Recruiting Alchemy with Andy Simpson

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Moving recruiters from the contingent carousel to repeatable, scalable, productised offerings.

  1. 3d ago ·  Video

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep. 30 Why Recruitment Firms Don't Scale with James Parsons

    James Parsons was 25 when he quit his job at S3, two weeks after buying his first house, to start Arrows Group with business partner Adrian in 2003. By 2016 the business had more than 300 people in six countries, with sales north of 150 million.  James tells Andy Simpson how a farmer's son whose plan to fly fighter jets ended with a colour blindness test at 14 went from nearly being fired after his first year at S3 to top biller in the Huxley group the next, by being relentless about process. He explains why he built a client centric business when the firms he'd worked at were candidate centric, why companies don't scale without a blueprint everybody works to, and what a deal that should have taken three months and took six taught him about two founders sitting on opposite sides of the table.  He also covers the move from deploying engineers to owning the outcome through Build Circle, the technology consultancy the group bought in 2022, why he thinks a recruitment business probably needs to acquire to make that shift land, and the German acquisition that COVID murdered overnight.  KEY MOMENTS 07:41 The fighter jet plan that ended with a colour blindness test at 14 21:15 Buying his first house, then quitting S3 two weeks later to go it alone at 25 40:13 Why companies don't scale: the blueprint everybody works to 53:03 Why partners going into a deal need to be crystal clear on each other's motivations 56:42 From recruitment partner to owning the outcome: buying Build Circle James Parsons https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwparsonsrec Building Circle https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildcircle  Recruiting Alchemy is sponsored by ryvr.ai: https://ryvr.ai/ Hosted by Andy Simpson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/ Produced by Vertical Drop: https://www.vertical-drop.com/ All episodes: https://www.recruitingalchemy.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/recruiting-alchemy-podcast/

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep. 30 Why Recruitment Firms Don't Scale with James Parsons

  2. Oct 19 ·  Video

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep. 29 Why great CEOs make themselves redundant with James Wakefield

    James Wakefield went from the parade ground at Sandhurst and six years as an infantry officer into recruitment at Michael Page. He then spent 14 years at Cobalt, setting up offices across the Middle East, Europe, Asia Pacific and the US before becoming its first CEO. Since then he has sat on the board of his hometown football club, run a life sciences recruiter through the hardest market in decades, and returned to Cobalt as Executive Chair, while building an M&A advisory business on the side.  Andy Simpson talks to James about why a CEO role is five years, why a good leader should be making themselves redundant, how he took a business from 90-odd percent perm to 50/50 in two years, what a recruiter's instincts are worth at a football club's board table, and why he thinks the firms that adapt will be the ones left standing.  Recruiting Alchemy is sponsored by ryvr.ai, the conversational intelligence platform built specifically for recruitment and staffing businesses. Produced by Vertical Drop.  Key Moments 07:18 Sandhurst, six years as an infantry officer and Iraq in 2003  20:19 Cobalt goes international: Abu Dhabi, Germany, Singapore and New Zealand  35:23 Why a CEO role is five years  37:32 On the board of his hometown football club: transfer fees, kits and doubling the crowd  49:20 CEO of a life sciences recruiter in the toughest market in decades  Host Andy Simpson, founder of ryvr.ai  ryvr.ai https://linkedin.com/company/ryvrai https://recruitingalchemy.com Guest James Wakefield, Executive Chair, Cobalt Recruitment https://linkedin.com/in/jtwakefield https://linkedin.com/company/cobalt-recruitment  Produced By Vertical Drop  https://vertical-drop.com Recruiting Alchemy is sponsored by ryvr.ai: https://ryvr.ai/ Hosted by Andy Simpson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/ Produced by Vertical Drop: https://www.vertical-drop.com/ All episodes: https://www.recruitingalchemy.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/recruiting-alchemy-podcast/

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep. 29 Why great CEOs make themselves redundant with James Wakefield

  3. Oct 12 ·  Video

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep. 28 Specialise to Scale with Jim Ryan

