Giig It A Rest

What happens when you mix recruitment updates, middle aged medical exams, and the invention of a new Winter Olympic sport?

You get this weeks episode of Giig It A Rest,

This week, it's back to the two of us, sitting down to catch up on everything from the realities of tracking your numbers in the new Giig reporting module, to the absolute chaos of accidentally launching yourself off the side of a ski slope in a whiteout.

Andy explains why he has started shamelessly stealing my old LinkedIn posts (and why it’s actually working), while I gets brutally honest about my "marginal decline".

Plus, we open "Lee’s Lunchbox" to answer a crucial question: If you could invent a new Winter Olympic sport, what would it be?

In this episode, we cover:

• 📱 The "Disconnect" of Social Media: Why Andy is scheduling Luke's old posts, and the psychology behind the fear of putting yourself out there.

• 🏥 The Reality of "Marginal Decline": Luke's hilarious (and slightly grim) journey through the NHS, involving samples, blood tests, and why you shouldn't ignore your health just to "crack on."

• 📈 The Giig Reports Launch: Behind the scenes of pushing the new Reporting Dashboard live, scaling the database for 600,000+ candidates, and why tracking your pipeline is the most important thing you can do for your desk.

• ⛷️ "Squint Racing": The boys reveal their self-invented Winter Olympic sport, the tactical advantage of the slipstream, and the time Luke accidentally led a family of four off a cliff.

• 🥚 The Great "Creme Egg" Debate: A very serious discussion on the spelling and pronunciation of Easter’s greatest chocolate.

Whether you are here for the software updates, the outbound networking advice, or just to hear two blokes talk about clinging-filming a dinghy, this one has it all.

Do you really know what you're paying your IT Support MSP for ?This week we have the ultimate 'Kan Do It' guy - 'Kan Mallawathantri' from Avensys tech who's all about educating small agencies on the realities of IT Support. It was nice to chat with someone who gets rid of the waffle and gets straight to the reality. How exactly are small agencies are being ripped off by duplicate software licenses, hidden fees, and "Cowboy" IT providers who sell you protection you don't need (and disappear when you actually need their support).Obviously we also cover off his personal journey from moving to the UK from Sri Lanka and navigating the brutal culture shock of British slang, to why he's decided to take back control of his personal brand on LinkedIn.(And as per, things get weird. This is the first Giig It A Rest episode to feature fancy dress).

In this episode, we cover:- The £45k Mistake: How Kan saved a recruitment agency £45,000 a year in duplicated software licences - The Dark Web Economy: Why hackers are actively targeting small businesses and even hold your personal data.- The "Culture Shock" of the UK: Kan’s stories of learning British lingo, navigating the M25, and why you should be careful using the phrase "riding up my a**".- Taking Back LinkedIn: The origin story behind Kan’s LinkedIn characters and why he refuses to do "stuffy" corporate marketing.

- Lee’s Lunchbox: The first ever time we've dressed up for Lee's Lunchbox.If you run a recruitment agency and know you're neglecting your IT support, there's some gold in this one for you! Enjoy x

What wish came true when you met the person next to you?

That is the Lee's Lunchbox question for this week, and I must say, I was close to tears when Andy revealed the wish that came true when it met me...

After what seems like a couple of weeks of guest episodes, we're back to the pair of us putting the world to rights by chatting about:

- Andy's sleepwalking

- Our struggles with getting the reporting module out

- Andy's invite to join a panel

- Finding out what wish came true when we met each other!

Enjoy x

Another Week, Another Amazing Guest!

Jo Major from 'Diversity In Recruitment' spent some time with us to chat all things.. You guessed it....

Diversity and Inclusion..

I feel like the topic of Diversity can sometimes divide opinion...

I feel like people assume that Diversity & Inclusion consultants will be a preachy, academic expert that scolds people from an ivory tower.

Jo however, breaks that mould... She comes across as someone who's truly genuine and has been in the trenches herself, made all the "toxic" mistakes first hand, and is now trying to have a positive impact on making the recruitment industry more inclusive.

She also brought us matching T-Shirts.. So what's not to love!!

Here are some of my Highlights from the conversion:

Her Regrets: Jo opens up about the mistakes she's made in the past.. Judging staff on their clothes, forcing them to wear heels, and how's she's patched her mistakes in later life.

Reclaiming "Woke": Why she's gone bold with the tagline "Woke AF" wearing it as a badge of honour, and why being "awake" to inequality will make a commercial impact, not just a moral one.

