRN – Enabling recruitment businesses to maximise their performance, productivity and profitability.

In this episode with Sam Maxwell Reed, Simon Church, and Mike Gawthorne, Gordon Stoddart leads a practical and insightful discussion on one of the most important drivers of recruitment performance: commission schemes and incentives.

Drawing on real-world experience from high-growth recruitment businesses, exits, and advisory work, the panel explores how commission structures directly shape behaviour, culture, and profitability — often in ways leaders don’t initially expect.

This episode covers:

• How commission schemes drive behaviour (sometimes unintentionally)
• Why simplicity and clarity matter more than complexity
• When and how often commission schemes should be reviewed
• The risks of changing incentives mid-year
• Benchmarks for commission as a percentage of net fee income
• Aligning commission with growth, consistency, margin, and long-term value
• Real-life examples of incentives that transformed performance and profitability

Whether you’re a recruitment business owner, leader, or billing manager, this episode will challenge how you think about commission, help you avoid common pitfalls, and give you practical ideas to build schemes that genuinely support sustainable growth.

What is TRN?

The Recruitment Network is the ultimate support network for recruitment business leaders. We offer a wide range of benefits including:
• An inclusive leadership club
• Recruitment Trailblazers – a programme tailored for billing managers
• Full back-office support and training
• TRN World, our innovative online community
• Access to investment insights, technology guidance, expert content, and much more

🔗 Explore more recruitment content:
https://trn.world/page/content

📈 Upgrade your team with expert recruitment coaching & training:
https://trn.world/page/training
(Access to TRN World and content included for members)

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📚 Access commission templates, AI tools, and practical guides (members only):
https://therecruitmentnetwork.com/learn

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