The Recruitment Leadership Podcast

Tools and Techniques: Accounting, Finance and Strategic Planning in Post-COVID times

The latest episode of the Recruitment Leadership Podcast is here, and this time we're exploring the importance of financial mastery and strategic planning in your recruitment business.

 

Your host Alison Humphries is joined by chartered accountant John Oddy, owner and Managing Partner of Ascentis LLP, for an episode packed with practical insight, explanation and advice. 

 

The current crisis has laid bare the importance of having the right tools and techniques in place. We're exploring the ones that recruitment business leaders really need, to get through the time of lockdown and the greatly different trading conditions we’re currently facing. 

 

Having a solid grasp of your recruitment business' finances has become a necessity. John is here to guide you through what exactly you need to be aware of and how you can utilise this information to make strategic business decisions, ensuring your agency can not only persist but prosper too.

 

Topics covered in the episode include:

• How to align personal values with business goals using DiSC profiles
• Key recommendations for business owners who are in start-up mode
• Why you should have a business plan in place - even if things may not go as anticipated
• What lenders and buyers look for in a recruitment business
• The questions you should be asking your accounting partner and how to get the most value out of them

 

Timestamped Agenda:

01:18 - What kind of industries have you (John) worked in firsthand?

06:00 - Aligning personal values with business goals and using DiSC profiles to do this

09:28 - Recommendations for business owners who are in start-up mode

14:48 - What are the key financial ratios a lender would be looking for?

19:57 - What kind of advice would you give to those looking to make an eventual sale in terms of financial reporting?

24:53 - When choosing the right accounting partner, what are the key factors that should be considered and the key questions recruitment business owners should be asking?

27:31 - When should recruiter consider having an internal finance function?

 

If you have any questions, queries or comments, please contact Alison Humphries: alison@recruitmentleadership.co.uk
Find out more about Recruitment Leadership at recruitmentleadership.co.uk

 

Find out more about Ascentis at https://ascentisllp.co.uk/

 

This podcast is produced by Loaded Hype - loadedhype.com

Tools and Techniques: How Psychometric Assessments can Drive Value and Increase Efficiencies

In this episode of the Recruitment Leadership Podcast, Alison talks to Nemo D'Qrill and Alex Chikhani from Sigma Polaris, who shed light on why using psychometric assessment is a powerful tool that can help fulfil your client's needs in a highly effective yet timely way.

 

Covering the common questions and scepticism around psychometric testing Alex and Nemo provide real case studies and examples of where psychometric testing has radically changed the outcomes of a recruitment process.

 

While it is dramatic to say that psychometric testing saves lives (although it can!), there are many practical ways that psychometric testing adds value to clients and candidates, while helping you secure more placements.

 

In this episode, they discuss an array of topics relating to psychometrics, including:

• Why COVID-19 has accelerated the need for psychometric testing 
• How psychometric testing provides an advantage in a jobs-driven market
• The common misconceptions and apprehensions on psychometric testing
• How it drives remote candidate engagement (more so than standard application process)
• How it can eliminate conscious and unconscious bias
• Why Sigma Polaris is a lost-cost automation tool that can increase the quality of hire and reduces risk

 

There is also an exclusive offer that listeners can claim on Sigma Polaris at the end of the episode. It's not one to be missed!

 

Timestamped agenda:

06:25 - What does psychometric testing mean - in the broadest sense

07:52 - Why skills and aptitude testing has become more prevalent

12:46 - The gap in the recruitment process that Sigma Polaris addresses

17:29 - User acceptability and candidate engagement 

18:13 - How it can be your USP in a highly competitive industry and bias elimination

21:01 - Can the psychometric assessment system be gamed?

27:30 - How the system can be tailored to different roles

 

If you have any questions, queries or comments, please contact Alison Humphries: alison@recruitmentleadership.co.uk
Find out more about Recruitment Leadership at recruitmentleadership.co.uk

To get in touch with Sigma Polaris and take advantage of the exclusive offer, contact alex@sigmapolaris.com and reference the Recruitment Leadership Podcast.

