The RAG Podcast - Recruitment Agency Growth Podcast

On this week’s show, I’m joined by Edmund Blogg, the co-founder of RecruitHub, the newest sponsor of The RAG Podcast.We’ve partnered with RecruitHub because I believe we’re on a shared mission.These guys are a leading service accelerator for recruitment businesses. They provide new founders with the infrastructure to run their business from day one and allow them to focus on building it. They register the company, build the website and take care of all business finance and back office.They don't charge for startup costs or monthly bills. They don't chargee you anything until you make money!I know of loads of people who have been on the show, are in my network, or are clients of mine who have done amazing things with RecruitHub.Now, I wanted to get Edmund Blogg on the show because he started his career in recruitment, had a really decorated career, ran a global organisation, and then started RecruitHub four years ago. They now have 60 businesses in their portfolio and they reckon they’re going to reach 100 by the end of the year.In this episode, you're not only going to learn loads about startup recruitment businesses, but also about levers for scale and exit planning. We're gonna talk about why Edmund spotted this opportunity, what's different about RecruitHub to others on the market, and some really useful tips and information for you in 2023. Edmund is a super smart guy. There's no surprise his business is doing so well. I can't wait to not only release this episode, but also partner with him!Episode Sponsor: RecruitHubThinking about starting a recruitment business in the UK or US? Download your startup blueprint and access key information including:-Funding – how much do you need, and what are your options-Knowing where you stand - decode your non-compete and understand your restrictions-Co-founder MUST-knows-How to automate your way to faster billings-Business plan basics – what are they, and how do you write one?-Naming & brand-building – creating a brand that stands outAnd more…Get your copy at recruit-hub.com/startup-blueprint

I am excited, delighted, and honored to be joined by Greg Savage in the latest episode of the RAG Podcast. Now, almost everyone in our sector globally knows who this guy is. During his time in recruitment, Greg:-Has built an incredible brand-Has been an advisor to 16 recruitment organisations in the APAC region-Has owned and scaled three organisations-Has authored a book -Has built his own training academy across the global recruitment community I interviewed Greg at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. He was the second person I brought onto The RAG Report, which was my daily show in 2020 in which I provided some advice to our community in a time of need.On today's episode, we talked about the work Greg did during the pandemic, the advice he gave, the advice he would give now, and the reality of the current economic situation. We also talked about Greg’s book and his experience, and he gave some golden nuggets of information.He specifically outlined the metrics you should be measuring to ensure your business is scaling profitably. He said the number one reason he gets involved with businesses is because they tend to grow gross profit but not their profit. So essentially, they scale without profit. Greg gives some unbelievable advice as to how you can manage this issue and the reasons why it might be worth getting an advisor to help you if you're seeing certain symptoms. I’d advise you to listen to everything he's got to say. The guy is full of wisdom and experience. Take it on board, take some notes, and I hope you get as much value from this episode as I did recording it.VincereA message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.Common traps to watch out for:- Not understanding the pricing model- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issuesGet Vincere.io’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