    Jim Ryan left Ireland at 17, knocked on doors selling cable TV, and walked into MSB in Bromley in 1997 with no recruitment experience. Eighteen years on from starting ERSG on the day Lehman Brothers collapsed, he runs a staffing group with £185 million in turnover, around £28 million in gross profit and offices from Seattle to Taiwan, and it has stayed independent without private equity. Andy Simpson sits down with Jim, CEO of ERSG, to talk about how a business plan he now calls naive became the go-to specialist for the offshore wind industry. They get into verticalisation and why ERSG throws jobs away, building a career structure so growth becomes automatic, opening entities across Europe, the US and Asia, the 2022 and 2023 bump that very nearly knocked the business over, and why Jim thinks AI is already changing support roles long before it touches an engineer on a turbine. Recruiting Alchemy is sponsored by ryvr.ai, the conversational intelligence platform built specifically for recruitment and staffing businesses. Produced by Vertical Drop. KEY MOMENTS 17:22 Starting ERSG on the day Lehman went21:51 Offshore wind projects and the Blackpool private jet38:36 Verticalisation: specialise and throw jobs away45:03 The Jaws on the beach moment49:17 Why ERSG stayed independentGuest, Jim Ryan: linkedin.com/in/jiryan Company https://www.ersg-global.com/en-US/ Host, Andy Simpson linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson  Sponsor, ryvr.ai https://ryvr.ai/ Produced by vertical-drop.com Recruiting Alchemy is sponsored by ryvr.ai: https://ryvr.ai/ Hosted by Andy Simpson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/ Produced by Vertical Drop: https://www.vertical-drop.com/ All episodes: https://www.recruitingalchemy.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/recruiting-alchemy-podcast/

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep. 28 Specialise to Scale with Jim Ryan

  4. Oct 5 ·  Video

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep. 27 Surviving every downturn in recruitment with David Bloxham

    David Bloxham has spent 30 years in recruitment, almost all of it at GCS, the business he joined in 1996 and now leads as CEO. Andy Simpson asks how he got there, and what it cost along the way. David talks through coming back to GCS just as the 2008 credit crunch wiped out half his contractors, and why he says you can always cut your cloth when the market turns. He explains how an MBO nearly fell through before Engage came in as backer, why GCS has never dual desked and now runs at around 95% contract, and what changes when a recruiter takes accountability for the outcome instead of sending a CV. They also get into why every CV now looks the same, the 305 applications for one role, and why David thinks AI is highly underestimated and dreadfully overestimated. Recruiting Alchemy is sponsored by ryvr.ai, the conversational intelligence platform built for recruitment and staffing businesses. KEY MOMENTS 16:40 Every CV now looks the same, so who explains the human?20:30 Joining GCS in 1996: a 10k offer over a 16k one, on a chat about music30:55 October 2008: the credit crunch takes half the contractors37:20 The MBO that nearly fell through, and forecasting within 5%49:20 From 50/50 to 95% contract, and never dual desking54:12 Taking accountability for the outcome, not the CV1:02:10 AI: highly underestimated and dreadfully overestimatedLINKS Guest linkedin.com/in/davidbloxham1 Company linkedin.com/company/gcs-recruitment-specialists Host, Andy Simpson linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson  Sponsor, ryvr.ai www.ryvr.ai  Produced by vertical-drop.com Recruiting Alchemy is sponsored by ryvr.ai: https://ryvr.ai/ Hosted by Andy Simpson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/ Produced by Vertical Drop: https://www.vertical-drop.com/ All episodes: https://www.recruitingalchemy.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/recruiting-alchemy-podcast/

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep. 27 Surviving every downturn in recruitment with David Bloxham

  5. Sep 28 ·  Video

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep. 26: The Broken Economics of Contingent Staffing with Rory Gaston

