But us recruiters are indefatigable. The industry is awash with savviness, inspiration, and gusto. As always, we'll push through and witness an upward tilt once more.
Whether you're flying solo, building, or scaling, here are my thoughts on what 2026 will bring.
- Increased L&D. 2024 saw a huge drop in personal and employee development, enlarging silos. It was 'frontline' stuff. But without progression, employees will become detached from the pace of change and disengage. Business owners and leaders must invest in development
- Supernumerary start-ups. If you think 2024 witnessed a spike in new agencies, just wait! Economic uncertainty, changing workers' rights, PAYE increases, will render redundancies, with many of the displaced choosing to go it alone. Opportunity will both shrink and grow.
- Networks rule. Who you know and how quickly you can identify and foster notable relationships, will define your ability to identify a point of difference and stay ahead of the chasing pack. Forward-thinkers will infiltrate communities, connect, create conversation, and pinpoint relevance.
- Tech tightens. No more new, shiny stuff. Magpies will plummet. Business leaders – some aided by COOs – will shred the superfluous and build tech stacks they NEED. From the correct CRM to back-office plug-ins, automation, and BD gen, if it ain't saving you time and driving revenue, bin it.
- M&As and MBOs abound. Alongside new start-up prevalence, mergers, acquisitions, and management buy-outs will occupy an increasing percentage of industry movement, as battle-weariness takes hold. Succession planning is integral to exit execution and sunsets.
- Brand importance. Business elevation will gain increased importance, with sagacious leaders inspiring innovative content that hits the mark. Video content will continue apace, with AI's influence unabating. If you haven't considered your 2035 marketing strategy, you probably ought to.
So, there you have it. I'm no soothsayer, but from the many, many, conversations I've had with industry protagonists recently, I'm certain my six points (there are more, of course!) will play their part in what is sure to be continued change in this wonderful industry of ours.
Thanks to the RecConnect community for consistently delivering excellence, and to the industry partners, friends and colleagues, who light fires every day
Keep smiling.
Simon Lewis, Founder, RecConnect – the recruitment leader community. You might be interested in my Substack content about surviving small business burnout in the age of hustle. Follow me at Playing Injured.
