The Resilient Recruiter

One of the biggest problems in our industry is the high level of staff turnover and attrition. This can have negative implications on profits, branding, and continuity of service. How do you overcome this? Neil Dickins, the founder of Intellectual Capital Resources, shares how they have achieved excellent employee engagement and retention for the last 21 years. This correlates with them achieving 86 profitable quarters in a row! Founded in 1999, IC Resources now employs over 70 people with 7 offices across the UK, Germany, Austria, China and the USA. They’ve made over 12,000 placements and are the pre-eminent ‘deep tech’ recruiter in the UK and Europe.  In this episode, Neil shares their approach to hiring, organic growth, culture and KPI management, and how ‘letting go’ can be a challenge but beneficial in the long run. Enjoy! Episode Outline and Highlights [1:30] Neil reveals how he ended up in the UK and how he fell in love with recruiting. [5:22] Top key factors to IC Resources’ success.  [11:58] Being part of the business community: Neil reveals examples of how you can be part of the industry you find yourself in. [21:05] Building a strong business by having no unwanted staff turnover. [22:56] Creating a high level of staff retention [25:00] IC Resources’ approach on dynamic KPIs  [28:49] Give your team autonomy and let go. Neil discusses the challenge and benefit of ‘letting go.’ [32:12] Discussion on organic growth and promoting from within. [36:37] How to manage your team members who are working remotely. [43:37] Neil’s number one message to his teams: hear about the ten-second rule. [46:14] Don’t just do it for the money  Neil shares the ‘worst mistake’ they ever made. [52:00] Temp checking on your teams: when to support and when to let go. Critical Success Factors for Sustainable Growth and Profitability I reached out to Neil because IC Resources were listed in the Hot 100 List of the Recruiter Magazine. Out of 30-40,000 recruitment firms in the UK, they are 33rd in terms of billings per employee. This is on top of them having 86 straight profitable quarters! Such an incredible feat has a lot of contributing factors. But I asked Neil to boil it down to the key components. Neil mentioned two: Taking the long term view and commitment to both your clients and employees Being actively involved within the business community that you serve Avoiding Unwanted Staff Turnover As we went through our conversation, it was clear that what significantly contributed to IC Resources’ strong business is retaining talent and reducing staff turnover. “For 21 years...we almost had no unwanted staff turnover” is how Neil puts it. What are their practices to have such high staff retention? Neil said, “It is a combination of culture and lack of greed.” He laid out some of their employee practices which I believe you will find interesting: Having targets that are reasonable, fair, and achievable. Having a sense of responsibility and achievement. Day to day enjoyment and satisfaction. All of the abovementioned factors are founded on how they manage their KPIs. Their approach to having dynamic and custom KPIs for each person is genius! Learn more about it while listening. The Ten-Second Rule I’ve noticed that many successful leaders have certain phrases or key messages they repeat over and over to their team until it becomes part of the DNA of the organization.  I asked Neil what message he finds himself repeating when communicating with his team.  He shared a nugget of wisdom that we could all adopt as a fundamental principle in doing business; let’s call it the ‘ten-second rule’. This is how he puts it: “People know within 10 seconds of a phone call if you see them as a person or as a pound sign.” How does that impact the overall end-to-end hiring process? Listen to this episode of The Resilient Recruiter to hear Neil explain this philosophy in detail. 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  Neil Dickins Bio and Contact Info Fell in love with theatre at McMaster University, graduated 1st Class Hons Psych & Drama while running two University businesses. Came to England to study Shakespeare at LAMDA, became ensnared in the thorns of an English rose and stayed in the UK. Helped Chris Benham start Orion Electrotech prior to co-founding Intellectual Capital Resources. Founded in 1999, IC Resources is now 70 people and the pre-eminent ‘deep tech’ recruiter in the UK and Europe. Also covering high-level software and supply chain, we can startups full skills coverage outside of legal and accounts. We manage blue-chip relationships through an account management team. Neil makes early-stage investments (Anorak Investments), performs in theatre, runs a weekly poker club and attempts to keep up with the youth on the basketball court. Neil on LinkedIn Intellectual Capital Resources website link IC Creative website link IC Resources on Facebook IC Resources on Twitter @icresourcesteam Victoria’s Promise website link - a non-profit organization supported by Neil Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook   Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

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? Think Global’s Wildly Successful Candidate Generation Strategy  Abigail shared her fascinating journey including how she started her first business very young, then went travelling around the world, before falling into recruitment and eventually setting up Think Global Recruitment at the age of 28.  You will enjoy listening to her best learning moments - as well as some of the innovative recruitment strategies she pioneered.  An example is how they used international recruitment conferences in the UK, South Africa, and Australia to attract top talent for consulting firms such as PwC, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, BDO, Grant Thornton.  