    Andy Simpson is joined by Rory Gaston, Group CEO and co-founder of Saragossa, the buy-side staffing and technology solutions business he built with Jimmy Lloyd after spinning out of Red Rock in 2015. Rory explains why success-fee contingent staffing creates what he calls perverse economics, why Saragossa almost never competes against other firms for the same role, and how the business grew from a niche hedge fund staffing boutique into a three-part technology solutions group spanning staffing, managed services and project delivery. The conversation also covers Saragossa's expansion from Bristol into Chicago and New York, and why Rory believes AI is pushing companies to hire more developers, not fewer. FIVE KEY MOMENTS 10:28 Meeting co-founder Jimmy Lloyd, and how their old boss backed both of them to spin Saragossa out of Red Rock in 2015.19:42 The chess board origin of the Saragossa name, and using chess to win over sceptical hedge fund quants.32:40 Why contingent staffing's success fee model creates perverse economics, and Saragossa's rule of never competing against other firms for the same role.57:10 Rory's Jevons paradox take on AI: why Saragossa is hiring more developers, not fewer, and cutting ticket volume by 30% in its managed services arm.GUEST Rory Gaston, linkedin.com/in/rory-gaston-01539817 GUEST COMPANY Saragossa, linkedin.com/company/saragossa HOST Andy Simpson, linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson HOST COMPANY,  ryvr.ai https://ryvr.ai/ SPONSOR  Recruiting Alchemy is sponsored by ryvr.ai. Produced by Vertical Drop. Recruiting Alchemy is sponsored by ryvr.ai: https://ryvr.ai/ Hosted by Andy Simpson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/ Produced by Vertical Drop: https://www.vertical-drop.com/ All episodes: https://www.recruitingalchemy.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/recruiting-alchemy-podcast/

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep. 26: The Broken Economics of Contingent Staffing with Rory Gaston

  6. Sep 11

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep. 25 Why Recruiters Are Naive About AI with Brad Lewington

    Andy Simpson is joined by Bradley Lewington, CEO and founder of Generative and former CEO of Spencer Ogden, the energy and infrastructure recruiter he scaled to over 500 people before a private equity backed MBO closed on 20 February 2020, three weeks before COVID hit. Brad explains why the business had to become one a private equity firm actually wanted to buy, what it was like to sign the deal and watch the plan disappear within four weeks, and why he chose to build an AI focused staffing business rather than return to energy. The conversation also covers why recruiters who assume AI platforms cannot do the human bit are in for a surprise, and where the trust element still gives them the edge. FIVE KEY MOMENTS 0:00 Cold open: growing Spencer Ogden from zero to £28M in fees in six years, "no more jam tomorrow." 38:30 Discussion of exit strategy: was it always destined to be a private equity deal, trade sale, or MBO? 41:06 The core insight on what drives sales and motivates people in recruitment businesses. 55:03 The deal closed Feb 20, 2020, then COVID hit weeks later. 01:11:28  On AI in recruitment: "they are way better than you think." GUEST Bradley Lewington, CEO and Founder linkedin.com/in/bradlewington GUEST COMPANY Generative linkedin.com/company/generativegroups HOST Andy Simpson linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson HOST COMPANY ryvr.ai https://ryvr.ai/ SPONSOR Recruiting Alchemy is sponsored by ryvr.ai. https://ryvr.ai/ PRODUCTION CREDIT Produced by Vertical Drop. https://www.vertical-drop.com/ Recruiting Alchemy is sponsored by ryvr.ai: https://ryvr.ai/ Hosted by Andy Simpson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/ Produced by Vertical Drop: https://www.vertical-drop.com/ All episodes: https://www.recruitingalchemy.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/recruiting-alchemy-podcast/

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep. 25 Why Recruiters Are Naive About AI with Brad Lewington

  7. Sep 1

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep. 24: AI, Recruitment & The Future of Hiring with Craig Whiting

