Ricky Burns, Mike Bott, and Dan Cox discuss what keeps recruitment firms alive: a bad hire can threaten everything, losing top billers to M&A is brutal, and AI-driven playbooks are changing how people bill. They agree that specialist focus, technology, and transparent culture matter more than any single fix.
Chapters
Undoubtedly one of the most stressful times of my career, let alone of our founder journey. We invested a lot of time in a bad hire. We underestimate behaviors and values at the expense of maybe this pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, especially when you are the founder and this is your baby, your life and soul is in it.
We have officially started the live podcast events in 2026. We're back in London for another sold-out event, and we're talking about how to build a recruitment business that lasts. I think it's safe to say that there's never been more noise than there is now. And today what we're going to be talking about is what really is working to cut through that noise. And we have a great panel. We have Mike Bott from NHI Group.
Our DNA is to make a specialist in the market. After 8 years, we have 2 of my top billers in America that have gone and got themselves outside of recruitment M&A opportunities. We knew that is what they wanted to do in their future. It doesn't make it any good when a few million quid walk out your business and you're like, You followed your dream, lads, and I love you for it, and you're legends, but bugger, that's hurt.
We have Dan Cox from Edison Smart.
We ended up, you know, doing the first project that went really well for about 6 weeks, and then it literally fell off a cliff.
What do you mean fell off a cliff?
3 of the contractors had a row with the project director. Okay. Being really, really raw with you, like, we made loads of mistakes to get there, but then you can make a mistake once, but you make it again, you're a fool.
And we have Ricky Burns from Pulse Recruit. It should be our biggest superpower.
There's no way And I say this all the time, and we've designed playbooks around it now. There is no way that I would have achieved in terms of my own personal billings what I was able to achieve without utilizing AI.
How are these three different recruitment leaders on very different journeys planning to future-proof their business? How are they planning to attract the best people, retain their best people?
If you're not going forward, you're going backwards. If by challenging yourself and listening to other people in the market, what is working, asking people and being open to actually having open conversations. Not everyone's solution is going to work for everyone's business, but none of None of us can surely sit here and believe that we know everything.