Pearls of Wisdom on Talent Retention The other part of our conversation is how Abigail was able to take her company through four economic recessions, including the current pandemic situation. The resilience and planning enabled her firm to withstand the difficulties. Of course, there are things that she would have done differently, which she humbly shared for the benefit of other business owners. One main takeaway was on retaining top recruiters. Abigail shared: Staff need to feel successful   Ongoing training and development opportunities are critical Don’t dwell on what worked it the past - move with the times! Hear how Abigail elaborated on the above takeaways in our conversation. Growing During the Pandemic In the middle of the pandemic, Think Global Recruitment decided to expand. What makes successful companies such as Think Global thrive during this difficult time? Abigail explained, “Our thought process was, we know from the previous recessions that we’ve been through, that after recession usually there is a shortage of people,” she explained. “So we knew that there is going to be a high demand for our candidates at the end of all of this.”  Indeed, being a step ahead and maintaining a growth mindset is definitely a differentiator in 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 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  Abigail Stevens Bio and Contact Info Abigail Stevens is the Founder and Managing Director of Think Global Recruitment, which she established in 2000. Abigail herself has 25 years experience as a specialist in global accountancy and finance recruitment. She has been assisting Accountancy & Finance professionals to secure new roles throughout the globe and employers to recruit the best accountants in the world, since 1995. Abigail on LinkedIn Think Global Recruitment website link Think Global Recruitment on LinkedIn Think Global Recruitment on Facebook Think Global Recruitment on Instagram Think Global Recruitment on Twitter @ThinkGlobalRec People and Resources Mentioned Nick Price 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 TRR#36 Failing Forward: The Recruitment CEO Who Embraces Mistakes as Stepping Stones to Success, with Nick Price   Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

This email instantly got my attention:  “Since listening to your podcast, I’ve had an exponential increase in my billings numbers. The past 64 days, I’ve billed $286,550. I just wanted you to know that your podcasts add value, and have been life changing from a commissions perspective for me.” Usually I interview recruitment business owners. But based on Zach’s incredible results, it was obvious that I had to invite him onto the show and hear his story.  Zach’s enthusiasm is infectious and I am sure you will find insight from both the perspective of a recruiter and a billing manager (Zach has recently hired two recruiters onto his team). If you are a business owner, you will be interested to hear how Zach’s current employer set him up for success.  Zach has only been in the recruitment industry for six years and this year he has absolutely taken off like a rocket. He even had a four-month stretch where he billed an average of $100k per month!  Zach is a Director at iRiS Recruiting Solutions out of Indiana and places travelling superintendents with Contractors across the United States. iRiS specializes in assisting companies hire top talent for Construction, Warehouse/Distribution, Power & Electronics, Retail, and Manufacturing. Episode Outline and Highlights [4:41] What motivated Zach to reach out to me and share his story. [8:11] How Zach implements his learnings from the Resilient Recruiter podcast [12:27] How confidence changes everything - Zach’s methods that lead to delivering better results. [13:49] Creating the demand - how to sell retainers. [20:49] What is the “resource dedication fee”? [23:16] How hardwork and a competitive mindset helped to exponentially increase Zach’s billings. [29:10] Stop wasting time! Zach’s shares his no-nonsense philosophy and the exact verbiage he uses to persuade clients and candidates to work his way.   [32:55] How iRiS Recruiting Solutions set Zach up for success. [37:40] How to manage recruiters and make placement at the same time. [43:09] Zach’s next steps and future goals. Confidence Changes Everything Zach shared how confidence helped him to put up big billing numbers. It helped him approach his day and business in a way where he can set his own table and choose clients he works with. “I am handling objections better on the phone, handling negotiations better, I don’t go below 25%,” Zach described.  His no-nonsense attitude of “This is how I work - are you in or are you out” stems from his methodology and ability to deliver. During our interview, Zach shared key takeaways from his experience that greatly contributed to his success: Focusing on his niche market Planning, planning, and planning Selling retainers effectively Engaging with his candidates to work with him exclusively Hardwork and a competitive mindset Sell Retainers by Creating the Demand  Making 40+ placements already this year, one of the things Zach is doing differently is retainers. He moved from contingency model to what he calls “Resource Dedication Fees” and was able to secure four retainers this year. Why call it Resource Dedication Fees? It is a creative approach to rebranding retainers.  Aside from overcoming any negative connotation that some clients may relate to the term “retainers”, their clients would have a clearer understanding of the retainer model from the term “resource dedication”. Another factor that Zach shared on why he sells retainers easily is by creating demand by putting forth high-level candidates. Hear the details from Zach in this episode. Stop Wasting Time - Focus on the Right Candidate Recruiters typically waste a lot of time working the wrong jobs on the wrong candidate. Zach’s philosophy is to try and cut that time out enabling him to focus on the right candidate for the right job. Zach shared a situation where many recruiters can relate - pulling a candidate out of the hiring process to stop wasting time and focus on more decided candidates.  Zach said, “I think recruiters spend a lot of time … ‘I got two final interviews today, I wonder how it will go.’ You are just worrying about it. My thought is, hey, go hit the phone, the interview for today is from work you did yesterday or the week before. Let’s focus on what we're doing today for tomorrow and next week.” 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  Zach Mayner Bio and Contact Info Zach works iRiS Recruiting Solutions out of Carmel, Indiana. iRiS specializes in assisting companies hire top talent for the following industries: Construction, Warehouse/Distribution, Power & Electronics, Retail, and Manufacturing. iRiS is one of the Top Recruiting Firm’s in the United States. Out of the 10 Account Executives currently on Staff, 5 have Billed over $400,000, 1 has billed over $500,000 and 2 are North of $600,000 since January of this year.  