The "Pale, Male & Stale" Debate: Jo argues against using derogatory terms for white men, explaining why alienation hurts the D&I cause.

The Maternity Conundrum: Why in Recruitment women can be seen as "Top Billers" one day and "part-time problems" the next.

Illegal Hiring: How positive discrimination can have a negative impact and offering "Double Fees" for diverse candidates is actually against the Equality Act.

Embarrassing Stories: It wouldn't be a 'Giig It A Rest' episode without something a little embarrassing. Jo recalls the time her sister shared an embarrassing story at her wedding and how embarrassing stories bring us closer together.

Enjoy x

First time this year that we've had James (Samwise) on the pod and I got so excited about it that I forgot to get the camera rolling, so for the first 2 minutes of this Ep you're without the video...

As I was back in Essex looking after my parents cat, I thought why not take the chance to get James on the pod to prod him a bit and see what he thinks this year is going to look like for Giig!

Before getting to into the weeds with the work chat, we spend some time talking about his Girls, illness, his ambitions for 2026, including his goals with the Olympics...

James has voiced his opinion that the 'Lee's Lunchbox' questions have lacked a bit of decorum... So this week I chucked one in there that really got him opening up about the biggest regret he's made in business..

Enjoy x

If one of your clients has slipped a candidate into their business through the backdoor, without you knowing..

There's only one person you need to call...

Backdoor Barry..

Or I should probably say 'Barry Cullen' from RecLAW...

To give you the spiel RecLAW are Lawyers to the recruitment industry, a full-service law firm made up of lawyers who are recruitment experts and passionate about the industry,.

My guess would be that if you've been around recruitment for a while you will probably be aware of RecLAW and Barry...

This weeks episode has everything!

From Barry's journey, to some of the craziest situations he's come across and even a little bit of free legal advice.. but even if you're not involved in the recruitment industries you should stick around for the stories because there's some belters in there....

Enjoy x

Are you looking to build your swimming confidence?

If so, you've come to the right place.. Sort of... This week on 'Giig It A Rest' we kick of with a bit of an update on Andy's Ironman training and how he's building confidence in the pool....

This leads us down a road to contemplating how we used to be young, hip and trendy and now find ourselves as the old boys on the block..

Apart from our struggles in the gym we cover off:

- Our confusion between manually and annually

- Our Full Moon Party Mishap

- The reality of what it's like being a business owner

- Operation repaint the house

- How I got caught in a compromised position by my neighbour

- How we're tweaking things to get the most out of a 3 man start-up

Enjoy x

Welcome back to the 'Recruitment Industries Most Informative' Podcast...

This weeks episode is a bit of a two parter!! It was recorded on the same day as our 2026 kick off meeting.. The first half before and the second half on our lunch...

In the first half we chat about:

- Andy' risky roast

- Our mishaps in Dunelm and IKEA

- Why Winnie The Pooh is back in the mixer

- How it feels being back to work...

When we get stuck into the second half we cover all the important topics like:

- Our thoughts on the traitors

- How the podcast might evolve

- Should you be yourself online

- What topics we would pick if we had to blag a Ted Talk

Enjoy x

It's our first guest episode of 2026 and the closest thing we've had to Stephen Bartlett so far.. (Inside joke, you will pick up on that when you listen)....

Guest number 1 of the year is Jonny Woodhead - Customer Success Manager at XCD...

To give you the spiel on XCD they are an all-in-one single-solution HR and Payroll software which helps put you back in control and achieve more.Built for businesses of over 250 employees who are experiencing business growth or transformation.

In this episode we had a Giig It A Rest first where we played a game of...

'Is the guest related to Andy's Ex Girlfriend'

As well as:

- Drumming

- Leeds

- Politics

- All things customer success

- A bit of recruitment

&

Who he would take with him to live for 5 years on a desert island..

Enjoy x

It's back to reality now, the Christmas Sillies have ended, the mince pies have been put away and we're back to the grind...

Now for those of you who listen regularly, you will know that I'm always honest with you and I want to be honest in saying that this weeks episode of the pod feels a little flat...

It could be the fact we were dusting off the brambles from Christmas, it could also be the fact that I had some bad news after the surgery that I had just before Christmas...

Hopefully you will still enjoy it though.. There are a couple of highlights including:

- The Sturgess Family's Secret Santa

- Andy's New Frog Mate

- Our Ambitions for 2026

- A Couple of Morbid Lee's Lunchbox Questions