The Resilient Recruiter Success Factors of Scale from Startup to 120 People, with Clive Hutchings, Ep #258
Why do most recruitment companies stall at 10 to 20 people, while others scale to 100+ across continents? In this episode, you’ll hear directly from someone who’s done it.
STR Group is a family of specialist recruitment brands focused on STEM sectors. As co-founder, Clive Hutchings has spent over two decades growing the business to more than 120 staff across the UK, Europe, and the US—all while staying profitable, adaptable, and values-driven.
In this interview, Clive breaks down what it really takes to build a multi-brand, international recruitment group, the leadership philosophy behind STR’s culture, and the gritty truths behind scaling a business beyond yourself.
Episode Outline and Highlights
[3:05] The early days: how Clive started in recruitment and his story of practicing his pitch in front of a mirror in the office.
[11:37] The operational and leadership shifts needed to grow from 10 to 100+ employees
[19:19] Why many recruitment founders plateau—and how to avoid it
[21:09] Discussion on the best approach to train a new recruiter.
[27:33] The value of having a support network around you.
[32:50] What is the formula for knowing when to make your next hire?
[40:00] Impact of AI: “Sales people being more sustainable, resourcing people less so.”
[41:45] Clive reveals their tech stack and how AI impacts their current operations.
[45:00] The relevance of cold calling in the age of AI.
[52:00] Big differences between hiring in the US and the UK.
[1:02:10] Learnings on expanding globally.
[1:07:00] Culture and mantra that work.
Leadership That Scales
One of the biggest takeaways from this conversation is the importance of evolving your role as a founder. Clive credits much of STR’s growth to the fact that he didn’t try to do everything himself. Instead, he and his co-founder took on complementary leadership roles, allowing each to focus on their strengths while building out a business that could scale beyond them.
If you’re stuck juggling billing, management, and strategy, this is your sign to rethink your leadership structure. Building a scalable firm means building scalable leadership, and that starts with letting go of being the bottleneck.
He also elaborated on the following:
1. Multifaceted Leadership Structure
2. Team Composition and Talent Strategy
3. High Energy and Personal Drive
4. Resilience Through Early-Stage Challenges
5. Realistic Growth Mindset
Clive’s success as a leader came from building a balanced team, maintaining high personal energy, fostering a resilient and realistic culture, and adapting roles and structures to match the stage of the business.
Decision Factors When to Make Your Next Hire
With Clive’s success in scaling his team globally, I wanted to pick his brains on his thought process when deciding to make a new hire. As a recruitment business owner, this is a critical decision to make, as doing it too slowly can impede your business’s growth, while doing it too rapidly can lead to longer-term problems that cost more to fix.
Clive shared the following decision factors:
Strategic Forecasting & Business Planning - Hiring plans are based on quarterly forecasts developed by each brand’s leadership.
Critical Mass & Team Size Considerations - A certain headcount is needed to reach operational momentum, but hiring must be sustainable. Smaller teams (e.g., <10 people) can’t absorb too many new hires without harming billing output.
Billing Readiness - No new hires are made until existing team members are up and billing effectively.
Managerial Capacity - Avoids spreading leadership too thin and ensures productivity isn't sacrificed. The team or brand must have a strong leader with the capacity to onboard, mentor, and support new hires.
Avoiding Headcount for Vanity - Growth is measured by gross profit, not headcount, ensuring hires contribute to revenue, not just size.
Culture You Can Replicate
Culture isn’t just lip service, it’s a competitive advantage. At STR, the “Make it Happen” and “D.I.N (Do it NOW)” mantra became more than a slogan; it was a daily mindset that helped the team stay focused, take ownership, and remain commercially sharp as the business scaled.
As you grow beyond a small team, you’ll need a culture that can travel across desks, offices, and even continents. A clear, replicable culture creates alignment without micromanagement, making it easier to scale while maintaining high standards.
“Is what I’m doing right now making me money?” It’s a simple question—but it changes how people work.”
Clive Hutchings Bio and Contact Info
Clive Hutchings has worked in Technical Recruitment since 1996. he established STR Group in 2000, which has evolved into a collection of niche brands in STEM sectors operating across the UK, Europe, and the USA. STR’s brands deliver people solutions in Life Sciences, Technical Engineering, Automation and Robotics, Maritime & Architecture. Now with offices in Portsmouth, Gatwick, Detroit, and Switzerland, they provide various solutions from contingent contract and permanent, through to retained, managed services, MSP, and Project solutions.
Aside from work, Clive is a family man with 5 children and a long-suffering wife. He enjoys football, hiking, being outdoors, and looking after his sheep, having recently taken a course in lambing.
Clive on LinkedIn
STR website link
People and Resources Mentioned
• Blackfield Associates website link
• Navis Consulting website link
• Urban Recruitment website link
• Insignis Talent website link
• Talos Automation website link
• James Caan on LinkedIn
• Alex Elliot on LinkedIn
• Bullhorn
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