The Resilient Recruiter

How resilient is your recruitment business? What will you do the next time there’s a financial crisis, like we experienced in 2020?

In this interview, my guest Lauren Stiebing describes the experience of her pipeline evaporating in March 2020. She goes on to reveal how she used that setback as an opportunity to create new service offerings that complimented her core business. Best of all, the new Mentoring program she developed aligned with her passion for and commitment to championing gender diversity.

Could you recession-proof your recruitment business by creating multiple revenue streams? Listen-in to Lauren describing her process for researching the market, creating a “minimum viable product” and sales strategy leading to a very successful launch.  She also shares how she uses “video sales letters” as part of her fresh and innovative approach towards marketing.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [02:50] Behind the scenes of a podcast and overcoming nerves.
• [03:50] What happened at LS International in the last two years?
• [06:45] Don’t panic! Lauren’s key lessons learned during this period.
• [11:03] Had no searches to work on, so she used the downtime to develop a new service offering
• [12:22] How the need for female talent in leadership roles led to a new venture
• [16:04] Find out how creating an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) can prevent paralysis by analysis to stop you from proceeding on a new venture
• [20:03] Lauren shares why they are not planning to grow the mentoring business too quickly
• [22:50] There is value in taking a step back from your network and seeing with whom you can partner for future ventures
• [24:30] What did the marketing process look like and how did Lauren include selling through teaching?
• [25:57] What is a “video sales letter” and why should you create one? 
• [31:33] What is the value of a landing page?
• [36:50] Change required that Lauren steps out of her comfort zone, what did she learn from this?
• [40:00] How to use podcasts to your advantage to build trust with your audience
• [42:45] Can you hire less experienced recruiters and develop them successfully?

Female Mentorship - Answering a Need In the Market

When the pandemic hit in March 2020, Lauren suddenly had no searches to work on. She was coming off a record year and had money in the bank, so at first she didn’t panic. But as the months went by without any signs of improvement, she realized she had to try something new.

“Always analyzing the market, analyzing what is happening and when you see a gap or a need, to really create a minimal viable product and see how the client reacts,” is how Lauren describes her process for developing a new service offering.

What Lauren realized is that there was a need for mentorships for female executives.  Her clients often struggled to recruit female talent into leadership roles.  So rather than recruiting outside talent, companies should invest to develop and advance their own female employees so they could promote them internally. 

This is how LS Elevate, Lauren’s mentorship program came into existence. Her initial goal was to sell 10 mentorship programs in the first year.  However, the sales and marketing campaign exceeded her expectations and she ended up selling 27 - more than double her original target. Now, in the second year of the program, she is ready to expand but is cautious about growing too quickly.  She would rather enjoy sustainable, long-term growth instead of over-extend herself. Especially since her search business has picked up again. 

Podcasts Are The Perfect Way to Present Yourself As An Authority

Lauren has published roughly 60 podcasts and states that these podcasts play a vital role to earn the trust of potential clients and candidates. When she already has a rapport with these people when they meet for the first time, it makes discussions and negotiations so much easier. 

Lauren is also committed to constantly trying out new and different marketing ideas to see what delivers the best results. One of her most effective marketing strategies are “video sales letters.” In this interview, she shares all you need to know to create your first video sales letter. 

Plans for Growth and Hiring for Attitude Over Experience

Lauren is growing her team once again and I asked what she looks for in a potential hire.  She believes that “learning, agility, and curiosity are what is going to make someone successful.”  comes Lauren’s words infused by her own experiences and the many mistakes she made as a young recruiter. Lauren is highly committed to the learning and development of her team and wishes for them to step outside of their comfort zones and to explore wider horizons on the constant journey of self-improvement. 

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro®. 

i-intro® is an end-to-end retained recruitment platform. Our technology and methodology allows recruiters to differentiate themselves from the competition, win more retained business, bigger fees and increase their billings. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter for a 25% discount. Book your free, no-obligation consultation here: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained 

Lauren Stiebing Bio and Contact Info 

Lauren is a small-town girl with big dreams. She has a degree in International Studies from Louisiana State University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her passion for head-hunting, top-notch networking abilities and being a skilled judge of people made her an experienced head-hunter. She is the founder of LS International, persevering, hard-working, resilient and has high personal standards. 

She is dedicated to the success of every client and candidate with a burning ambition to transform executive search. Lauren specializes in finding the best people for Sales, Marketing, and General Management positions in the consumer goods industry across the USA, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Her relationships with candidates and clients give her a broad and deep knowledge of markets and people. Both clients and candidates acknowledge that they love working with her because of her unique ability to craft solutions that balance client needs with candidate interests. Extensive international travel allows Lauren to pursue her hobbies of collecting currency and attending electronic music events. 

• Lauren on LinkedIn
• LS International on Twitter
• LS International website link
• LS International Podcast

People and Resources Mentioned

• Larry Weinberg
• LS International Blog Article  - How to Increase Female Promotability by 66%
• LS International Careers

Connect with Mark Whitby

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call
• Mark on LinkedIn
• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby
• Mark on Facebook
• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Related Podcast You Might Enjoy

• TRR 10 How to Build Your Personal Brand As A Recruiter

 

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Recruiters everywhere are experiencing a surge in demand for quality candidates combined with an increasing quest for diversity and inclusion. Traditional approaches and outdated processes are proving inadequate to meet these challenges. Consequently, many recruitment firms are failing to capitalize on the huge potential for growth.

