I come from a side view of the recruitment and staffing industry and sometimes look a little differently at issues like leadership effectiveness, strategic decision making, shareholder wealth creation and equity value creation.
If we look back on the 5 years from 2020, there are positive changes I’ve seen in owners and managers moving forward, making decisions, and dealing with uncertainty.
We may eventually look back on these years with gratitude and warm reflection. Not yet though! The pain, stress and heartache many have endured during this period is still too vivid and emotional.
But the legacy it leaves is possibly the shakeup needed for the industry and for the recruitment agencies.
Most founders and shareholders I meet with have a much broader set of inputs for decision making. This comes in business options being considered that might have been conservatively reviewed previously – split of sales and resourcing staff, offshore support, aggressive trialling of technology, focussed desks (temp or perm), retained perm assignments, emphasis on brand positioning – it is a long list that makes strategy more complex but also makes better businesses.
And this is great. Australian staffing companies have often rightly been accused of being too conservative, of not adopting the industry trends seen in other countries. Not now – global trends and responses to local changes appear to be picked up rapidly.
More importantly, from my view, is the clearer understanding of personal circumstances and objectives and that impact that has on business decisions. This is especially relevant to smaller organisations but does apply to all founders.
Some would call this work life balance. I think it is much broader and deeper than that. Personal financial situation (house mortgage, school fees), kids at school (gives a timeline of commitment), aging parents (the desire to be present, sometimes in another location), partner circumstances, family objectives. And so on.
All of these and so much more have a material impact on business.
How much time can I commit?
Can I travel?
What drawings must I take from the business?
What risks can be considered?
Are my needs still compatible with the business needs?
Do my personal goals and objectives allow me to inspire and lead the senior staff?
The answers to strategic questions do not come out of a textbook. Nor from copying the competitor down the road. Work circumstances, personal circumstances, values, vision, history, staff – all make the situation unique.
Add to that we are living a period of great change and great uncertainty that is being well documented. The answers to strategic questions are far from clear.
The reality is that decisions need to be made. Business needs to continue. All stakeholders, not just shareholders, need to be considered.
2026 is a year to embrace the decisions that are required. Address issues in the right timeframe, as hesitation can harm business and miss opportunities. But there is a difference between rash decisions and timely decisions.
Stakeholders need leadership – an often-overused word – to give confidence in an uncertain environment. That is helped by deliberate actions and clarity (or at least conviction) in the imperfect decisions that are occasionally required.
HHMC Global operates within the staffing and recruitment industry on equity transactions, market valuations and business growth advisory. Contact us to discuss further.