Having been in recruitment for over 30 years, as a consultant, manager, owner and now an investor, it’s always been clear that this sector is a good indicator of where the economy is at. It’s often the first to struggle when a recession hits, but also the first to pick up when we are recovering.
For example, if you go back to 2009, the value of the permanent recruitment market was £2.61 billion, with just over 580,000 placements being made. This was a huge drop of 39% and 19% respectively, and was a clear indicator of the uncertainty across the economy, as recruitment freezes are one of the first things to happen in a recession.
I now believe that we are on the road to economic recovery, and again the recruitment industry is proof of this. Last year the industry as a whole was worth £26.5 billion, up by 3.1% from the previous year. Bear in mind that at its peak, before the recession hit, it was worth £27 billion. It is estimated that we will surpass this within the next year, so there are positive times ahead. Companies are increasing hiring and people are more inclined to change jobs.
This is not just excellent news for those who currently own a recruitment business, but also for those who are looking to do so in the near future. There are so many experienced consultants out there who are billing consistently and now want to become their own boss.
That’s one of the reasons I’ve launched an initiative where I’m offering investment and support to someone that wants to start their own recruitment business. And the great thing is, although running a business is still hard work, there are more advantages for recruitment entrepreneurs now than ever before.
When I started my first company Alexander Mann, it was a far cry from today. I was a one-man band, with nothing but a telephone and the Yellow Pages to keep me company. The “office” I had in Pall Mall was basically a windowless broom cupboard where you couldn’t open the door without hitting the desk.
But this wasn’t the biggest issue for me. Finding companies that were hiring was a case of trawling through that copy of the Yellow Pages, which could be pretty tedious in itself. I had no brand or track record either, so I experienced numerous rejections until I altered my pitch and things started to click. Alexander Mann eventually grew into a global, multi-million pound business but the memories of those early days still stick with me.
Today, finding leads is a lot easier. Job boards and social media platforms like LinkedIn have changed the recruitment market completely and this has its pros and cons. Generating leads and sourcing vacancies are a lot easier – but this also means the market is a lot more competitive. One of the first thing I do whenever I receive a business proposition is to delve into the characteristics of the entrepreneur– do they have the passion and drive to go that extra mile and stand out from their competitors?
I am also a firm believer in recruiters being both client and candidate centric. You must take the time to build long-lasting relationships with your clients, and you must take care of the candidate all the way through the job process. After all, moving jobs is often a huge step in anyone’s life.
You should never let the easy access to data interfere with the human side of business, particularly as recruitment is still all about people. In fact, technological developments mean that you can contact people and get work done no matter where you are, so there is no excuse for poor relationship building.
The key to any business is to fulfil a need, and recruitment companies certainly play a crucial role in fulfilling the needs of both employers and jobseekers. With the jobs market becoming a lot more fluid, being an entrepreneur in this sector could be an attractive proposition
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