 

Produced by Loaded Hype - loadedhype.com

Positive Habits and Value Propositions: How To Elevate Your Recruitment Brand Through Marketing

 Following on from her article "Why I'm Not Giving Up on Marketing", Alison Humphries speaks to co-founder and Director, Laura Wood on the role marketing plays in recruitment. Please note, this episode was recorded pre-lockdown.

 

With a focus on those recruitment businesses at the beginning of their marketing journey, Laura and Alison discuss how to really get the most out of your recruitment marketing.

 

As the co-owner and co-founder of two marketing agencies, Laura has helped create innovative strategies and campaigns within recruitment, drawing on over 10 years of experience and learnings from other sectors.

 

Laura and Alison discuss how to turn some bad habits and negative assumptions into positive outcomes, how to differentiate yourself on benefits rather than features, the importance of aligning sales and marketing and what you should really be measuring your brand's marketing performance on.

 

Time-stamped agenda: 

03:30 - Why you need a marketing system or strategy that's aligned to your goals

05:48 - How being too much of a perfectionist can lead to missed opportunities

08:47 - Establishing your value proposition

16:37 - Managing expectations on both sides of the fence

20:44 - The importance of admin and tracking marketing activity

23:37 - KPIs

25:31 - Differentiating your recruitment business

31:31 - Learning from other sectors' marketing

37:43 - Sales and marketing integration

43:55 - Why is marketing not as integral to recruitment as it is in other sectors

46:13 - Things that are transforming the recruitment sector

 

Contact Alison Humphries: alison@recruitmentleadership.co.uk
Find out more about Recruitment Leadership at recruitmentleadership.co.uk

To find out more about Laura Wood and Generation Nexus, send an email to laura@generationnexus.com

 

Produced by Generation Nexus
generationnexus.com

March 2020 - IR35 Temperature Check with Simon Whitehead

**UPDATE**

 

As you are probably aware, IR35 has now been postponed until 2021 amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

 

If you're seeking advice, we hope you find this podcast insightful still - contact details for both Alison Humphries (Host) and Simon Whitehead (Guest, Employment Partner at Brabners) can be found at the bottom of these show notes.

 

We're back with Simon Whitehead, Employment Partner at Brabners to check in on the current status of IR35 and it's implications.

 

With the implementation date for IR35 looming, things are hotting up in the world of worker regulation.

 

Since the last podcast episode on IR35, the position on IR35 has completely changed. We've gone from many unknowns, and doubts as to whether or not IR35, to a much clearer picture on what the landscape will look like within the private sector once IR35 comes into effect.

 

 

Given this, Simon kindly agreed to provide an update on what impact the updates have had, whilst offering his professional advice & guidance within the episode and answering the FAQs commonly asked by recruitment agencies.

 

The agenda for this episode is:

 

02:02 - The regulatory future for recruitment.

04:49 - When IR35 will come into effect and impact of the public sector implementation.

10:53 - Small recruitment business owners who perhaps haven't taken any action: the current risks to you and what's absolutely essential for you to do now.

18:23 - The CEST tool.

25:17 - Advice for Recruitment Business Owners who have struggled to get their clients and their candidates to engage in any discussion about IR35 - or end-user clients who have assumed it's not a legal issue, but a recruitment issue.

28:00 - Protecting yourself with Statement of Works and CEST alternatives.

 

Thanks for listening, and we wish you the best of luck with implementation!

 

For any legal advice, please contact Simon Whitehead through the Brabners' website (https://www.brabners.com/people/simon-whitehead).

 

To find out more about Alison Humphries, Recruitment Leadership and the work we do, visit our website, follow our page on LinkedIn, connect with Alison Humphries on LinkedIn - or just send an email to alison@recruitmentleadership.co.uk

From Communication to Automation: How Digital Marketing is Transforming Your Recruitment Industry - With Kristie Perrotte

Welcome to Season 4 of the Recruitment Leadership Podcast!