Zach has been in the recruiting industry for 6 years, and started listening to the Resilient Recruiter podcast at the beginning of 2021. Since tuning in and heading the advice from industry leaders, Zach has made minor tweaks to his approach, and has increased his 2021 billings exponentially. This year, he’s had a 4 month stretch where he averaged over $100K in billings per month.  Zach is currently scaling his business and has added 2 Recruiters to his team. He has a unique perspective on transitioning from one of the Top Billers at his company to managing a team of 2.  He celebrated his 4th wedding anniversary in September with his beautiful wife Felicia. He has an almost 3 year old daughter named Estabelle, and another baby girl due in November. In Zach’s free time, he runs a Disaster Relief Ministry at his church that specializes in traveling to areas within the United States to provide financial support to families that have been affected by natural disasters. Zach on LinkedIn iRiS Recruiting Solutions website link  People and Resources Mentioned David Reid on LinkedIn Plamen Ivanoff on LinkedIn Rich Rosen on LinkedIn Jordan Rayboy on LinkedIn Greg Savage 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 TRR#43 How to Transition From Contingency CV Supplier to Consultative Retained Recruiter, with Plamen Ivanoff TRR#67 Think Like a Big Biller: How to Get Repeat Business and Referrals, with Rich Rosen TRR#64The Recruiter Roadmap to Recovery: How to Thrive in a Post-Pandemic World, with Greg Savage  TRR#46 How to Run a Million Dollar Recruiting Firm From Your RV, with Jordan Rayboy   Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Diversity and Inclusion is a hot topic in recruitment right now, and for good reason. We’ve reached a “tipping point” (to borrow a term coined by Malcolm Gladwell) where most companies and organizations are embracing diversity and understand the benefits of a diverse workforce.  Which means that we recruiters have an opportunity to play a pivotal role in promoting DEI. I confess that I know very little about this topic.  Fortunately, I found the perfect person to guide me.  My special guest, Chikere Igbokwe, explains why self-education is key and why it’s important to go back to basics when strategizing your approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion in your business. Chikere is an Experienced Executive Recruiter, Facilitator and DEI Leader. She is passionate about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and is on a mission to educate employees, make organisations more diverse and inclusive and to equip them with the know-how to be changemakers.   Episode Outline and Highlights [2:14] Chikere shares her story - what led her to pursue her advocacy on inclusiveness and diversity. [8:08] Information about the Allyship Community. [10:50] What is meant by a safe & brave space in terms of promoting diversity. [14:50] How Chikere started her business in line with her passion to make a difference. [19:05] What do recruiters need to know about diversity, equity and inclusion? [24:00] Why is race such a touchy subject? [29:53] Getting back to basics: starting with self-education. [34:49] The ‘whys’ on recruiters promoting equity and inclusion.  [40:15] The concept of privilege and bias on getting opportunities. [45:15] Best practices in introducing more diverse talents to your clients. [50:56] Why the “blind CV” may not be the best tool to remove unconscious bias. What is Meant by “Safe Space”?  When building a culture conducive to tolerance and respect, it is important to establish an environment that is psychologically safe. What is meant by “safe space” from this perspective? Chikere explained, “Obviously space is really important but it is a safe space to come together and have a discussion, a difficult discussion.” From here, Chikere shared actual experiences on discussions about race, white privilege, and other topics that may be considered touchy. Having people comfortable enough to have these conversations is beneficial and a crucial step towards making a difference.  Embedding DEI Into Your Recruitment Business - Where Do You Start? It makes commercial sense to create a diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy for your recruitment business. Aside from the fact that it’s the right thing to do, we believe that recruitment businesses who are serious about DEI will perform better than those who don’t. However, before you jump into creating your DEI strategy, Chikere firmly believes that the following should be considered: Understanding the WHAT: get back to understanding the basic terminologies Knowing the WHY: Chikere emphasizes the question, “Why are we having this conversation?” TIME - it takes time to create change, think of it as a marathon, not a race. Introducing More Diverse Candidates to Your Clients  In order to find diverse talents, it has to be intentional. Diversity in recruitment requires effort and planning. In some cases, it may mean going out of your comfort zone. Is it worth it? Chikere shared that clients are leaning towards those recruiters who are serious about diversity and have a clear strategy in place. Where can you start? Hear Chikere’s fantastic ideas on how allyship can be a valuable avenue in building a network of diverse talents. 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  Chikere Igbokwe Bio and Contact Info Chikere founded Inclucive - a DEI Consultancy to help organisations build inclusion into their foundations. She values long term partnerships and works with clients who want to build from a solid foundation. Chikere is also the founder of Allyship.co.uk – a community for Allies to come together in a safe space to learn and the Allyship Book Club.  The community is 260 strong and growing.  Chikere was born in Southampton, England to a Trinidadian Mother who is part of the Windrush generation and a Nigerian father. She is passionate about equality, equity, Social justice and amplifying unrepresented voices. She is a subject matter expert on gender, recruitment, retaining diverse talent, understanding race including anti-racism and allyship. She has travelled extensively and currently lives in Lewisham, London. She is married with two teenage sons. Chikere on LinkedIn Chikere on Twitter @ChikereIgbokwe Inclucive website link Allyship 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  

