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Market analysis and leadership thinking for recruitment professionals.
Rise of the Digital Workers Event Review
A look back at our event with Bullhorn and Coral Starfish, helping recruitment agency owners understand what’s really happening with agentic AI, what it means for recruitment, and how they can start putting it to work in their businesses.
When did recruitment become so boring?
Simon Lewis · 8 Sept 2026 · 2 min
The Accidental Leader Problem Is Worse in Recruitment
Simon Lewis · 7 Sept 2026 · 2 min
Statement of Work: Is recruitment moving from supplying people to delivering outcomes?
Simon Lewis · 3 Sept 2026 · 3 min
Great Leadership Matters More Than Ever
We talk a lot about technology. AI. Automation. Productivity. Data. Efficiency. And rightly so. But the more sophisticated our businesses become, the more convinced I am that one of the biggest competitive advantages left is something remarkably old-fashioned: Great leadership.
Better, or Just Luckier?
There was a line in a football piece recently that I couldn't shake. A journalist was picking apart Manchester City's transfer business - specifically, how they'd sold a winger called Sávio to Tottenham for a club-record fee, despite the fact that in two years at City he'd got worse, not better. Fewer starts. Dropped from his national team. Regressed by every measure that matters.
10 Things Successful Recruiters Need in 2027 (and Beyond)
Picture recruitment in the nineties. Fax machines. Rolodexes. A phone glued to your ear for eight hours a day. Commission boards on the wall and ashtrays on the desk. It was brash, it was chaotic, and for a certain kind of salesperson, it worked brilliantly. That world is gone.
Leadership Mindset for a Market That Won't Sit Still
The old playbook doesn't work any more. Here's the mindset shift separating the recruitment leaders pulling ahead from the ones treading water.
A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats
Borrowed from President John F. Kennedy in 1963, it's a line usually used to flatter a good market. But really it describes something less comfortable: when the tide is high, mediocrity gets carried along just fine.
KPMG/REC Report on Jobs - June 2026
The freefall's slowing, temp's booming, and pay's rising. June's jobs report has some good news in it for once.
Why We Rebranded RecConnect
And what this means to recruitment agencies.
What Happens When You Take Recruitment Leaders to the Beach
Late June 2026, on one of the hottest days of the year, a group of recruitment founders swapped their desks for the seafront - and spent an afternoon doing something most of them don't get nearly enough of: thinking clearly about the business they're actually building.
Recruitment Leader Lunch Club - London
The RecConnect Lunch Club is one of the most sought-after events in our calendar and this one proved why.
World Tour: The Contractor Recruitment Chart Show
On a Wednesday afternoon in London, a room of recruitment leaders got a masterclass in why staying local might be the riskiest move they make in 2026/27. The theme was Top of the Pops. The content was anything but nostalgic.
Brighton Recruitment Leader Experience 2026: What Happened When Recruitment Leaders Bonded by the Beach
On Wednesday 20 May, forty recruitment leaders gathered in Brighton for the second stop on RecConnect's 2026 regional event series. Just steps from the sea, the afternoon delivered energy, insight, and practical takeaways throughout.
3R becomes first back-office and funding partner to SafeRec
3R has become the first back-office and funding provider to partner with SafeRec, working together to promote responsible labour supply chains and higher standards of payroll compliance across the recruitment industry.
From Contingency to Consultancy — Evolving Your Recruitment Business
On Wednesday 6th May, RecConnect brought together a sharp group of recruitment agency leaders at 80 Strand, London, for one of the most commercially focused sessions in the events series to date.
Rewiring Routine: The Science of Habits, Learning, and Lasting Wellness - Event Summary
Some events fill a room. This one filled it twice over.
Manchester Lunch Club Review - Strategy Met Agentic Reality
On 26th March a select group of Manchester’s recruitment elite stepped away from the daily grind and into the focused, high-energy environment of the RecConnect Lunch Club, held at Ivy Spinningfields. In an industry often characterised by relentless competition, this invite-only gathering proved that collective wisdom is, indeed, a recruiter's ultimate superpower.
How to Exit Your Recruitment Business via an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT)
RecConnect hosted a successful event exploring Employee Ownership Trusts as a strategic exit route for recruitment business owners, featuring expert insights from Harbottle & Lewis.
Six Recruitment Predictions for 2026
The recruitment industry is being hit hard - it has been for a while now.
No Cuts, No Glory: Why the BoE's Cold Shower Could Heat Up Smart Recruitment
The Bank of England is holding firm on interest rates, choosing economic restraint over relief. But for smart recruitment agencies, this cold reality presents a hot opportunity.
Hot Air, Cold Hires: How to Beat the British Summer of Flat Growth
In a market where even the weather's more exciting than the GDP, think how diversification and tech can turn this drizzle into opportunity.
Bosses Can Reject Applicants Who Support A Rival Football Team
Maintaining 'office harmony' a valid factor in recruitment decisions, employment tribunal in London rules.
Job Hugging: The Recruitment Crisis Agencies Must Solve
How workers clinging to jobs is reshaping recruitment and what agencies must do to adapt in this new landscape of job hugging and economic uncertainty.
5 Habits That Separate Successful Leaders from Everyone Else
Leadership is about the daily habits that compound over time, creating the kind of influence that genuinely moves things forward. After studying hundreds of leaders across industries, five patterns emerge consistently among those who get the best results.
The Efficiency Revolution: How Sprint-Working Changes Everything
We've been conditioned to think that steady, consistent effort wins the race. But what if the secret to extraordinary productivity isn't pacing yourself – it's sprinting?
Behind the Billings: Why Great Ops, Tech & Back Office Will Decide Your Recruitment Agency's Future
Operations used to be seen as admin. Now, it's where competitive advantage is built.
Blow It Up: Why Your Perm Recruitment Model Is a Ticking Time Bomb
Today's professionals want flexibility, freedom, and fluidity. They're not dreaming of a gold watch and a 30-year career
Behind the Scenes at RecConnect HQ – And What it Means for You
Operating at the parapet of recruitment can be perilous as it is pleasing. Over the ridge here at RecConnect HQ we're often the first to witness incoming pelters; dodging the bullets aimed at disarming our glorious industry.
Recalibration, Not Retreat: What July's Labour Market Data Means for Recruiters
July's data confirms a cooling but not frozen UK jobs market, with 41,000 job losses and rising unemployment to 4.7%, offering strategic opportunities for adaptive recruiters.
UK Recruitment Agencies Face a Cooling Market and Strategic Reset
UK labour market cooling with inflation at 3.4%, unemployment rising to 4.6%, and recruitment agencies navigating strategic challenges.
It's just a bit of Tariff and Tumble: UK Jobs Take a Hit
US tariff policies impact UK exports while payrolled employees drop by 56,000 in March, double the forecasted decline.
Riding the Wave: Unlocking Potential Amid a 1% Economic Shrinkage
UK economy shrinks 1% in January while wages grow 5.9% and vacancies remain above pre-Covid levels despite 31st consecutive decline.
The UK Labour Market: Cracks Beneath the Surface?
Strong wage growth of 5.9% contrasts with 31st consecutive quarterly decline in vacancies, raising questions about market stability.
Why January Gives Recruiters The Blues
Heightened expectations. Misalignment. There's a common misconception that January heralds the dawn of a new era.
5 Things All Recruiters Should Have Already Have Done in 2025
As well as frosty fingers, January brings eternal optimism that the new year will be better than the last.
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