 

In this season, we’re focusing on a topic that's often slightly enigmatic for recruitment directors. And that topic is marketing!

 

In this episode, we speak to Kristie Perrotte, the Founder and Owner of Thrive Marketing Communications.

 

Thrive are a full-service strategic Marketing Consultancy specialising in working those in the recruitment industry.

 

Kristie has a wealth of experience in the recruitment sector totalling over 16 years and culminating
in a role as a Marketing Communications Director for an international, Fortune 500 recruiter.

 

Kristie and your host Alison Humphries discuss a plethora of subjects, including just how digital marketing is transforming the recruitment industry, the different phases of marketing for a start-up and how they can get started, how to get the best value out of your database, marketing automation and how to adapt your marketing communications for markets outside of the UK.

 

Time-stamped breakdown:

01:46 - What are the ways in which the digital marketing transformation is taking place in the recruitment sector?

03:11 Thinking about a start-up business - it’s often really hard to get started on marketing. What are the first things you would put in place?

04:50 - Marketing tools that a start-up business can use

06:27 - The different phases of setting up marketing communications

09:42 - Marketing communications to clients, in comparison to candidates

12:48 - Your first dedicated marker hire

14:14 - Measures of success for a small business owner

19:24 - Getting the best value out of your database

22:11 - Targeted activity for candidates and clients

25:36 - What affects a client when choosing one recruiter over another?

32:33 - How to get more bang for your buck from your marketing content?

35:01 - What should be on your CRM checklist before you commit?

37:35 - Marketing automation

40:02 - What groundbreaking innovations do people need to be aware of?

42:46 - How to adapt your marketing strategy for Europe and the US and beyond.

 

Contact Alison Humphries: alison@recruitmentleadership.co.uk
Find out more about Recruitment Leadership at recruitmentleadership.co.uk
Find out more about Thrive at https://www.thrivemarcoms.co.uk/

 

Produced by Generation Nexus
generationnexus.com

Thriving, not Surviving: Innovation & the Changing Landscape of the Recruitment Market

With Ryan McCabe, CEO of Odro.

 

In this episode of the Recruitment Leadership Podcast, Alison Humphries and Ryan McCabe "shoot the breeze" on the technical and non-technical ways you can innovate and evolve your recruitment business in a market which is increasingly competitive and is constantly changing.

 

In this episode, they discuss:

 

03:35 - Why video interviewing has become so current in the recruitment industry.

 

05:38 - KPIs.

 

11:22 - Pricing structure.

 

13:20 - Rebate structure.

 

18:48 - Psychometric tests.

 

23:55 - Statement of Works.

 

25:11 - Dashboards/Reporting.

 

26:40 - Successful Implementation.

 

30:09 - Employer Branding.

Video Interviewing: Implementation, Differentiation and Retained Business with Ryan McCabe, CEO of Odro

Ryan McCabe, CEO of Odro, is our guest for Season Three of the Recruitment Leadership Podcast!

In this episode, we go from the beginnings of Odro and the basics of how to use a video interviewing tool, right through to making video essential for the three C's and increasing the amount of retained business your agency does.

Host, Alison Humphries and Ryan McCabe cover a multitude of recruitment related points on video interviewing and the wider tech scene, including why THAT piece of tech you invested in didn't transform your business like you thought it would, how it can benefit diversity and inclusion practices and why video can be used to truly differentiate your business against your competitors.

 

Episode Agenda:

01:31 - What is the story behind how Odro has grown and why it became so focused on the Recruitment Market?

 

06:24 - Why has video suddenly become so much more important in the industry?

 

08:17 - How else are people using Odro other than live video interviewing?

 

10:35 - What are your thoughts on user acceptability from a candidate point of view?

 

13:13 - Have you seen a shift in attitude towards video interviewing?

 

15:09 - How to implement video interviewing as part of your process so that it gets better results for your candidates, as well as your consultants?