If you’re an ambitious recruitment company director looking to scale your business, then you’ll definitely want to listen to my interview with entrepreneur Steve Beckitt. In this conversation, Steve revealed how he was able to grow his recruitment technology business to 63 employees in just three and a half years. At the same time, they have created a high performance culture and were recognized as one of the best places to work. In this episode, Steve did not hold back in sharing the learnings and key factors that contributed to his success. Steve is the founder of SourceBreaker, an award-winning recruitment technology company. Having spent six years at Sthree Group, Steve took the leap to launch SourceBreaker in 2014. They have absolutely taken the industry by storm, growing from three people at the beginning to 70 people today. In fact, SourceBreaker has been listed by the Financial Times as one of the top 100 Fastest Growing Companies in Europe.  Episode Outline and Highlights [1:30] Steve’s background and how SourceBreaker was born. [6:47] First invoice out the door - strategies for startup success. [13:30] Key milestones in growing to 63 employees in 3 ½ years. [16:30] Critical factors when hiring  [20:41] How to assess work ethic and other qualities when hiring new employees? [23:30] How would you define work ethic? [27:30] Factors contributing to SourceBreaker winning awards such as the best company to work for. [31:55] When starting a recruitment company, how do you attract top people? [37:17] SourceBreaker’s approach to training, development and mentoring. [43:00] Overcoming the challenges of virtual team / working from home. [45:30] What’s next for SourceBreaker? [47:00] How to uncover larger talent pools via LinkedIn? Two tips from Steve. Key Factor to Growth: Strategic Marketing + Hard Work If you are starting and scaling your business from scratch, what should be your priority? For Steve, getting invoices out the door should be your top priority. As a technology business, how did SourceBreaker strategize their marketing to reach as many clients? “Very much just getting on the phone and calling people up to sell the products to sell the services we offer,” Steve shared. He also emphasized that while others who are also starting might be spending too much time honing their website and messaging, the old-school approach of hard work and making a high volume of calls to sell their product worked for them.  When starting your own recruitment business, how do you feel about potential candidates and clients saying “I’ve never heard of you”? Although this can present itself as a challenge, Steve mentioned that you can also push this to your advantage. Hear how. Key Factor to Growth: Building Your Team and Successful Hiring Another factor that contributed to SourceBreaker’s rapid scaling success is how they build their team. There are three primary qualities that they look for when hiring: Intelligence Work Ethic Humility Among the three, Steve gives priority to humility. This is how he puts it: “The reason why we think humility is our key, is we have an obsession with always wanting to be better, always wanting to learn. I feel that a new graduate or a new hire to SourceBreaker can teach me things and I am open to hearing their feedback and learning from them.”  Key Factor to Growth: Learning and Talent Development To retain your talents, it is important to remember that the people you hire, as Steve pointed out, “are obsessed with their own personal development.” It makes perfect sense to invest in your team’s development, may it be personal or professional. That is why you might find it fascinating how SourceBreaker implements an approach on mentoring and coaching. Also, hear about their book club and how everyone even from top management gets involved. 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    Steve Beckitt Bio and Contact Info Steve is the Founder and Director of SourceBreaker, a multi-award winning tech platform that helps recruitment companies accelerate their growth. Prior to founding SourceBreaker, Steve worked as Head of Infrastructure Recruitment with Sthree PLC. Steve then took the leap to set up SourceBreaker with the aim of making genuine difference for recruiters. Steve on LinkedIn     Steve on @sourceb_steve SourceBreaker website link SourceBreaker on LinkedIn          SourceBreaker on Facebook       SourceBreaker on Twitter    People and Resources Mentioned Black Box Thinking, by Matthew Syed 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

I am proud and excited to share with you the 100th episode of the Resilient Recruiter Podcast! I would like to thank you for listening and following my show, for all the fantastic reviews which I really appreciate. I am humbled by how much people seem to love this show and I don’t take your support for granted - it motivates me to provide really more meaningful content each week. This podcast has given me a platform to meet truly exceptional people which has been an absolute privilege. For the 100th episode, let me share the seven common habits of million-dollar billers who unselfishly shared their stories of humble beginnings, resilience, and success.  Episode Outline and Highlights [3:08] Three things that are not common factors from million-dollar billers I interviewed. [4:46] Habit #1: Niche market mastery. [6:00] Habit #2: Planning and productivity. [6:36] Habit #3: Metrics. [7:17] Habit #4: Repeat business or recurring revenue. [8:36] Habit #5: High volume and high value. [10:15] Habit #6: Partnership. [12:22] Habit #7: Growth mindset. Three Factors That Are Not in Common From Million-Dollar Billers I Interviewed Before I dive into the seven common habits of million-dollar billers I interviewed, allow me to share the factors that were not common among them. The first one is their market sector. The million-dollar billers who I have interviewed come from very different specializations and industries. The next one is personality: from extremely dynamic and extroverted people to some who are confidently quiet and introverted, and of course everything in between. Lastly, this one surprises me the most, some working like machines working 12-15 hours a day while some work way fewer hours than others.  