My next guest, Natasha Makhijani, has managed to transform these challenges into an opportunity to revolutionize the recruitment industry. In this episode, Natasha shares how her team has developed their own mobile apps to increase candidate attraction, engagement and diversity.  She also reveals how they ensure much greater diversity and how they’re pioneering the use of Amazon’s Alexa to stay at the cutting edge of executive search.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [0:30] Why I invited Natasha back for the second time on the show
• [03:38] Inclusion in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee - how did Oliver Sanderson earn this prestigious recognition?
• [09:28] How technology helped the brand to grow despite the pandemic
• [16:55] How Natasha creates employee engagement and provides practical and emotional support while working remotely
• [22:49] The benefit of having a dedicated research / market mapping team
• [25:46] What are the three types of recruiters the brand employs?
• [30:00} Natasha’s role as Co-Chair of the HR Section Group at APSCo
• [31:20] A revolutionary approach to diversity and inclusion 
• [35:00] The charity focused on helping to uplift emerging talent and overcome the challenges faced by marginalized professionals
• [39:46] How the Snapp CV app brings technology and search together to increase talent engagement in a candidate-driven market
• [49:40] Using effective video content to grab the attention of high-level professionals and get them into your recruitment process 
• [51:30] New ventures - Natasha’s success in finding investors for a radical solution taking the recruitment industry into a new direction. 

Being a Part of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Across the UK, plans are put into place to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. 2022 marks the 70th year since her ascension.  

For the Oliver Sanderson team, this is an even more thrilling event as the recruitment business has been chosen as one of 70 companies across the UK that represents the values of the British Monarchy and what they stand for. 

The brand is the only recruitment business that has received this honor and the team’s advances in the field of technology and taking the recruitment industry to a more digital world is what they are being recognized for. 

“Alexa: Find Me a Job”

When it comes to advances in technology, the team at Oliver Sanderson is at the forefront of development. Their Oliver Sanderson OS Executive App – brings digital innovation to the executive search process.

Natasha explains, “when we go out and map the candidates, once we’ve got a long list of candidates whom we think are of interest. At that point, you can either just reach out to them or you can send them a link to an app which allows them to watch a little video.” If they like what they see, they can proceed from there onwards but you already got them to the point to make a small commitment. The app is proving to be a highly effective solution to combat the challenges of a candidate-driven market. 

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro®. 

i-intro® is an end-to-end retained recruitment platform. Our technology and methodology allows recruiters to differentiate themselves from the competition, win more retained business, bigger fees and increase their billings. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter for a 25% discount. Book your free, no-obligation consultation here: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained 

Natasha Makhijani Bio and Contact Info 

Degree Qualified from City University and a Masters in HR from the USA. Natasha began her professional career with Hays Logistics on their graduate scheme. She set up the Victoria office with her manager, and within two years, the Victoria office and the staff of eight were the top-performing office in the country. She was offered the opportunity to work with Michael Page and Robert Walters. She started with Michael Page Human Resources, and she became their top biller within HR during her first year. She helped set up their St Albans office and then moved to London to set up permanent recruitment for the Public Sector. Later, Natasha was promoted to Managing Consultant and contributed to the growth of the Public sector office. She considers herself lucky to have had a revelation to an entrepreneurial community from an early age, and she believes this helped her to shape into somebody who is vibrant and enthusiastic and with a keen interest and passion for business.

Oliver Sanderson is a dynamic brand in Executive Search & Selection that looks after Perm and Interim assignments to FTSE 100 & 250 clients. They offer retained, exclusive and contingent end-to-end recruitment in a variety of disciplines and serve major UK & Global sectors. They also provide cutting-edge service solutions to customers, ensuring the needs are met in tune with the changing marketplace. As the market changes, so do the needs of candidates and clients, and the expert team at Oliver Sanderson ensures there are strategies created around new topics matters, IR35 and BAME, to name a few, to satisfy client and candidate needs.

Oliver Sanderson offers access to new products such as their mobile job app from candidate attraction, to Drag & Drop to 1st stage video interviewing platform through their sister company Snapp CV Group PLC. Devising an alternative method of recruitment through their technology strategy has helped to move forward in the recruitment space, and they are excited about developing the digital side to recruitment through the use of Artificial Intelligence with new products.

• Natasha on LinkedIn
• Oliver Sanderson Group PLC website link
• Oliver Sanderson Group PLC on LinkedIn
• Oliver Sanderson Group PLC on Instagram
• Oliver Sanderson Group PLC on Twitter @OliverSanders9
• Oliver Sanderson Group PLC on Facebook
• Snapp CV website link

People and Resources Mentioned

• APSCO website link
• Ann Swain on LinkedIn
• Diversely website link
• Helen McGuire on LinkedIn
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
• Gary Vaynerchuk

Connect with Mark Whitby

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call
• Mark on LinkedIn
• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby
• Mark on Facebook
• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Related Podcast You Might Enjoy

• TRR 30 How to Open Doors and Build Relationships at C-Level
• TRR 90 How to Build a World-Class Talent Development Program
• TRR 57 Diversity as a Differentiator How Recruiters Can Attract 70% More Diverse Talent

 

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

 

Would you like to generate an average revenue increase of 30% per year? In this interview, Simon La Fosse shares how La Fosse Associates has achieved this every year for the past 15 years. 

When Simon founded La Fosse Associates, his focus was on creating a values-led company and treating people well – including team members and customers.  He firmly believes that the core values of Caring, Ambition and Humility have been a huge factor in company’s sustained success as they scaled to a team of 250 people. 

Simon also expands on why La Fosse Associates give share options to everyone in the business and 40% of the company is owned by the employees. He explains how it has benefitted them not only with staff retention but has also created a culture where everyone is extremely motivated to contribute to the company’s consistent growth.  Their commitment to looking after the people on their team has earned the brand several awards.

