Dealing With The Constant Called “Change”

What will your recruitment agency look like in 5 years?

Will the recruitment industry and your agency exist in the same way 5 years from now?

Unlikely.  The industry is maturing, is becoming more global and more consolidated. Barriers to entry are gradually rising.  The introduction of new technology and new work models have already changed the industry and there is massive research investment in HR technology that suggests even greater change is on the way.

And the traditional threats, such as global economic conditions that create the cyclical nature of the industry, continue to be present.

HHMC is certainly bullish about overall industry growth over the next 5 years, but that growth may not happen in what we know as traditional recruitment.

Recruitment Agency Leaders

The spotlight is on the owners and managers in the industry to provide leadership in this time of change. They are the ones to provide the strategies and solutions to keep the industry growing and prospering.

What should be done to prepare for change? As a responsible business leader you can’t just wait - you have to have actions to prepare for changes that will emerge.

Related: GOING UP

There is no simple or single view of how a recruitment agency might evolve.  Agency owners need to prepare themselves and their business for whatever the future may hold.

We've identified 5 points that might help an agency owner prepare themselves and their organisation for the future:

1. Educate yourself about yourself:

Are you a risk taker? Are you prepared to invest heavily to build a bigger and more strategic business?  Are you entering a period of your life that requires less risk and more steady cash flow?  Despite what the books usually say, the personal attributes and the personal circumstances of the owner of a business drive the strategy of the business.  Therefore you need to have great self-awareness to be able to make clear decisions about the future of the business.

2. Educate yourself about your industry:

Read, attend conferences, travel, question what you do, ask and listen to what your clients are telling you.

Undertake some risk planning. What if you lost your largest couple of customers? What if your fees or margins were halved? How are sales really made in your business? How flexible is your business to adapt to change?

3. Build a culture of change:

Accept that you need to change and get a culture of change in the organisation. Change for your business may include client mix, service mix, geographic locations, technology, pricing models, and internal remuneration models.  What worked 5 years ago is probably not right today and will not be appropriate in 5 years’ time.  Reinforcing “the way we do things around here” may be a liability in the future.

4. Network:

Business owners need a high level of curiosity and the ability to constantly question beliefs and actions.  To achieve this you need access to a wide variety of sources. The best business owners build a network of potential clients, potential partners, potential staff, potential advisors as well as peers in the industry.  This network will not be created without specific and consistent action.

5. Try different approaches:

Don’t be afraid to try different approaches. As you network and as you educate yourself about the industry it becomes necessary to show leadership and define a vision for your organisation’s future. The mix of customers, services, sectors and geographies is endless. You can’t be everything to everyone, but you can work out your strengths and comfort zones by experimenting and building new capability that makes sense to your unique business and meet your client and candidate’s requirements.

There are exciting times ahead.