7 Common Habits of Million-Dollar Billers At least 25 of the 96 people I interviewed in this show are solo million-dollar billers. So if it is not about the market sector, personality, or number of hours they work, what are the common factors? Here then are the seven common habits of million-dollar billers I interviewed: Niche mastery. Planning and productivity. They know their metrics. Repeat business or recurring revenue. High volume and high value. Partnership. Growth mindset. I will not deep dive on each of these habits, but I am looking forward to covering it in my subsequent episodes.  About Our Inner Circle Program Speaking of growth mindset and continuous learning and development, I can give you a proven process to double or triple your billings and to generate a consistent predictable flow of placements. If you’d like to learn more, go ahead and book a free Strategy Session here. 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  People and Resources Mentioned James Caan on LinkedIn Greg Savage on LinkedIn Anne Swain on LinkedIn Jordan Rayboy on LinkedIn Rich Rosen 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 TRR#13 How to Generate Warm Leads On LinkedIn TRR#81 James Caan on the 10 Characteristics of Highly Successful Recruitment Entrepreneurs TRR#64 The Recruiter Roadmap to Recovery: How to Thrive in a Post-Pandemic World, with Greg Savage TRR#90 How to Build a World-Class Talent Development Program, with Ann Swain TRR#46 How to Run a Million Dollar Recruiting Firm From Your RV, with Jordan Rayboy TRR#67 Think Like a Big Biller: How to Get Repeat Business and Referrals, with Rich Rosen   Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

If you want to accelerate your recruitment agency growth, there are two key challenges you absolutely must solve. First, how to attract and recruit the right people. Secondly, how to develop your people into great billers. Consistently achieving both of these objectives will translate into better talent retention and faster business growth. Of course, that’s easier said than done. How do you actually do it?  In this episode, my special guest, Simon Kouttis, gives a masterclass on how to hire, train and develop recruitment consultants. He reveals how they are able to take trainee recruiters and get them billing £500,000 in six months! Simon is an Executive Director and Partner in SOAP, a London-based executive search firm on a mission to revolutionize the cybersecurity recruitment industry. Simon also is a co-host of his own podcast, called Hunters and Unicorns. Episode Outline and Highlights [1:55] How SOAP is revolutionizing recruitment and what their differentiating factor looks like. [6:45] Allowing strategic conversations to take place with internal talent acquisition teams of your clients. [12:16] Simon talks about the SOAP Sales Playbook. [20:33] How to come up with culture and values that are not just lip service. [30:00] How SOAP empowers their employees: practical approach on rewards and compensation. [34:22] The value of training and development and how it works at SOAP. [38:49] Learn about SOAP’s call-listening activity and how it adds to their culture of learning. [42:17] SOAP’s approach to internal recruitment - hiring based on attributes instead of experience. [47:22] Simon shares about his podcast, Hunters + Unicorns The SOAP Sales Playbook One of the differentiating factors for Simon’s firm is their commitment to continuous learning and development. To help their staff to reach their full potential, they came up with the SOAP Sales Playbook. For Simon, it is one of the most transformational things that they have come up in the recruitment business. “We are seeing recruiters that could barely bill doing five hundred thousand in a half a year.”  Simon shared that there are four playbooks on which the foundation is focused on how to influence the most high performing passive candidates in the market. If this idea appeals to you or if you are in the process of creating a developmental methodology for your organization, you will enjoy Simon’s detailed explanation. Culture and Values - Not Just Lip Service Promoting culture and company values is critical for a growing business. For some recruitment companies, however, it can only be lip service. Culture may only be by default instead of by design. For Simon, from a values perspective, they spend three days when people join their business talking about values. Simon explains, “The reason for that is because everything we do as a business, every decision we ever make, comes from those values. Who we hire, who we fire, what process we are going to build, what strategies we are going to execute, everything comes with reference to those values.”  In line with this, Simon shared how their values affect their internal hiring process.  Investing Heavily in Training and Development As mentioned earlier, SOAP invests heavily in training and development of their employees. This is one of the key topics Simon and I discussed. I clearly remember when I started back in 1997, there was really no structured training plan in place. For successful recruitment business owners that I had the privilege of having as guests in this podcast, a common factor is how they value continuous learning for them and their team. SImon is no exception. This is how he puts it: “Learning and development is not something you do at the beginning. It is something that you do every single day every week.”  You will hear Simon reveal their methodology and approach in development, as well as how it has positively impacted their growth as a company.  What Would You Look for When Hiring Internally? Let’s be honest, as ironic as it may sound,  effective recruiters are not always as effective when hiring internally compared to hiring for their clients. This is indeed a known challenge to those who have been around for a long time in this industry. So I had to ask Simon, when hiring internally, what are they looking for? SOAP does not only bank on recruitment experience when looking for clients. He discussed different methodologies they apply as well as their hiring process. What do they look for potential candidates? Here are the takeaways: The desire to learn  Coachability  Character and Resilience  Experience / tenure and performance based on previous role, not necessarily recruitment 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  Simon Kouttis Bio and Contact Info From: https://huntersandunicorns.com/your-host/ Having graduated with a degree in mathematics, Simon’s early career included property development and owning a hospitality business, before entering the world of executive search. With a decade of experience, Simon is now a Founding Executive Partner at SOAP where he leads the sales enablement function. He has developed industry-leading best practices that include the Trinity Search Methodology, the Candidate Spectrum of Motivations and is the author of the SOAP sales playbook built on MEDDIC. Simon straddles the technical and sales recruitment functions, in order to drive engagement on the largest and most complex global recruitment campaigns.  