Another more recent but highly exciting addition to Simon’s portfolio is Futureproof. This venture is completely revolutionary and has the potential to set the recruitment industry off in a new direction. Through innovative thinking, Futureproof is a solution that overcomes the demand for more diversity and also addresses the severe talent shortage in technology.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [3:00] How does La Fosse retain their culture over multiple offices for so long?
• [8:35] Designing your company culture
• [10:50] Find out how care, ambition and humility are pillars in their brand
• [13:20} What does care look like in the recruitment industry?
• [18:56] How to use different ways to celebrate success 
• [25:02] Can you measure a culture fit during interviews?
• [31:50] Simon shares details about their share options and how it impacts their success
• [39:42] What are the secrets behind the commercial success La Fosse enjoys
• [46:50] Can you effectively measure the office vibe and what to do with the results?
• [49:29] What are the KPIs the management team focuses on?
• [53:30] Futureproof - a radical evolution in recruitment

Why Do Values Play Such A Vital Role In La Fosse?

“The better I treated people, the more successful I was,” this is the observation Simon made as he looked back on 15 years in the recruitment industry before he founded La Fosse Associates. Back then the recruitment industry was very competitive and income-driven, making his observation quite profound for the time. However, it was this wisdom that he took with him as he felt that it was something that would give his brand a key strategic advantage. 

Today, the brand still operates on principles that celebrate care, ambition and humility as determining factors to their success. It is by upholding these principles and giving it space in everything they do that the brand manages to sustain its value-driven culture for more than a decade. Through sustaining this brand culture, it has earned several awards but even more importantly, La Fosse has been able to show 30% growth year on year, for the past 15 years. 

At La Fosse Associates, 40% of the Company is Owned by the Staff – Why Is the Share Option Scheme Open to All Employees?

The first characteristic that differentiates the way that La Fosse gives share options is the fact that the percentage of the business that is reserved for share options is much larger than usual.  I’m not aware of any other recruitment company that is 40% owned by the employees. The second is that they don’t only offer share options to the senior management team and the highest billers. Every employee has access to this opportunity. 

“I started the business and I took the risk but you know I am one person amongst 250 and I don’t do much billing anymore. So, you can see where the value is being created and it is not me. So I think to say 60% seems really fair to leave me with,” Simon expands on how they came to the point of offering as much as 40% of the business to share options rather than the conventional 5-10%. 

The longer you are part of the team and the more you progress in the level of role you fulfill, the larger your share option grows, but essentially everyone, even those who just started as fresh graduates, has access to this opportunity.

Futureproof - Helping to Address Diversity and Talent Shortages in the Industry

As the recruitment industry can be very stagnant, the foundation of Futureproof came as a breath of fresh air. Simon admits that it has been an expensive venture, but it represents a major transition in the recruitment industry. It allows the team to select the best of the pickings of graduates before putting them through relevant training and placing them in the workplace for two years. The academy enables them to present their clients with a diverse group of junior candidates. As students don’t have to pay for this training, it allows access to training on the basis of how good you are rather than whether you can afford to pay the fees. The result is fairness and diversity when it comes to the selection of suitable candidates they can present. 

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro®. 

i-intro® is an end-to-end retained recruitment platform. Our technology and methodology allow recruiters to differentiate themselves from the competition, win more retained business, bigger fees and increase their billings. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter for a 25% discount. Book your free, no-obligation consultation here: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained 

Simon La Fosse Bio and Contact Info 

Simon is the founder and now Chair of the technology recruitment business La Fosse Associates. He also more recently founded a rapidly growing subsidiary business called Futureproof;  a diverse and free-to-learn tech academy.

Everyone’s a shareholder in the group and the mission is to continue to rapidly grow a purpose-driven business with the hope of positively impacting the whole recruitment industry. La Fosse Associates has won a few awards for growth and the way they treat people, which they keep at the heart of their ethos as they continue to expand.

La Fosse Associates is 15 years old, over 250 strong, has a number of UK offices, and established operations in Los Angeles and New York 

• Simon La Fosse on LinkedIn
• La Fosse Associates website link
• Futureproof website link
• La Fosse Associates on Instagram
• La Fosse Associates on Facebook
• La Fosse Associates on Twitter
• i-intro on Youtube

Connect with Mark Whitby

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call
• Mark on LinkedIn
• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby
• Mark on Facebook
• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

 

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Are you ready to progress from contingency to retained recruitment services but aren’t sure how to pitch it? It is often a lack of confidence in what truly differentiates your brand – and the value you can deliver – that keeps recruitment business owners trapped in a position of earning less than they deserve. 

 

As the COO of i-intro, James O’Brien has helped hundreds of recruiters transition to a retained recruitment model.  He’s also a champion and advocate for recruiters, a true thought leader who is committed to sharing knowledge and insight to benefit the recruitment industry. In this podcast, he shares many helpful tips and offers valuable guidance to make the shift from contingency to retained services easy. He provides ways to overcome a lack of confidence and how to distinguish yourself by effectively differentiating your service. 

 

James has more than 30 years of experience in the recruitment industry and understands all the pain points of recruiters and he has the solutions to help them overcome this with outstanding success.

 

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [02:15] The obstacles to generating video content - and how to overcome them
• [07:02] Why and how to create authentic videos that build your personal brand
• [10:30] What equipment do you need to create valuable video content? The answer might surprise you! 
• [13:55] James’ career transition from running a large executive recruitment firm to jumping into the world of “rec tech” with i-intro
• [19:13] Why retained recruitment isn’t just for executive search assignments
• [21:00] How can you earn a better return on your efforts and triple your income?
• [24:10] How to present yourself with confidence as someone adding value to your clients
• [32:20] Teaming up with the right people to take your business to the next level
• [35:20] How to pitch the added value that your service delivers in the form of ROI
• [37:23] What are the “three promises” James makes to clients that enable him (and i-intro users) to get paid up-front payment?
• [40:00] How James uses a “bad hire calculator” to show clients the true cost of staff turnover
• [42:35] Clients only see recruiters when they have a problem - use it to your advantage
• [44:00] Exploring the different solutions that you can present to your clients
• [45:30] Steps on how to distinguish your brand by differentiating your service

 

Escaping The Grip of Limiting Beliefs

 

Creating videos or podcasts is one of the most powerful tools to establish yourself as an authoritative figure inside your niche market. Yet, many professionals still shy away from capturing themselves on video or audio because they can only see and hear their shortcomings. They convince themselves that the value of their message is overshadowed by these imperfections that are so prominent in their eyes. 

