Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

The Resilient Recruiter


Sep 2, 2021

If you enjoy listening to the Resilient Recruiter podcast, I have a special treat for you. In this episode, I am collaborating with fellow podcaster, Hishem Azzouz, host of the Recruitment Mentors podcast. Between us, Hishem and I have interviewed hundreds of recruitment business owners. We decided to compare notes and discuss the key factors that the most successful recruitment companies share in common. We both came up with five things, so you are about to hear the top ten success factors for growing your business. 

Episode Outline and Highlights

  • [4:06]  Willingness to seek help.
  • [6:56] Niche market specialization.
  • [12:33] Don’t romanticize what worked in the past.
  • [18:33] The ability to attract and retain top recruiters.
  • [22:35] Investing just as much into keeping people as hiring people.
  • [26:22] Serious commitment to talent development and career progression within your organization.
  • [30:17] Having a compelling vision for your company.
  • [34:20] Developing your culture.
  • [39:43] Humility.
  • [43:18] Investing in marketing.

The Top Ten Success Factors for Growing Your Recruitment Business

  1. Willingness to seek help.

    Hishem stated, “A common hindsight learning that I hear sometimes from recruitment business leaders that have gone on to do really well, when I ask them things like ‘What would you do differently’ or ‘If you could speak to your younger self, what would you say?’, a real common answer is they would have asked for help more quickly.”  

  1. Niche market specialization

The vast majority of the firm owners I’ve interviewed or worked with who have been the most successful are specialists in a particular field. Hear the reasons why focusing on a particular niche is building your marketplace rather than limiting it.

  1. Don’t romanticize what worked in the past. 

Being open-minded to trying new things, learning, and getting out of your comfort zone are qualities that make a successful recruitment leader. Successful leaders do not romanticize what worked for them 10 or 15 years ago. They are always thinking, learning, and trying to understand what more they could be doing.

  1. The ability to attract and retain top recruiters. 

Internal recruitment strategy is critical. The companies that scale are really good at recruiting recruiters. In contrast, the companies that  remain small may not be able to figure that important piece out. 

  1. Investing just as much into keeping people as hiring people. 

Investing heavily in talent development is an important key to scaling your business. Having a mindset of nurturing current employees is a successful recruiter leader’s way of thinking.

  1. Serious commitment to talent development and career progression within your organization. 

Complementary with the above previous points mentioned, having a serious commitment to establishing a career ladder within your organization is key to growing your business. Hishem added, “I’ve been interviewing people in their first year in recruitment, second year in recruitment, and they are all people who have graduated in the last two years. I just ask them a direct question like, ‘what type of company are you excited to work for?’ The number one thing is progression.

  1. Having a compelling vision for the company.  

Genuinely, most scaling recruitment agencies that you may know in the market are guaranteed to have clarity on what they want and where they are going. This inspires confidence in your existing team members and attracts great people to join your company.

  1. Developing your culture. 

The question is have you designed your culture? Or do you just have a culture by default? The most important defining feature of the culture comes down to the values.

  1. Humility.

 “For me personally in my own experience, most recruitment business leaders I speak to have humility in abundance,” explained Hishem. This enables leaders to have an open mind to learn and grow.

  1.  Investing in marketing. 

Recruiting is a sales business, and like my friend Greg Savage says, your sixth, or seventh hire should be a full-time marketing person. Visibility as a thought leader and someone who adds value to your industry is ultimately good for business. Investing in marketing is significant to achieve this goal.

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 

Hishem Azzouz Bio and Contact Info

An underperforming recruiter that turned his fortunes 180 degrees in six months using the power of personal branding and the launch of the Recruitment Mentors podcast. Over 100 episodes, and 20,000 monthly listeners later he founded Azzouz Branding to help recruiters leverage personal branding & social selling. He helped 200+ agencies and consultants build their brands. Recruitment Mentors is the brainchild of Hishem Azzouz.

  • Hishem on LinkedIn
  • Recruitment Mentors podcast link
  • Recruitment Mentors website link

People and Resources Mentioned

Connect with Mark Whitby

Related Podcast You Might Enjoy

 

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter