We recently invited Hiring Hub’s recruiters to grill our Chairman, Peter Searle, to get his take on the impact of Covid-19 – and the broader recession – on the recruitment industry.
Currently the Executive Chairman of Airswift, Peter is veteran of the recruitment sector, having previously been the CEO of Adecco, Spring and Computer People, and helped found Apsco, he has seen the industry in good times and bad, surviving multiple downturns.
Our goal was to get his take on the current market conditions, his view of the mid- to long-term prospects for the industry, and a sense of where any opportunities may lie.
The informal webinar was hosted by Hiring Hub’s CEO, Simon Swan, while Peter was interviewed for 40-minutes by Chief Customer Officer, Alex Belford, where he eloquently answered questions covering:
- How does this downturn differ to previous recessions you’ve worked through?
- What are your predictions on a “recovery time” for the economy and therefore the recruitment sector?
- Recruitment as an industry has a great ability to adapt and evolve. What opportunities do you see for recruiters in today’s market? Have you heard or seen any good examples of this?
- What advice would you be giving to recruitment leaders currently?
- What part do you believe technology has to play in the future of recruitment? Do you think that, in the new normal, people will be comfortable making recruitment decisions without even meeting the candidates?
- There will be a lot of furloughed recruiters sat at home perhaps knowing in their hearts that they will not be returning to their current employer. What advice would you give to this group – should they start recruiting independently?
- You’re responsible for a global recruitment firm. What signs of recovery/optimism are you seeing from other regions who are perhaps ahead of the UK on the curve, or even less affected by the current pandemic?
- Whilst the bigger recruiters have the cash reserves, there is an argument that smaller, more agile recruiters will be even better positioned to capitalise on the upturn in market conditions. What’s your view of the recruitment landscape?
- If you were going to start a recruitment business today, how would you do it? Markets to target, business development strategy, office vs remote working, etc…
You can watch a recording of the interactive webinar below, which we hope you find useful.
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