The dizzying days of post-COVID recruitment are well and truly over.

In the candidate-driven, post-pandemic recruitment industry, there were records set in every corner of the globe.

Each business we talked to back then seemed to be torching their previous records by some margin. Newcomers were billing like seasoned pros and those with experience were putting 7 figures on the board with some to spare.

The truth is however, for some, the records keep tumbling. Those who anticipated the change in the industry prepared themselves well for the shift.

For those who didn’t, the move to a job and client led market has left a sizeable deficit in the sales board. In search of insight, Sourcr put our expansive network to good use and asked recruiters in your businesses what they feel they lack, moving into Q2 2024 and beyond.

Taking the time to make sure your staff are better prepared for this market is the only way you’ll secure their (and your) success in the short term.

What can you do to make that a dead-cert?

After reviewing the responses of our anonymous survey, where we asked the staff of a sample of recruitment businesses, here’s what recruiters are saying they need right now…

 

“Industry leading training and development”

The title of this section is intentionally barbed. Mainly because there’s no such thing as industry leading training and development. 

Of course it doesn’t stop many recruitment businesses making the claim. But it’s hyperbole at best. At worst, a catchphrase to hide the truth. Which is, “we do the same as the other businesses we compete with.”

One of the main issues with training in recruitment companies is that it often doesn’t focus on the individual consultant. There’s often no time or budget to consider what your individual recruiters might want, or need, to get to the next level of their career. It can be expensive and too granular to consider, let alone offer.

OK, your team needs to be better at business development.

Which part of business development? How does one recruiter’s skills gap compare to another in their team? How are others bringing on clients? How do your clients (and those you’d like to be) prefer to be approached? IT Managers might favour a different technique to Finance Managers.

Listening to both your team, and the market they work in, will go an incredibly long way to solving the issues for your business.

Listen to the client first. And then listen to the recruiter. And on that note…

 

The responses to our survey

It’s hugely important to reiterate once more the point above, before we standardise the feedback from our survey. Each person in your team is an individual and will have different desires and needs for their career.

However…

The wide ranging desires of the survey responses we put out came back relatively uniformed. Recruiters in 2024 want better billings, more success and more support. So, no shock there. Almost every response wanted to develop their career and work for a business that supports the fulfilment of their ambitions.

The way recruiters thought they could reach those goals were also relatively unilateral when broken down.

Simply, tailored L&D, with an emphasis on diverse methods that mirror the changing world and sector they operate in.

Along with greater technological support than an ‘all firing database’. More specifically, eradicating admin in any single place it can be.

 

No face mask needed

It’s likely you’ll have asked your team to return to the office recently. And this fits with an over-arching theme in the feedback we received in our survey…

Namely, tailoring business development training to help recruiters secure business in person.

It’s probably easy to forget that for many recruiters, especially those who started their careers during or shortly after the pandemic, face to face relationship building is a completely new thing.

You might find it easy to build rapport with someone over a quick coffee. You might’ve had a lifetime of practise. You’re probably affable, gregarious and can build a relationship with a wax work model. Maybe you light up a room and are one of those people described as “everyone’s friend”.

But are your team? Do they feel comfortable going to on-site meetings? Do they enjoy it? Or are they filled with anxiety at the mere suggestion of meeting someone for a chat?

Because if simply meeting someone fills them with worry, trying to turn that discussion business-bound will only ramp up the fear.

And yet, it’s a major driver in building business with hiring managers and one of the biggest differentiators between average and substantial billing.

This drives home once more how important it is to know your team well. And why just listening to their feedback doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to help them. You need to read between the lines and properly tailor their L&D to the market, the way the world works, and where the future lies.

Could confidence training help? Could public speaking tutoring? Do they help managing nerves in meeting people face to face? What about a networking mentor?

If you really want to lead the industry, in training or anything else, thinking laterally about how to get the best out of your team is non-negotiable. It’s a prerequisite.

And that includes the tech they use

Does ChatGPT create the competitive difference for your marketing? Or would hiring a copywriting trainer be a more useful and long-lasting exercise? The tech suite of most recruitment companies is changing rapidly. It should evolve. And probably look different depending on the market and recruiter using it.

We’ve seen that first hand with Sourcr, and as the world of technology evolves, so too will the potential of your recruiters if you give them a helping hand. If meeting people in real life is really the differentiator most think it is, alleviating their admin and giving them space to shine is probably the smartest move you can make.

Chances are, part of that admin includes chasing reviews from happy customers. And for that? We know an app that can help.