 

James disagrees: “If you are saying something that is going to be useful to somebody, then people do want to hear.” He believes that people “appreciate the realness of who you are,” and will overlook a less-than studio quality production. This belief that you are not capable of doing it is merely self-limiting, holding you back from achieving the success you deserve. 

 

How To Tripple Your Income

 

“I am not here saying that retained recruitment is the only way to deliver service. But I am someone who says that retained recruitment is not just the executive search assignments,” James states his belief that this is the way to increase your revenue without increasing your efforts. 

 

He explains that by opting for retained recruitment, you can increase your conversion rate from 20% which is the norm for contingency recruitment, to 60% or more. It means that you can triple your income without working harder. You will also be able to work smarter with your clients and candidates and have more fun doing so. The secret is not in working harder but in being able to convince a client of your value of your service.  

 

How to Convince Clients to Appreciate You

 

“There is a perception of what a recruiter is and what they do that the market has and they have that for a very good reason…but if you hold yourself and have your self-worth and believe that you are worth it, then you should have the confidence to tell your clients what you do,” James states. 

 

He says that you should refrain from positioning yourself as a recruiter for you deliver much more than merely sourcing a few CVs. You should be able to differentiate yourself from the rest by being able to express to your clients what you truly offer them and how hiring you will benefit them. He explains some of the practical steps that will help you to do this with great success. 

 

Are you ready to make the transition from offering a contingency service to the position where you can rather enjoy a fair exchange for your expertise through a retained recruitment model?

 

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro®. 

i-intro® is an end-to-end retained recruitment platform. Our technology and methodology allow recruiters to differentiate themselves from the competition, win more retained business, bigger fees and increase their billings. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter for a 25% discount. Book your free, no-obligation consultation here: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained 

James O’Brien Bio and Contact Info 

James O-Brien has been the COO of i-intro for the past six years and during this time he grasped an in-depth understanding of the challenges that recruiters face when they transition to retained recruitment services. During his career, James trained hundreds of recruitment firms and helped them to fully understand and be able to utilize the i-intro platform. He was an early adopter of the i-intro platform and process while he was still running EO Executives, an international interim management and executive search firm. James’s career in recruitment dates back to the 1980s. During most of the past 30 years in the field, he has been involved in coaching and training recruiters as well as being the coalface of the industry. 

 

• James O’Brien on LinkedIn
• i-intro website link
• i-intro on Instagram
• i-intro on Youtube

Connect with Mark Whitby

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call
• Mark on LinkedIn
• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby
• Mark on Facebook
• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Related Podcast You Might Enjoy

 

• TRR #43 How to Transition from Contingency CV Supplier to Consultive Retained Recruiter, with Plamen Ivanoff

 

 

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Want to grow your recruitment business more rapidly? In today’s podcast, you’ll hear the remarkable story of how Ben Broughton managed to grow his start-up, Primis, to 21 staff members and revenue of £1.1 million in just five months. Primis specialises in recruitment in the field of technology and serves the UK and US market with a vision to expand into Europe soon. 

Ben started his career in recruitment in 2000 at SThree where he ran and set up offices across several locations before moving onto Premier Group in 2006. Here he spent 14 years as managing director, taking the company from 14 people to 110 and growing the revenue to £30 million and £10 million in Net Fee Income. 

While the core focus of Primis is the field of technology, the company and its success are centred around diversity and inclusion, giving everyone access to shares and putting people first. 

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [2:23] How to build a start-up to 21 staff in only five months earning £1.1 million NFI
• [3:50] Aiming for 50 heads and £3.5 million NFI by year-end
• [4:18] Touching on diversity and how it fits into Ben’s idea of success
• [6:41] Ben’s vision to become the fastest-growing tech recruitment company in the UK in three years
• [7:33] Access to shares - giving everyone a piece of the pie
• [8:43] What are the success factors resulting in this exponential growth?
• [10:25] Ben’s take on future-proofing the business
• [11:00] Taking diversity and inclusion to a new level
• [13:46] Offering clients multiple solutions depending on their needs
• [17:49] Looking at such rapid scalability from a practical perspective
• [22:00] Partnering with recruitment clients
• [23:20] Having a personal relationship with your leaders is vital
• [25:16] Sharing insights into breaking into the US market
• [28:16] Employee Management Incentive Scheme (EMI) provides staff with global ownership
• [32:55] The big lessons learned with scaling a business
• [36:10] Balancing work and life as a start-up owner?
• [39:50] Don’t micromanage - let people do what they do best
• [46:30] People do business with people - it is vital to nurture client relationships
• [49:00] The biggest challenge Ben had to navigate
• [53:50] Find out what is next for Primis

Making The Most of Shareholding

“Give everybody access to shares in the business. I think for me personally, I currently have 80% of the organisation but if I end up with 60% and the team has the other 40 but we’re worth four times as much, then that is just a no brainer for me,” Ben explains that they want everyone to feel like they have a piece of the pie, to promote even greater success for all. One of the reasons why Ben left the Premier group was because he didn’t have enough control to make the changes he desired. Thus, shareholding is something that is not only important to him on a personal level but also as a vital part of his success. Coupled with having the right people on board, success comes much easier.  Ben states that ownership is key to creating a space where staff feels they belong and the outcome is that they deliver even greater results.