 

20:54 - Is there anything about the nature of video itself that gives clients a better quality hire?

 

22:48 - The video process of using a recorded interview doesn't allow the candidate to have a look at the potential workplace. Have you got any experience of the service being used to do this?

 

24:45 - Have you had any issues, or had anybody raised to you about issues about diversity and inclusivity?

 

28:49 - A little while back I remember you saying "Remember this: you clients have KPIs themselves, and headcount ain't one of them".
Have you seen people relate video interviews directly to client KPIs or imagine how they could do that?

 

35:10 - I work with lots of companies who want to differentiate themselves in this very crowded market (the UK). So they will make an investment in something like Odro, or some other tech or methodology. And then, it doesn't transform the businesses. So, let's talk very practically about implementation.

 

40:40 - What do you think about making it a KPI to use or sell the new service?

 

41:37 - (To Alison) What are your thoughts on what a successful implementation look like?

 

44:21 - How do you see the recruitment industry/market/requirements developing over the next five years?

 

Business Event on the Horizon? How to Plan, Prepare and Execute

Welcome to Season Two of the Recruitment Leadership podcast!

 

In this season, we're talking all things finance for recruitment, with Nick Russell of Sonovate.

 

As the Commercial Sales Manager of one of the UK's fastest growing FinTech companies, Nick provides a wealth of knowledge on the often tricky topic of finance and investment.

 

A three-part how-to series, there's something for every recruitment in this series.

 

This episode is geared at more substantial recruitment businesses who may be a little bit further along their development curve - typically more than 50 heads.

If you're a director or owner who may have a business event in their sights such as an exit, an MBO or trade sale, for example, this episode will be essential listening for you.

 

01:54 - A lot of large recruitment businesses are wildly non-compliant and don't realise. A lot of the problems stem from the contractor workforce or temporary workforce - but not exclusively. It can be a big issue once you get involved in due diligence but also has an impact on financing.
What problems have you (Nick) come across with larger businesses when you get involved in the financing discussion?

04:53 - One company I worked with last year assumed there were no problems with their compliance, as their household-name client has not raised any questions. I identified there was an issue with their terms that may have prevented them from getting paid if there was a dispute. Although embarrassing, they admitted their mistake to the client and put things right. A less scrupulous client could have been willing to take advantage of that situation - have you (Nick) had anything like that happen?

09:22 - From a finance perspective, what do it do you think, Nick, that different types of buyers look for when they acquire a recruitment business?

10:55 - What number is good for payment terms?

11:43 - What classes as a lot of credit notes, in percentage terms?

14:00 - To what extent do funding organisations like Sonovate actually make the assessment of how a management team perform and how financially astute they are?

17:45 - Taking the perm invoicing and finance scenario, you (Nick) said people will do anything between 60 and 90% - what are the factors that influence that?

22:28 - What's your advice to recruitment business owners about protecting themselves from fraud?

29:44 - As the possibility of a sale or investment becomes more real, business owners want to look at swapping their financing arrangements. What are the signs that they should do that do you think?

31:33 - You mentioned there about if the service is poor. There are some issues that are driven by the recruitment business which means that the financier can't give them a good service. What are they?

33:13 - How hard is it to swap financier? 

 

 

If you have any questions from the podcast or have any topics you would like to be covered, please email - alison@recruitmentleadership.co.uk

You can also contact Nick Russell from Sonovate at - nrussell@sonovate.com 

 

Please like, share and leave a review if you enjoyed this episode.

 

Thanks for listening, we hope you join us again next time!

How To Adapt to Market Changes

Welcome to Season Two of the Recruitment Leadership podcast!

 

In this season, we're talking all things finance for recruitment, with Nick Russell of Sonovate.

 

As the Commercial Sales Manager of one of the UK's fastest growing FinTech companies, Nick provides a wealth of knowledge on the often tricky topic of finance and investment.

 

A three-part how-to series, there's something for every recruitment in this series.