Simon is passionate about recruitment strategy, which has led to a focus on working with talent acquisition in order to identify the bottlenecks that can suffocate the effectiveness of attracting the highest calibre individuals. Simon kindles his creative spark through his love of art and music.  He is a golf addict, although his first love is Liverpool football club. He is a father to boy-girl twins that keep him away from many of his hobbies. Simon on LinkedIn SOAP website link Simon’s podcast, Hunters + Unicorns website link SOAP on YouTube SOAP on Instagram People and Resources Mentioned Leanne Sara Jones Hunt on LinkedIn Traction, by Gino Wickman 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#66 How to Grow Your Recruitment Business by Hiring Top Recruiters, with Leanne Sara Jones Hunt Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

As agency recruiters, we are often required to collaborate with multiple stakeholders including hiring managers, HR and Talent Acquisition. This can be incredibly challenging and frustrating - especially when there’s a lack of cooperation or a breakdown in communication. To facilitate an efficient and successful recruitment process, we must find a way to engage all the stakeholders. So how could you collaborate effectively with your client’s HR, Talent Acquisition and hiring managers? My special guest, Katrina Collier, will answer this question. Katrina Collier is on a mission to end the collaboration chaos existing between HR, recruiters & hiring managers, to better recruitment and the candidate experience. She is the author of The Robot-Proof Recruiter, a global keynote speaker, and host of The Hiring Partner Perspective (Unedited) podcast.   Episode Outline and Highlights [1:40] Quick snapshot of Katrina’s background. [5:20] Underlying challenges contributing to lack of collaboration between HR, Talent Acquisition & agency recruiters. [9:36] MIndset shift - how to get recruiters to think of themselves as Partners instead of just being ‘servants’.  [13:40] What to expect when establishing partnership with hiring managers. [17:20] The human factor in building trust and attracting talents. [21:00] How to be more empathetic. [27:10] Getting people to respond and improving your response rate.  [42:16] “Get off LinkedIn!” - other channels to utilize when looking for candidates. [49:30] What should be the structure of a good recruiting email? [53:44] Re-engineering your business plans because of the pandemic? Katrina shares her experience. [56:39] Hope for Justice - hear about Katrina’s advocacy in supporting this charity. Challenges When Collaborating for Recruiters and Hiring Managers From Katrina’s point of view, what are the underlying challenges that can affect collaboration among these stakeholders? Two points were shared: Recruiters need a mindset shift in terms of partnership. HR tends to be in competition with Talent Acquisition. How can the above challenges be neutralized? Hear Katrina’s pragmatic advice. Mindset Shift to Partnership and Collaboration Equal and mutually respectful collaboration is the ideal scenario for recruiters and hiring managers. Recruiters need to think of themselves as equal partners in the recruitment process, instead of just focusing on a “customer service” type of mindset. Here is what Katrina said, “Get out of your head and into your heart.” It always goes back to the human factor - we are dealing with humans. Human skills are now more relevant than ever! In this episode, you will hear why. Building and Gaining Trust From Candidates As we are dealing with human beings, we need human skills to connect with candidates. So what’s the best way to build and gain trust as recruiters? Katrina mentioned important factors such as: Empathy and compassion Being fearless  Providing certainty and clarity Patience Improving Your Response Rate When Contacting Candidates  In line with the above, patience is indeed needed when we seem to be getting minimal response from potential clients and candidates. How do we get people to respond? Katrina emphasized the importance of considering your own profile and brand. Do you look like someone who is worth connecting with and speaking to, someone who could add value and provide expert insight? She also mentioned that although LinkedIn is the mainstream platform when searching for candidates, you should leave LinkedIn. I am sure it was an overemphasis, but to Katrina’s point, there are other platforms we can consider when engaging with talents. On top of that, she also gave pointers on how to rethink your approach in engaging your candidates. Hope for Justice Katrina also shared a charity organization that she fully supports, Hope for Justice. She shared how this non-profit organization impacted her life and how it impacts others. If you wish to know more about Hope for Justice, please visit their website in the links below. 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  Katrina Collier Bio and Contact Info Katrina Collier is the owner of Katrina Collier Limited . She is the author of The Robot-Proof Recruiter, a well-loved global keynote speaker, and host of The Hiring Partner Perspective (Unedited) podcast.  Enticed by a newspaper advert in 2003, she started her career in recruitment. She spent 5.5 years in an agency and then 18 months in-house. She started teaching social recruiting and sourcing. Tweeting, blogging and, later, The #SocialRecruiting Show led to unexpected notoriety. This opened up opportunities to work with companies and recruiters all around the world, and even to deliver talks on 5 continents.  She is also an Ambassador for Hope for Justice charity, and you’ll find her on LinkedIn and on Instagram & Twitter @KatrinaMCollier. Katrina Collier Limited website link Katrina on LinkedIn Katrina on Instagram Katrina on Twitter @KatrinaMCollier  People and Resources Mentioned Hope for Justice website link Playing Big by Tara Mohr Wayne Daley on LinkedIn Mark Lundgren on LinkedIn How to Get a Meeting with Anyone by Stu Heinecke 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