Getting The Right Practical Aspects In Place To Obtain Such Rapid Growth 

When you are starting a business to grow it at a rapid pace, it does require that you have certain measures in place to ensure that everything happens at a certain pace. How did Ben do this? 

• As he has been in the industry for quite some time, he had access to a strong network.
• He trusts his team of managers with whom he has relationships outside the office too.
• They empower these managers to operate more independently and this helps the growth of the business. 
• Primis partnered with two rec-to-rec partners
• The team is launching their training academy to ensure recruits get the proper training to hit the ground running.
• They are creating an environment of inclusion and diversity 
• When it comes to clients, they offer several service options
• They ensured financial backing in advance.

What Are The Mistakes Ben Has Made Along the Way

As a large part of Ben’s success at Premier Group was the large expansion he delivered on, taking the recruitment team from 14 to 110 people, he can share some lessons learned. The following are all things he mentions to ensure rapid expansion

• Take care to ensure work/life balance
• Don’t micromanage your team
• Clients are your partners and it is vital to build personal relationships

These and many other insights that Ben brings to the podcast can help you too to speed up the growth of your business. 

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro®. 

i-intro® is an end-to-end retained recruitment platform. Our technology and methodology allow recruiters to differentiate themselves from the competition, win more retained business, bigger fees and increase their billings. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter for a 25% discount. Book your free, no-obligation consultation here: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained 

Ben Broughton Bio and Contact Info 

Ben’s career in recruitment started in 2000 when he joined the team of SThree. Here his primary responsibility was to set up and run offices for the company across Birmingham, Leeds and Reading. 

By 2006, he moved on to Premier Group. After successfully expanding the contract function of the business he continued to open offices for the Premier brand in Manchester, London, Birmingham, New York and Austin. During his 14 years as managing director, he led the company to expand from 14 people to 110, reaching revenue of more than £30 million and £10 million NFI. 

As founder of Primis, Ben scaled the business to 21 employees since September 2021. Ben’s mission is to grow the Primis brand into a leading technology-focused recruitment business that puts people first. 

• Ben Broughton on LinkedIn
• Primis website link
• Primis on LinkedIn

People and Resources Mentioned

• Steve Beckitt on LinkedIn
• SourceBreaker website link
• Amoria Bond website link  
• OneUp website link
• Steve Wynne on LinkedIn

Connect with Mark Whitby

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call
• Mark on LinkedIn
• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby
• Mark on Facebook
• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Related Podcast You Might Enjoy

• How Recruiters Can Promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, with Chikere Igbokwe, Ep #102
• How to Build a High-Performance Sales Team and Skyrocket Your Growth, with Ian Moyse, Ep #83

 

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Looking back on the past two years, how would you summarize the impact that Covid-19 had on your business? For most companies, this was a devastating time and an even worse period for the individuals who worked in these firms. It was no different for the team at Cubed Talent Management, but they opted to turn the cards into their favour and can now look back on two records years. Added to this success, they are confident in predicting a 35% increase in the budget for 2022. 

What Steven Street, CEO of Cubed Talent Management, brings to the table is much more than 25 years of experience and exceptional skills in the industry. The insights he is sharing is much more profound as it speaks of a deep understanding of how to take a calm approach amidst global chaos. Under his guidance Cubed Talent Management could revert back to basics, set certain vital systems in place and excel beyond expectations

“Without sounding like I am fetishizing the pandemic which was terrible and truly a crisis for too many people. There was something strangely exhilarating about the whole thing where there was little we were completely in control of and I think it had a bit of a levelling effect,” is Steven’s take on the first couple of weeks after Covid-19 became a very relevant reality. In this podcast, he shares how his team managed to turn what could have been a disaster into profound success. 

Episode Outline and Highlights:

• [0:28] Introducing Steven Street
• [3:24] How Covid-19 illuminated the need to live by your company values 
• [9:48] What is CIRCLE and how did it create a launchpad for new growth and success?
• [14:00] Freedom regarding working conditions ensured productivity 
• [15:25] 1st of June 2020 became recovery week 1
• [18:00] Lesson #1 from the pandemic - keeping it simple
• [25:00] Redefining key markets to include sustainable sectors
• [26:30] What were the most prominent changes ensuring record-breaking years?
• [28:13] The benefits stemming from looking at the business from a different perspective
• [32:25] What is a pre-registration storyboard and how to use it to differentiate your brand
• [43:13] Hosting virtual events for clients helped to improve the team’s success in converting more candidates into placement
• [53:02] Effective implementation of “doing more and talking less”
• [58:50] Addressing increased personal productivity and improved behaviour 

How Cubed Talent Management Managed to Turn Covid-19 Into Two Record Years

“What the pandemic taught us was really was to flatten and simplify and we went back into direct drive. For every input, for every hour worked, for every pound spent, for every effort expended, we’ve got to see the wheels turn and they’ve got to turn quickly and they got to turn and take us into the right direction to the next destination which was recovery, consolidate. grow and then scale.”

Steven explains how they realized when the pandemic stripped away the numbers they were used to and all the comforts and certainties that come along with success, all they had left was each other and the values they shared and the bonds that tied the team together. 

The platform they could use to gain traction again consisted of basic human needs of association, community, security and a sense of belonging. The result was a record two years in the business. As they had no choice but to change, they opted to go at it “really hard and radical.” They realized that they went through the typical enterprise maturity cycle and that they need to take on the mindset of being a startup again. This was how they could attend to the tasks that really mattered and made a difference to their success. From here they could proceed from recovery mode, to consolidate, grow and scale. This is where they are now and the foundation that allows them to put an exciting but reasonable growth expectation in place for 2022. 