    Is AI really going to replace recruiters, or will it simply expose the ones who were never adding value in the first place? In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy, Andy Simpson sits down with Craig Whiting, Founder of RecOS , to unpack one of the biggest shifts the recruitment industry has ever faced. Craig shares how his business has evolved over the last 18 months, why he's fully embraced AI, and what it means for recruiters, software engineers and businesses trying to stay ahead. The conversation dives into the changing value of talent, why the best recruiters will become even more valuable, and why average performers should be paying close attention. This is a fascinating discussion on technology, productivity, accountability and how AI is reshaping recruitment faster than most people realise. Whether you're a recruiter, agency owner, business leader or simply curious about where AI is taking the world of work, this episode is packed with insight. Timestamps 04:43 – What's changed in the business over the last 18 months? 08:04 – Why Craig believes AI is changing recruitment forever 16:30 – AI as a productivity tool, not a replacement 20:10 – Why 70% of recruiters could disappear 29:33 – The recruiters who will thrive in the AI era 55:30 – Story behind RecOS Connect with Craig Whiting LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-whiting-b75a8ba/\ RecOS : https://www.linkedin.com/company/rec-os/\ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craigwhiting1/ Connect with Andy Simpson Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andyhsimpson/\ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/ This episode is proudly sponsored by ryvr.ai Find out more: Website: https://ryvr.ai/\ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryvr.ai/\ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ryvrai/ Produced by Vertical Drop Recruiting Alchemy is produced by Vertical Drop, helping founders and businesses turn conversations into content that builds authority, creates opportunities and drive growth. From podcast production and strategy to social media content, guest management and distribution, Vertical Drop helps brands create content that delivers long after the recording ends. Recruiting Alchemy is sponsored by ryvr.ai: https://ryvr.ai/ Hosted by Andy Simpson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/ Produced by Vertical Drop: https://www.vertical-drop.com/ All episodes: https://www.recruitingalchemy.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/recruiting-alchemy-podcast/

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep. 24: AI, Recruitment & The Future of Hiring with Craig Whiting

  8. Aug 20

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep.23: The 'No Mascots, No Pets' Culture Rule with Russell Clements

    Is AI really going to change recruitment forever, or is it just the latest technological scare the industry will outlast? And would you fire your two best billers if they were poisoning your culture, even knowing exactly what it would cost you? In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy, Andy Simpson sits down with Russell Clements, former CEO of SThree plc, one of the world's most successful specialty staffing businesses, to unpack four decades of lessons on building highperformance culture, leading through technological upheaval, and why AI might be the first innovation that genuinely changes the rules for recruitment. Russell takes us from his working-class beginnings in West London to joining SThree in 1986 and leading the company through its flotation on the London Stock Exchange at more than a quarter of a billion pounds. He shares the story behind SThree's famous 'no mascots, no pets' culture rule, why the business let go of two of its highest-billing consultants despite the revenue they generated, and why he believes culture is the single biggest driver of commercial success. The conversation also covers why Russell believes AI represents a genuinely different kind of threat to the recruitment industry than any previous technological shift, what it means for the future shape and size of staffing businesses, and his advice for leaders navigating tougher markets today. This is a fascinating discussion on leadership, culture, ruthlessness and resilience, and what separates good recruitment businesses from truly great ones. Whether you're a recruitment leader, founder, or simply interested in what three decades at the top of the industry teaches you about building a business that lasts, this episode is packed with insight. TIMESTAMPS 04:06 Russell's working-class upbringing in West London 22:16 The wrong'uns: letting go of two top billers over culture 27:00 Building a culture that let people build their own businesses inside the business 58:20 Why AI is a genuinely different kind of threat 01:00:22 What makes a good CEO today CONNECT WITH RUSSELL CLEMENTS LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-clements-7313818a/ CONNECT WITH ANDY SIMPSON Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andyhsimpson/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/ THIS EPISODE IS PROUDLY SPONSORED BY ryvr.ai Find out more: Website: https://ryvr.ai/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryvr.ai/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ryvrai/ PRODUCED BY VERTICAL DROP Recruiting Alchemy is produced by Vertical Drop, helping founders and businesses turn conversations into content that builds authority, creates opportunities and drives growth. From podcast production and strategy to social media content, guest management and distribution, Vertical Drop helps brands create content that delivers long after the recording ends. Recruiting Alchemy is sponsored by ryvr.ai: https://ryvr.ai/ Hosted by Andy Simpson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/ Produced by Vertical Drop: https://www.vertical-drop.com/ All episodes: https://www.recruitingalchemy.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/recruiting-alchemy-podcast/

    Recruiting Alchemy Ep.23: The 'No Mascots, No Pets' Culture Rule with Russell Clements
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Moving recruiters from the contingent carousel to repeatable, scalable, productised offerings.

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