On this week's show, I am joined by Ephram Stephenson.Ephram is the CEO of Collar Group, a recruitment group based in Australia with nine offices and over a hundred staff. Interestingly, Ephram only started the business in the summer of 2021 and sent his first invoice in October 2021.Since then, he's grown an agency that covers predominantly blue-collar recruitment, but is now moving into white-collar recruitment and exec search.Now, this is not Ephram's first venture into recruitment ownership.He got into the industry in Australia in the 2000s.He did two and a half years as a consultant where he was a top biller earning a lot of money, and then started his own business, which he had for 17 years.He's launched a number of different recruitment businesses and brands within that time and has been hugely successful.He is one of the most energetic and enthusiastic owners I've ever met. You'll notice this on the podcast.There have been a few guests over the last couple of years that stand out with that no-holds-barred, high-growth energy and absolutely no ceiling on where they want to go. And this is another installment of that type of episode.So if you are in the blue- or white-collar recruitment space, and you are looking to hear about a story of someone with absolutely ridiculously high growth plans, this is one for you. Super honest, super open, and hugely inspiring. I loved every minute of recording it, and I hope you enjoy the show. VincereA message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.Common traps to watch:- Not understanding the pricing model- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issuesGet Vincere’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by Ben Duffill.Ben is the Managing Director of MRG Group, The Management Recruitment Group. They’re a 60-person recruitment organisation headquartered in London, with multiple global offices.Ben has a really unique and interesting story in our sector. He went to university at 18 years old and quit within six weeks.Back in Essex, he then managed to get himself into a recruitment career with Hays. This decision set him off on a trajectory to be successful in the future.Now, at the age of 35, in the second business he's worked for, he's top of the tree. He is working for the founder as the Managing Director and has equity in the business.Over the last 15 years, he's grown a family, he's been through ups and downs, but he's been very clear on his vision, what he wants to achieve, and how he can achieve his dreams of being an “intrepreneur”.Usually, I interview entrepreneurs who have founded their own business, but I do not want everyone in recruitment to believe that the only way you're going to succeed is if you leave and set up your own company. Ben has proven that you can be super successful by staying with a business as long as one thing happens, and that is what we're gonna talk about in today's episode.Sponsor: VincereA message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.Common traps to watch out for:- Not understanding the pricing model- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issuesGet Vincere’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

On today's episode, I am joined by Simon Hair.Simon is the Managing Director of Precision Sourcing Group, a business headquartered in Sydney, Australia with 31 expert recruiters in project services, SAP, data, and software development. Now, I've wanted to have Simon on for a long time.I've worked with him for over two years and for some reason it just never happened. But the timing is perfect, because last week he got voted Australian Recruitment Leader of the Year at the TIARA Awards.Nominated by his team, celebrated by his peers. You can see why in this interview.Simon is one of the most organised and motivated people I have been lucky enough to work with.He enrolled in my Personal Brand Academy during the pandemic, took everything I taught him, and drilled it into his team. Since then, his team has gone and worked with me as a collective for over 12 months.They now are one of the most well-known brands in Australia in their market.Over 23% of their net fee income last year, which is well over $2 million, was generated directly from their activity on LinkedIn. And that doesn't even include the work they've done with candidates. That's just clients they can track who have come in as inbound leads, or they've managed to source via the interaction through LinkedIn.So I'd say he's building one of the most socially engaged recruitment firms on the planet.And the way he explains it makes it sound so simple and so achievable. He's doing so whilst also driving the four-day week, so the team at Precision Sourcing now don't work on Fridays,He appreciates everything there is to offer and he has an open mindset. That's evident in the episode and also in the business he runs today. Anyone who wants to grow in a modern, innovative way and who has an open mindset is going to love this episode.Talent Ticker  Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help. More than 300 recruitment agencies are using Talent Ticker to automate their recruiters’ most monotonous tasks, help them predict who will be hiring 3 months in advance, and provide simple tools to identify ideal passive and active candidates to pitch for open roles. Learn more at get.talentticker.ai/hoxo and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by Kayleigh Bottomley, the Founder and SVP of Storm4. Storm4 is another branch of Levin, the fastest-growing group of recruitment companies in the world. A couple of weeks ago I shared a repeat of a 2021 episode with James Brown, the founder of Leven group. This was one of my highest played episodes since the start of the RAG Podcast, probably because Levin is one of the most talked about organisations in our sector.They are taking the recruitment industry by storm and doing things differently.In February 2021, Kayleigh started Storm4, since then they have continued the insane growth of the group as they’ve gone from 0 to 125 staff across multiple locations.Every single recruiter Storm4 hires is a graduate with no experience and in just over 12 months they were able to become profitable too!In this episode she’s sharing how she’s done it! I really went deep into the processes, procedures, and people that are required for a team to grow this fast.If you are inspired by insane growth and fast-moving recruitment organisations, then then this one's for you.Talent Ticker  Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help. More than 300 recruitment agencies are using Talent Ticker to automate their recruiters’ most monotonous tasks, help them predict who will be hiring 3 months in advance, and provide simple tools to identify ideal passive and active candidates to pitch for open roles. Learn more at get.talentticker.ai/hoxo and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