 

In this episode, Alison Humphries and Nick Russell are discussing the changes in the recruitment market which are shaking things up.

In particular, the focus is on how this might affect your financing arrangements if you are a recruitment, business owner or director.

This episode will be of interest to businesses of all sizes, wherever you are on the developmental curve.

 

Episode Agenda:

• 01:42 - Leaving aside the B word (Brexit), we are in an environment where it looks like there's going to be increased regulation. And of course, in 2020, we've got the IR35 changes due to be rolled out in the private sector.
  Now they have those had a major effect in the public sector. We can go into a bit more detail about that, but at a very high level, what effects do you predict and how might funding be affected for recruiters?
• 04:52 - Questions on Statement of Works -
  How does it work in principle?
  Who's responsible for delivering on that statement of works?
  How much do I need to know about what my contract is doing?
  Am I the person responsible for completing?
  So how do we think this will affect it will affect the financing of recruitment contracts?
• 08:53 - Is there going to be a trend of contractors being hired on day rates going forward as an indication that they are not under supervision, direction and control?
• 15:17 - In regards to GDPR, are there any insurance implications that you think business owners should be looking at if they haven't already done so, from a financing funding point of view?
• 19:32 - A number of businesses have enquired not about invoicing and finance for temporary and contract workers, but invoices for permanent workers.
  Is something that is becoming more widespread? Why would a recruitment business owner want to finance their permanent invoices?
• 24:02 - Are there any trends that Sonovate staff are seeing at the moment in delivering their service - such as credit control?
• 29:21 - An increasing number of companies, during the run-up to Brexit, have decided to look at incorporating overseas different countries for different markets. 
  What is the impact if you are using funding from a business here in the UK?
• 33:43 - What are the key questions that a recruitment business owner should ask themselves or ask a potential candidate when choosing a financing partner?

--

If you have any questions from the podcast or have any topics you would like to be covered, please email - alison@recruitmentleadership.co.uk

You can also contact Nick Russell from Sonovate at - nrussell@sonovate.com 

 

Please like, share and leave a review if you enjoyed this episode.

 

Thanks for listening, we hope you join us again next time!

How To Structure and Transform your Micro-Business Using Finance

Welcome to Season Two of the Recruitment Leadership podcast!

 

In this season, we're talking all things finance for recruitment, with Nick Russell of Sonovate.

 

As the Commercial Sales Manager of one of the UK's fastest growing FinTech companies, Nick provides a wealth of knowledge on the often tricky topic of finance and investment.

 

A three-part how-to series, there's something for every recruitment business in this series.

 

This first episode is targeted to recruitment businesses who are startups, micro, small and lifestyle looking for advice on how to structure and transform their business using finance and investment.

 

Episode Agenda:

• 02:25 - The time from startup to seeking 3rd party funding from organisations has shrunk dramatically over the last 10 years.
  Why is this?
• 03:49 - Despite the huge number of startups and low barriers to entry in the industry, financing invoices are generally quite an attractive proposition for providers of finance.
  Those two things might seem slightly contradictory - why is it such an attractive commercial arrangement for financing organisations?
• 07:50 - For businesses who originally set up as a lifestyle business, they tend to typically start with permanent recruitment.
  For those keen to break into the "sexy" action - which is temporary and contract and all those sustainable, visible revenues - whats the key advice for those organisations? What options do they have? What might hold them back?
• 14:00 - Objectively, what are the pros and cons of using different finance sources such as equity providers, angel investors and friends/family?
• 22:55 - What is the onboarding process for a micro-business to partner with an organisation like Sonovate?
• 26:21  - What does the audit that finance companies execute involve?

 

If you have any questions from the podcast or have any topics you would like to be covered, please email - alison@recruitmentleadership.co.uk

You can also contact Nick Russell from Sonovate at - nrussell@sonovate.com 

 

Please like, share and leave a review if you enjoyed this episode.

 

Thanks for listening, we hope you join us again next time!