Imagine if instead of placing one person at a time, you were able to recruit a whole team and enjoy correspondingly bigger deal values. I always thought team moves were rare opportunities that you might come across once in a blue moon - if you’re lucky. That was until I met my special guest Harlan Friedman.  Harlan has developed a process for “lift outs” and has moved teams multiple times in his career.  Through experience, he understands the nuances of how to put these complex deals together.  Sometimes instead of recruiting an intact team, Harlan creates a “dream team” and places them together at a client company.  In this episode, you’ll hear Harlans’ tips and advice on how to strategically move teams. Plus, be inspired when you hear Harlan’s remarkable story of how he joined the search industry at age 55 with $300,000 in debt. Listen to how he turned his finances around within 18 months by becoming a consistent top producer before eventually building his own search firm.    Episode Outline and Highlights [1:40] It is never too late! Hear Harlan’s remarkable story and how he joined the recruitment industry at age 55. [8:39] Differentiating factor and secret to Harlan’s success. [11:10] Best practices: reaching hard to reach clients using targeted emails and opportunistic hiring. [19:07] The effectiveness of addressing your candidate or client’s biggest concerns. [23:50] The key to being a good recruiter: don’t try to sell anybody anything. [27:40] How Harlan works in a very disciplined way. [32:19] Why take calls from individuals that you may not be able to place? [35:00] Team moves versus individual hires - how to recruit teams or even create them. [46:56] Harlan’s proudest accomplishment in the last 10 years. Fascinating Story of How Harlan Started His Recruitment Career One fascinating story about Harlan is he actually started in the search business in 2011, he was in debt and 55 years old. Harlan had enjoyed a very successful career as a public finance banker.  However, when the real-estate market crashed, his high six-figure income turned zero overnight. Unfortunately, his wife lost her job around the same time and as the months went by with no job offers, they ended up $300,000 in debt.  Harlan’s fortunes changed when he responded to an ad in Craig’s list and persuaded the owner of a small search firm to give him a chance.  With no background in recruiting, Harlan became rookie of the year and the top biller in an office of about 8-10 full time recruiters, enabling him to pay off his debts in 18 months. The Key Success Factor How did Harlan do it? What made him very successful in the recruitment business even if he has no prior experience? This is how he puts it, “I think the number one answer is I am very coachable.” He shared the story of how he was inspired by a shoe salesman becoming a top salesperson of the company (you need to hear this one from Harlan). He also mentioned how discipline plays a key role in his daily routine. Selling by Not Selling - “Don’t Sell Anybody Anything” Another remarkable takeaway from our conversation is Harlan’s perspective on reaching out to clients. He focuses on what their concerns are -- not on how he will get the deal. “I don’t try to sell anybody anything. That’s the key to being a good recruiter, don’t sell. Because if they think you are selling, you have nothing.”  Harlan revealed how he came up with his own system as he adapted to the industry. Below are some key pointers: Not presenting the offer unless you know it’s going to be accepted. Being extremely disciplined everyday when he steps into his office. Write a blog once a week - he creates a blog which is like a journal of what he learned the previous week and sends it to everyone in his database. Successful Team Moves As a recruiter or a business owner, how often have you successfully completed a project on which you moved a whole team instead of just one candidate? This is not something we encounter very often, and when it does happen, it tends to be opportunistic rather than strategic. In Harlan’s case, he’s developed a repeatable process for “lift outs” and he actively looks for these types of situations.  According to Harlan, “The key to working with teams is a hundred percent mindset.”  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  Harlan Friedman Bio and Contact Info Harlan is the Founder & Principal of H. Friedman Search - responsible for all recruiting of Municipal Finance Bankers, Advisors & Bond Counsel.  Harlan’s recruiting efforts result in sole sourcing of both candidates and companies within the area of banking, finance & law.  He oversees all recruiting nationwide representing both Regional and Super Regional Investment Banking firms and  Regional and National Law Firms. He is tasked with the responsibility for overseeing and managing all aspects of client and candidate relationships from initial interview to transition.   He has been instrumental in sourcing, presenting, negotiating and closing candidates.   Harlan earned Rookie of the Year, his first complete year in the business as well as becoming a 2012 - 2018 President's Club member.  Over his tenure at both Armstrong Financial Group & Novum Group  which is eight  years in the industry he has recruited over 85 individuals and teams throughout the United States.  In 2018, Harlan was admitted into the Pinnacle Society, an elite organization for Top Recruiters in North America. He credits his in-depth knowledge of Public Finance and the Legal arena for his success.  As he is fond of saying, when you know the industry inside and out, senior people welcome the opportunity to have high-level conversations with you. Harlan on LinkedIn Harlan on Facebook H. Friedman Search website link People and Resources Mentioned John Schlegel on LinkedIn  Paul Taaffe on LinkedIn Michelle Parchman on LinkedIn Pinnacle Society 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 Related Podcast You Might Enjoy TRR#65 Recruiting Success: How to Bill $700k+ While Achieving Work-Life Balance, With John Schlegel TRR#21 The Former CFO Turned Finance Recruiter Who Billed €4M Last Year, with Paul Taaffe How to Bill Half a Million and Work Less Than 15 Hours a Week, with Michelle Parchman   Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Exploring new markets can be really exciting especially if you’re considering international expansion. But as much as opening offices in a new territory can present big potential for growth, it can also present an enormous amount of challenges. That is what my special guest, Rob Green, will be sharing in this episode. Rob has built recruitment teams across Europe, Asia, North America, Australia, and Africa.  