On today’s episode, I was joined by John Dyson.John is the founder of FJR Group, a specialist recruitment firm headquartered in Manchester with an office in London, operating across financial services, HR, and technology.John started the business in May 2011, the very same month that I personally started in recruitment.In that period of time, he’s grown a business to over 50 people and has opened multiple offices.Recently, during a snowboarding holiday in France, John suffered an accident where he broke his back in a couple of places and had bleeding in the brain.This specific accident led to many positive decisions and changes to his business - something John would never have foreseen!In this episode, you’re going to find out about a recruitment owner who I believe is doing things in a hybrid way.There are recruitment owners that keep the business lean and wrap everything around themselves, and there are ones who aim to build businesses as fast and as big as they can for growth and exit.John is kind of in between.He’s building a great leadership team to manage the day-to day-operation of FJR Group, but he’s very close to the frontline.To anyone looking to grow their business in a more considered way - not wanting it to be a lifestyle but not necessarily wanting it to be the biggest agency in the world - I think this episode will inspire and support you in so many different ways.VincereA message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.Common traps to watch out for:- Not understanding the pricing model- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issuesGet Vincere’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

In early 2021, I interviewed James, the CEO of Levin, to discuss his growth plans on The RAG Podcast.Now, almost 2 years later, the company with brands Storm2, Storm3, Storm4, Storm5, and Storm6, published $44m USD NFI in its third year and has grown to over 600 people.This trajectory is remarkable!I am re-releasing my episode with James as so many people loved it.It is still in the top 3 most-played episodes of The RAG and there are so many amazing learnings to take from it!I will be back with fresh eps from next week but in the meantime, enjoy learning from the trailblazers of the global sector!VincereA message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.Common traps to watch out for:- Not understanding the pricing model- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issuesGet Vincere’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

On this week's episode of the RAG Podcast, you are stuck with me again! In October, I was invited to the very first recruitment expo in Germany. This was hosted by a company called StaffingPro, in coordination with APSco. This expo was targeted mainly at the agency market, but also at some in-house recruiters. I was invited to Frankfurt for a couple of days and I spoke on stage about the three fundamental things every single recruitment agency needs to consider if they want to stand out on LinkedIn. Now that might sound quite similar to the talk I did in Birmingham a couple of weeks ago, which I featured on the podcast, but this presentation focuses on recruitment agencies more holistically, not just on personal branding. In this episode, it's going to be me talking on stage in Germany, in Frankfurt, and you'll hear all about the three things every recruitment company needs to consider if they want to stand out from the competition now and in the future. The sound quality is not as good as normal because I was on stage during that talk, but I do hope you enjoy this episode. Please feel free to ask any questions. I hope it gives you a lot of value.Talent Ticker Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help. More than 300 recruitment agencies are using Talent Ticker to automate their recruiters’ most monotonous tasks, help them predict who will be hiring 3 months in advance, and provide simple tools to identify ideal passive and active candidates to pitch for open roles.Learn more at get.talentticker.ai/hoxo and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast I was joined by Richard Wright, CEO of Acre.Acre is a specialist recruitment consultancy focusing on everything to do with sustainability, which includes climate change, social issues, and more.Richard has a long history in the recruitment sector. He originally worked for one of the biggest organisations in the world and later bought into a boutique agency as a partner. Richard was at the helm of that business for a long time and eventually sold the business to Randstad. He then stayed in the company for a further three years post-acquisition, before exiting and having some time out of the industry.After a period of time believing he would leave the industry forever, he was persuaded to come back and joined Acre back when it was a 10-person business.It now has well over a hundred staff and 4 international locations.During the episode, Richard was very open about his career and said that right now, he's enjoying it more than he ever has before. Who'd have thought that you could continue to love this game more and more over time?You’re going to love this episode.Richard is super knowledgeable, super inspiring, and a really nice guy.VincereA message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.Common traps to watch:- Not understanding the pricing model- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issuesGet Vincere’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3