The Values That Served as the Glue Leading to Success 

CIRCLE - what does it stand for? Steven explains what these values are what they were holding onto. He also emphasizes that for values to be the platform of your success, you need to do more than claim them, you need to live them. While value statements are mostly written manifestos of what your brand stands for during times when all is well, their team has experienced that their values became even more tangible when all bets were off due to this immense disruption of lives the world experienced during especially the height of the pandemic. 

Lesson Learned - Keys to Lasting Success

Cubed Talent Management showed themselves as exceptionally successful to manage their in-house talent optimally during a time that might as well turn out in quite a different manner. What did they learn during this time?

• Simplify procedures
• Redefine key markets
• Be more productive
• Be more discerning about what communication is necessary and when
• Revert to doing what a start-up does 

These are only some of the aspects Steven believe will enable a recruitment firm to enjoy an unexpected level of success. 

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro®. 

i-intro® is an end-to-end retained recruitment platform. Our technology and methodology allow recruiters to differentiate themselves from the competition, win more retained business, bigger fees and increase their billings. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter for a 25% discount. Book your free, no-obligation consultation here: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained 

Steven Street Bio and Contact Info 

Got into recruitment on the ground floor - fortuitously, with Larry Gould's business Link Up in June 1993 - followed by a successful stint with Pertemps (which would have been my forever career - had I not launched Relay Recruitment in 1996; subsequently sold in 2011. Now working with an amazing handpicked team at Cubed Talent Management.

As stated on my LI profile: a human Swiss Army knife, problem solver, acquirer and nurturer of World Class talent, therapist, wine drinker, believer in a brighter future and, most importantly- lover of dogs. 🐶 Yorkshire born and bred - dragged up in Bradford.

A vociferous enemy of mediocrity, shabby service, average aspiration, poor standards and negativity.

My own personal mission is to launch a community enterprise supporting young people with Autism, Aspergers and other additional needs into dignified internships, work placements, work experience and ultimately, quality career pathways. 

• Steven Street on LinkedIn
• Cubed Talent Management website link
• Cubed Talent Management on LinkedIn
• Cubed Talent Management on Twitter
• Cubed Talent Management in Facebook 

People and Resources Mentioned:

• Non-profit Org that Steven Supports: Martin House Children’s Hospice
• Fundraising and Creating Awareness for Martin House 

Connect with Mark Whitby

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call
• Mark on LinkedIn
• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby
• Mark on Facebook
• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Related Podcast You Might Enjoy

• TRR #51 Disrupting the Recruitment Industry: Radically Rethinking Our Client Relationships, with Steven Street

 

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Imagine starting your own recruitment business with zero experience in recruitment and only 10 days later the world comes to a standstill with 9/11.

This is how the story of Mark Brown, co-founder and director of Worldwide Recruitment Solutions (WRS) started. However, this wasn’t the last obstacle in his way. Their niche field was financial institutions with a specific focus on the mortgage market when the 2008 financial collapse took place. From there they transitioned their business into serving the oil and gas industry and 2014 came along, seeing the oil industry plummeting. 

In this podcast, Mark expands on how they still managed to grow WRS to revenue of £56 million and EBITA of £1.7M with 4 international offices (UK, Singapore, Iraq & Uganda), becoming the 3rd fastest growing recruitment company in the UK. 

Episode Outline and Highlights:

• [1:24] The journey from call centre manager to founding a recruitment business 
• [4:51] 10 days after launching 9/11 rocked the world
• [6:15] The urgently search for a new niche and stumbling into the world of finance
• [9:50] A career of surviving and thriving the worst of downtimes
• [13:55] Expanding internationally
• [15:22] Sep 2008 - started World Recruitment Solutions (WRS)
• [16:27] The motto of “Cash is King” helped them weather the storms 
• [20:42] The simple model that proved effective in following their vision
• [25:10] 2011 WRS entered the oil and gas industry, the cash cow they needed
• [27:50] How to grow your business from 5 - 30 people in 3 years
• [29:50] The secrets to enjoying a 90% staff retention
• [37:48] And then the oil industry plummeted - surviving another crisis
• [46:43] Solving infrastructure challenges with the right tech stack and automation
• [54:00] Winning the Sunday Times Award for Best Small Company to Work For
• [55:48] Why creating a respectful environment is so important at WRS
• [59:35] Where is WRS heading the future?

Cash Is King

“You talk about systems but there weren’t any systems. The reality was that this was a decision that I’d taken on the back of good advice. I think the advice I was given besides that cash is king is to make sure you’ve always got a minimum of 6 and ideally 9 months worth of working capital, business as usual working capital so that you can keep the lights on,” Mark explains how they managed to survive and thrive through 4 major global financial crises.  

How to Scale Your Business to 30 People

In a matter of three years, WRS grew from 5 to 30 people. On top of that, they also have an employee retention rate of 90%. Mark compared their system to that of Jack and the Beanstalk where they had four department heads and added new team members underneath each one. 

The following factors all influenced their success in hiring the right people to fall underneath these heads:

 

• An organizational structure that allowed them to bring in individuals to work underneath a certain line manager
• They employed trainees 
• They looked for a certain DNA in these individuals
• WRS had an excellent training platform
• By appointing a learning and development manager
• Employing outside experts to fill knowledge gaps

However, what added more value to the business was the high retention rate that sometimes was above 90%. As WRS always gave their staff the perfect runway to grow within, staff would very seldom leave the business. Mark also pointed out that they created a clear path for everyone joining the firm and they offered a space without any glass ceilings and where the opinion of employees was respected.