Despite some significant successes, it was never a walk in the park. In this interview, Rob shared both the  mistakes and learnings he gained. Rob has almost two decades of experience in the recruitment industry, recruiting lawyers in 40 countries. He launched his career in London with Badenoch & Clark. Since then he has worked and lived in various locations around the globe. In 2014, he took over the Hong Kong branch of his company, rebranded it as GRM Search and won 15 industry awards over 8 years working with the most coveted legal firms, multinational companies and financial institutions in the world. Episode Outline and Highlights [1:49] How Rob and I were first introduced to each other. [4:29] Rob’s colorful recruiting journey in 18 years. [20:30] Challenges and resilience in recruitment during a recession. [27:11] Ego is the Enemy - what ego cost Rob and the valuable learning he had. [29:00] Rob reveals the story behind his biggest challenge by far. [35:49] In hindsight, what would Rob have done differently? [38:07] When growing your business, how fast is ‘too fast’?  [46:53] The value of getting help. [50:00] Rob’s venture in South Africa - achievements and main learnings. Overcoming His Biggest Challenge Rob humbly shared his biggest challenge which took place in 2016 when he started in Hong Kong. Growing to 25 people with expensive offices, high salaries, and high commissions, the business was not sustainable. When local market conditions worsened, he had to scale down the business or go bust.  Within six painful weeks, he had drastically cut his overheads which sent a shock through the HK legal recruitment market. Behind the scenes, he was going through a very tough time because of personal problems which magnified the issues he was having with his business. Rob recalled, “I had grown the business too fast. We had a number of offices that just weren’t profitable. I was trying in many cases to buy my way out of trouble by starting new desks, starting new offices… We just grew too rapidly with the wrong people and the wrong structure.” I certainly admire Rob’s unselfishness in sharing his story. In our conversation, you will hear what steps he took to stabilize his operation in HK while expanding successfully to South Africa. Key Learnings From Mistakes This podcast is called The Resilient Recruiter for a reason, and indeed Rob personifies that quality. He has built teams and offices in Cayman, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Johannesburg and Cape Town, which were all successes. He also expanded to Brisbane, Singapore and Tokyo which he considers as “massive failures''. Rob is happy to talk about the things that he did right as well as sharing the mistakes he made. Here are the takeaways of what he shared: Having the right people  Having the right compensation plan Having a sound structure Understanding the culture of your market, building the market and creating the demand Try to put aside your ego The Value of Getting Help One of Rob’s key success factors is getting guidance from others. This is how he put it,  “This is for all business owners for recruitment - get help!” Rob believes that you can learn a lot from fellow business owners as well as professional coaches. The key is to have a growth mindset, be receptive to feedback, open to new ideas and focused on constant improvement. As the expression goes, “you don’t know what you don’t know.” 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  Rob Green Bio and Contact Info With almost two decades’ experience in the recruitment industry, Rob has recruited lawyers in 40 countries, working with firms and companies from the biggest in DLA Piper, Bank of America, Facebook, Alibaba, and such like, to small one-person law firms, looking to double in size. Rob launched his career with leading financial services agency, Badenoch & Clark, in London. Following his relocation to the Cayman Islands in 2005, he joined one of the Caribbean's top recruitment companies, CML, to establish the region’s leading legal recruitment provider. In 2009, Rob became a partner in the business and moved to Hong Kong to grow the business and become one of the top consultancies in Asia. He took full ownership of the Hong Kong branch and rebranded as GRM Search in 2013, winning 15 industry awards in 8 years and working with some of the most coveted legal firms, MNCs, and financial institutions in the world. Enticed by the link between Africa and Asia, Rob opened GRM Search’s first office in South Africa in Johannesburg during 2014. He moved with his family to settle in Cape Town and spearhead the growth of the business into the African continent in 2017. GRM has had notable successes in Asia, Africa and Australia, with some failures along the way to keep him humble. Rob regularly shares his views on the legal job market with industry publications, business radio shows, HR seminars, and law graduates at HKU, Stellenbosch University, and UWC. He is renowned for his global outlook, experience, legal market knowledge, and down-to-earth approach. In his spare time, Rob is the proud founder and chairman of South Africa’s first soccer programme for special needs children (GPS Vikings FC) and a part time boxing ring announcer as well as a doting father and husband. Rob on LinkedIn Rob on Instagram GRM Search website link  GRM Intelligence website link GRM Group on YouTube People and Resources Mentioned Rob’s podcast - Welcome to My House Joel Slenning on LinkedIn Greg Savage on LinkedIn James Caan 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 TRR#53 How to Scale Your Staffing & Recruiting Firm to $16,000,000, With Joel Slenning TRR#81 James Caan on the 10 Characteristics of Highly Successful Recruitment Entrepreneurs TRR#64The Recruiter Roadmap to Recovery: How to Thrive in a Post-Pandemic World, with Greg Savage    Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter