Why We Invest More Per Recruiter Than We Ever Have

Why We Invest More Per Recruiter Than We Ever Have

I am naturally pretty tight when it comes to spending money.

Yet our overheads per recruiter are around three times what they were five years ago.

We also pay recruiters significantly more than we used to.

Literally twice as much in many cases.

And far more than much of the competition.

Interestingly though, salary still isn't our biggest cost.

The biggest cost by far is candidate and client acquisition.

And that's completely intentional.

The Objective

Our objective today is simple.

We want every recruiter to get to $500k.

Ideally $1m+.

That's the benchmark we think about.

Not how cheaply can we operate.

Not how little can we spend.

But how do we create an environment where recruiters can perform at levels that most people think are impossible.

Recruitment Economics Have Changed

People often look at recruitment revenues and assume recruitment businesses must be wildly profitable.

Don't get me wrong.

The business is performing better than it ever has.

But when you invest heavily enough into candidate acquisition, client acquisition, systems, technology, training and support, the economics look very different.

Particularly when your goal is helping recruiters produce two, three, four or five times what they produced at previous employers.

And earn significantly more money themselves.

We Have Built A Machine Around The Recruiter

A lot of recruitment businesses still expect recruiters to generate everything themselves.

We think differently.

We've spent years building systems around the recruiter.

Candidate generation.

Client generation.

Technology.

Training.

Marketing.

Data.

Automation.

Support.

The goal is to remove as much friction as possible.

And allow recruiters to focus on what they do best.

Speaking to candidates.

Speaking to clients.

Creating placements.

Thinking Bigger

As we've grown, the questions we ask have changed.

We spend less time asking:

"How can this recruiter make a few more calls?"

And more time asking:

"How do we generate another 100 customers per month?"

"How do we create another 100 inbound candidates per week?"

"How do we generate more opportunities for the recruiters already in the business?"

Because when you solve those problems, recruiter productivity tends to increase naturally.

Marginal Gains Matter

Of course marginal gains still matter.

A 10% improvement in one area is useful.

A 10% improvement across multiple areas can be transformational.

Small improvements compound.

We've always believed that.

But there is also a point where optimisation alone isn't enough.

Going from the industry norm of $100k–$200k billers to $500k–$1m+ billers requires more than marginal gains.

It requires a different operating model.

Why We Continue Investing

Fortunately we operate in markets where successful placements create enormous value for clients.

That allows us to continue investing aggressively.

The entire model is built around creating more opportunities and more leverage for recruiters.

The more opportunities we create, the more successful recruiters can become.

It's as simple as that.

Final Thoughts

We don't think about recruitment purely in terms of recruiter performance anymore.

We think about the environment around the recruiter.

The systems.

The data.

The candidate flow.

The client flow.

The training.

The support.

Because great recruiters matter.

But great recruiters operating inside great systems can achieve extraordinary things.

If you want to build recruiters capable of billing $100k a month and over $1m a year, that's where the focus has to be.