Why Did WRS Win The Sunday Times Best Small Company to Work for Award?

Mark states that even though the company has grown tremendously since its early days, they’ve maintained the same kind of culture. The management team, the L&D team and the culture of the business never changed. “I refer back to respect, fair environment, an environment where people feel they belong, feel they have a voice, feel they have an input, they understand the purpose of the company and the direction of travel and that is through constant communication,” Mark shares why he believes they won the award for being the best small company to work for. 

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro®. 

i-intro® is an end-to-end retained recruitment platform. Our technology and methodology allows recruiters to differentiate themselves from the competition, win more retained business, bigger fees and increase their billings. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter for a 25% discount. Book your free, no-obligation consultation here: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained 

Mark Brown Bio and Contact Info 

Mark Brown is the co-founder of Worldwide Recruitments Solutions (WRS) and has 20 years experience as a recruitment business owner and CEO. Involved in the start up of two  recruitment brands - KCMB (2001-08) & WRS (2008 to date).

WRS is a global recruitment consultancy and workforce solutions company serving the oil and gas, mining, marine and power industries. In 2021, WRS achieved revenue of £56M with an EBITDA of £1.7M. The brand has a global presence with offices in UK, Singapore, Iraq and Uganda. They currently have a headcount of 65 (peaked at 120 in 2015).

WRS was recently named by Recruiter Magazine as the 3rd fastest growing recruitment company in the UK. He and his team have a long list of awards that includes being the Sunday Times Best Small Company to Work for, WRS enjoys a place on the Version Fast Track List and they’ve received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise and International Trade. 

Mark brings expertise in international trade and global expansion and is an advocate of technology innovation and digitisation to improve business process and efficiency.  Married for 20 years, he has twin daughters (aged 22). A keen supporter of football (30 years a season ticket holder at Man United) and horse racing as a spectator sport.       

• Mark Brown on LinkedIn
• Worldwide Recruitment Solutions website link
• Worldwide Recruitment Solutions on LinkedIn
• Worldwide Recruitment Solutions on Facebook

People and Resources Mentioned:

• Profits First by Mike Michalowicz 
• Workr https://workrgroup.com/
• Francis Dunleavy on LinkedIn

Connect with Mark Whitby

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call
• Mark on LinkedIn
• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby
• Mark on Facebook
• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

 

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Many founders dream of selling their business one day. In this interview, you’ll hear from someone who’s actually done it. Since launching his firm, Taylor Hopkinson, in April 2009, Tom Hopkinson has grown the business to almost 100 employees and revenue of £50,000,000 – a 60% increase over the previous year! However, the biggest news is that in December 2021, Taylor Hopkinson sold 72% of their shares to Brunel International N.V. for 32mm EUR.

Tom is the founder and CEO of Taylor Hopkinson, based in Glasgow. The team is a valuable recruitment partner to the world’s leaders in renewable energy. The team at TH has several accolades to their name including, winning the Windy Industry Awards Best Recruiter of the Year in 2021 and 2019/20 and Recruiter Fast 50 named them one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry. They offer retained search and selection, permanent and contract recruitment services and business intelligence solutions to global market leaders with offices in London, Mexico, Valencia, Boston, Singapore and Taipei.

In this episode, Tom shares his story that begins much like many other recruiters who stepped into this field by accident. For Tom, this was a very literal experience as he actually got lost en route to his first interview in recruitment and almost didn’t show up at all. Luckily for him, and for our industry, the hiring manager called and guided him on the phone right into their parking lot. Imagine if he’d never attended that fateful interview that set him on the path to success in recruitment!

Episode Outline and Highlights

[1:39] Tom’s hilarious story of his first recruitment interview
[5:45] What are the factors that contributed to a successful career in recruitment?
[9:10] Rubbing shoulders with and absorbing information from the right people is critical to your success in recruitment.
[10:25] Find out what set Tom on course to becoming a millionaire
[15:40] Pursuing the goals of building it, creating value and providing an exit
[17:00] What factors contributed to Tom being able to add value and growth to his business?
[20:18] A breakthrough 7-figure PE funding deal 2017 helped Tom to scale the business from 23 to 90 employees
[21:00] This advice from the leaders at Long Acre International served him well
[28:00] Tom shares the 3 top KPIs that drive the success of Taylor Hopkinson
[31:45] How did Tom overcome the obstacle of serving a finite number of clients in a niche
[33:30] Streamlining operations and closing down offices caused accelerated success
[42:00] The pitfalls on the journey to international expansion
[45:20] Patience is vital if you want to reach the top
[46:41] What made Brunel International the right choice?
[53:34] Tom’s best advice to recruitment entrepreneurs

If you’ve ever wondered what’s involved in running an international recruiting firm and placing people all over the world, here’s your chance to find out. You’ll enjoy listening to my interview with Abigail Stevens, founder of Think Global Recruitment, who has 25 years of experience assisting accounting and finance professionals to not only change jobs, but to relocate from one country to another.

I’ve known and admired Abigail for almost 20 years — she was one of my very first clients when I started my recruitment training business back in 2001. As you’ll hear, Abigail has been hugely successful, both as a top biller and as a business owner. But what was special about this interview is that Abigail talked not only about the high points, but the lows as well. Having survived four downturns / recessions, she’s had some heart breaking moments. You’ll benefit from knowing what she’s learned along the way, and how these experiences have shaped her current strategy for growth.

Episode Outline and Highlights

[2:02] How Abigail kicked off her recruitment career: her journey from starting her own business at a very young age.
[11:01] Abigail reveals her turning points that led her to where she is today.
[14:00] Pioneering an approach to attracting and placing top talent via international recruitment conferences.
[21:18] Taking the company through four downturns/recessions.
[24:42] Abigail revealed things she would have done differently to retain key people during the recession.
[25:47] Pearls of wisdom on talent retention.
[27:30] Weathering the storm during the pandemic.
[30:00] Thought process in expanding during the pandemic.
[32:48] Think Global Recruitment’s new business model.
[40:43] Best practice in the internal hiring process.
[47:00] What’s next for Think Global Recruitment?

Many founders dream of selling their business one day. In this interview, you’ll hear from someone who’s actually done it.  Since launching his firm, Taylor Hopkinson, in April 2009, Tom Hopkinson has grown the business to almost 100 employees and revenue of £50,000,000 – a 60% increase over the previous year!  However, the biggest news is that in December 2021, Taylor Hopkinson sold 72% of their shares to Brunel International N.V. for 32mm EUR. 

Tom is the founder and CEO of Taylor Hopkinson, based in Glasgow. The team is a valuable recruitment partner to the world’s leaders in renewable energy. The team at TH has several accolades to their name including, winning the Windy Industry Awards Best Recruiter of the Year in 2021 and 2019/20 and Recruiter Fast 50 named them one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry. They offer retained search and selection, permanent and contract recruitment services and business intelligence solutions to global market leaders with offices in London, Mexico, Valencia, Boston, Singapore and Taipei. 

In this episode, Tom shares his story that begins much like many other recruiters who stepped into this field by accident. For Tom, this was a very literal experience as he actually got lost en route to his first interview in recruitment and almost didn’t show up at all.  Luckily for him, and for our industry, the hiring manager called and guided him on the phone right into their parking lot. Imagine if he’d never attended that fateful interview that set him on the path to success in recruitment! 

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [1:39] Tom’s hilarious story of his first recruitment interview
• [5:45] What are the factors that contributed to a successful career in recruitment?
• [9:10] Rubbing shoulders with and absorbing information from the right people is critical to your success in recruitment.
• [10:25] Find out what set Tom on course to becoming a millionaire
• [15:40] Pursuing the goals of building it, creating value and providing an exit
• [17:00] What factors contributed to Tom being able to add value and growth to his business?
• [20:18] A breakthrough 7-figure PE funding deal 2017 helped Tom to scale the business from 23 to 90 employees 
• [21:00] This advice from the leaders at Long Acre International served him well
• [28:00] Tom shares the 3 top KPIs that drive the success of Taylor Hopkinson
• [31:45] How did Tom overcome the obstacle of serving a finite number of clients in a niche 
• [33:30] Streamlining operations and closing down offices caused accelerated success 
• [42:00] The pitfalls on the journey to international expansion
• [45:20] Patience is vital if you want to reach the top
• [46:41] What made Brunel International the right choice? 
• [53:34] Tom’s best advice to recruitment entrepreneurs

The African Proverb that Tom Lives by Now

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” This African proverb is what Tom uses to summarize his approach towards leadership. Yet, this is a lesson that he had to learn the hard way. There were times when he simply pulled everyone forward at the pace he wanted to go and that wasn’t realistic. Now, in hindsight, Tom is sure that this couldn’t be very nice for the people working with him. He shares that they would’ve wasted far less effort, energy and sleepless nights on stressing if they only believed that things would come. Patience is vital if you want to persevere until the end. 

The Top 3 KPIs for Recruitment Success

Tom mentioned that there are three Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that need more attention than others. So, I wanted to know how he determines what metrics are more important than others. He also shared why he believes so strongly in this system that he runs his entire operation on this model. 

He explained that in any business, there is a range of KPIs but not all of them are equally influential. Tom suggests that you pinpoint the three most influential KPIs that affect all other KPIs. Once you have identified them, they become your focal point as they are the determining factors to your success. By reducing the number of KPIs you track, you can prevent your focus and attention from becoming diluted. 

The three KPIs he is looking at are:

• business development activity
• CVs sent
• first interviews

Tom believes that all other KPIs depend on how successful you are in meeting these three. At Taylor Hopkinson, they don’t emphasize “new job orders” as a metric. You can find yourself in a situation where your team brings in a lot of new jobs but they’re not necessarily jobs that you can fill, or even want to fill, as a niche market recruiter. 

Don’t lose quality on what you have to offer simply because you are chasing targets. Rather, focus on the number of first interviews because if you have enough first interviews, that means you also have enough jobs.  Only once the number of first interviews seems to be sliding, you have to determine why.

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro®. 

i-intro® is an end-to-end retained recruitment platform. Our technology and methodology allow recruiters to differentiate themselves from the competition, win more retained business, bigger fees and increase their billings. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter for a 25% discount. Book your free, no-obligation consultation here: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained 

Tom Hopkinson Bio and Contact Info 

Tom obtained his degree in English Literature and Philosophy from Cardiff University in 2002. It was not even two years after graduating that he set up the renewable energy proposition from the very start as manager of renewable energy at Ellis Fairbank. Tom considers this as the first time when he opted to follow his passion as the move was inspired by wind turbines next to the M6.

From here, he moved on to Eden Scott Limited as divisional manager of renewable energy before founding Taylor Hopkinson in 2009. TH has a global presence as they have offices in seven countries and professionals on their team operating from more than 40 countries across the globe. 

Tom approaches his trade from the perspective that you need to do what you are committed to and have a passion for as it is better to be dominant in a niche field than average in much larger pool. Other mottos which he uses to guide his success is to absorb as much information as possible from others and to believe that through persistent quality deliverance things will come to you rather than chasing success.  

• Tom on LinkedIn 
• Additional website link

Connect with Mark Whitby

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call
• Mark on LinkedIn
• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby
• Mark on Facebook
• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

 

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter