Rec Scale Up Podcast

In our latest Talking Recruitment podcast, Gary Wills joins Neil to discuss why he decided to start a recruitment business at a time of uncertainty during the pandemic, and the steps he took to turn things around after a difficult year. Gary took part in a charity fun run for the NHS Charities, where he ran from Nightingale London to Nightingale Birmingham on his treadmill which led to TV exposure. This gave Gary a leap in confidence and he set up a not-for-profit support group FurLearn, to give back to others which included everything from building their life skills, personal branding to mental health and live workout sessions. FurLearn has since gone on to win prestigious awards with The Learning Institute. Gary has now set up recruitment business Talent Today; their core values are driven by the job seeker and hiring manager, which are opportunity, diversity and empathy.

Steve Guest, Director, Coach, Mentor & Author of Top Biller: The Life of a Recruiter shares practical ways to add value and support recruiters by using tools which empower and inspire you to deliver. Listen to our podcast with Steve and Neil, as they discuss recruitment hurdles, the issues and challenges that you can face along with how Steve took it upon himself to become a coach and set up a recruitment mastery programme.

Featured speaker: Joanne Lockwood, founder and CEO of SEE Change Happen Joanne joins Neil Carberry to discuss our industry's role in creating diverse and inclusive workplaces. You'll hear about practical steps that your business can take to enable D&I, and to drive the UK’s productivity. Tune in to hear: • How we can be more diverse and inclusive as an industry and as employers • The importance of tackling and mitigating bias in the recruitment process • Potentially changing the selection process, ditching CVs as a primary source of evidence, anonymising candidates and using objective based tasks

Featured speaker: Michelle Flynn, CBT Practitioner & Certified Health Coach Recruitment will always be a sales business. As we navigate the path of recovery, how can business leaders help their people adapt to the new world of work and deliver against their high targets while providing excellent mental health and well-being support? We spoke to REC business partner and CBT Practitioner & Certified Health Coach Michelle Flynn on the practical steps agency owners and business leaders can take to manage the wellbeing and resilience of their staff. An ex-recruiter herself, Michelle brings in her wealth of knowledge and diverse experience on what our industry can do to tackle this issue. Tune in to hear about: • How do we address the challenge of mental health as we build back? • What challenges do recruitment businesses face around employee mental health and wellbeing? • How can businesses support their staff with mental health and resilience? • Top tips for health and wellbeing for recruiters to improve mind

Featured speaker: Carmen Watson, Chair, Pertemps Network Group “Young people and women have been hardest hit by the pandemic, so businesses are really going to have to look at how they can embrace those particular populations and how they can bring them into the workforce of the future”. Carmen Watson, Chair, Pertemps Network Group COVID-19 certainly has left a lot of casualties in the labour market, but thanks to recruiters, UK productivity is increased by an estimated £7.7 billion a year by improved quality of matching. Carmen joined Neil Carberry to share Pertemps’s journey during the pandemic and how they’ve kept their business moving. There’s plenty of words of wisdom for recruitment business owners of all sizes including how you can enable more diversity and inclusion as an industry, and further drive the UK’s productivity. Tune in to hear: • Lessons Pertemps has learnt during the pandemic • How their business adapted to meet client needs • The role of technology in supporting clients and keeping

Featured speaker: Steven Cooper, Co-Chair, Social Mobility Commission "What was the occupation of your main household earner when you were about 14?" Recent guidance by the Social Mobility Commission highlights this as the single most important question to ask your candidates or staff to assess their socio-economic background. Where are you with your social mobility strategy? We spoke to Steven Cooper, Co-Chair of the Social Mobility Commission to share his guidance and insights on how businesses can utilise data to advance their diversity strategies and how employers can step up their efforts to promote more diversity and inclusion within their workforce. Access their latest toolkits here: https://socialmobilityworks.org/toolkit/measurement/

Featured speaker: Andrew Chamberlain, Director of Policy, IPSE We know that the new IR35 rules are coming into effect in April 2021. Organisations like the REC and The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) have been pushing for a delay to this legislation. While we continue our work behind the scenes, it is imperative that all parties in the supply chain are fully aware of their obligations and the implications of non-compliance. We spoke to IPSE's Director of Policy, Andrew Chamberlain on what recruiters and clients can do to support contractors and freelancers. In this episode, you'll hear about: • An overview of IR35 from a contractor's and client's point of view • Trends IPSE are seeing among clients with their approach to IR35 • Status Determination - do's and don't • What recruiters can do to support contractors and freelancers ahead of April 2021. Head to REC's IR35 hub for the latest legal resources and to sign up to our upcoming practical seminars: www.rec.uk.com/

Featured speaker: Martin Jackson, Head of Employment Taxes & Training, Croner Taxwise Limited On 6 April 2021, IR35 rules in the private sector will change. How prepared are you? Martin Jackson, Head of Employment Taxes & Training, Croner Taxwise Limited joined Neil Carberry to discuss the upcoming changes, who it applies to and how it affects recruiters. If you're looking for a detailed walk-through of IR35 and have questions around the risks and technicalities, this is a must-listen discussion. Tune in and hear about: • The origins of IR35 and why it exists • A comparison between IR35 in the public and private sectors • Risks on non-compliance to recruitment agencies • Key considerations for agencies as we prepare for April 2021. Head to REC's IR35 hub for the latest legal resources and to sign up to our upcoming practical seminars: https://www.rec.uk.com/recruiters/legal/ir35 Find out more about how Croner Taxwise can support you at: https://www.cronertaxwise.com/

Featured speaker: Lorraine Laryea, Recruitment Standards Director, REC In our first Talking Recruitment podcast of 2021, Neil Carberry is joined by REC's new Recruitment Standards Director Lorraine Laryea to discuss the current hot topics in recruitment - Brexit and COVID-19. Lorraine provides clarity on some of the most frequently asked questions by REC members related to: • Brexit and Data Protection (GDPR) • Brexit and Right to Work for EU citizens • COVID-19 lockdown and it's impact on our industry Need more advice on Brexit? Check out our latest webinar where we delve into the latest analysis for an overview of the likely impact on the market, settled status for EU nationals, latest developments on the immigration system and the regulatory impact of Brexit. https://www.rec.uk.com/our-view/topics/brexit/brexit-latest-legal-advice

In the episode Neil Carberry on giving evidence to the APPG on loan charges for their work on understanding the role of Umbrella companies. "The government need to look at how Umbrellas should be regulated and create a fair and ethical playing field." "We have a really robust industry and this is reflected in the 2019/2020 UK recruitment industry status report. The total industry GVA in 2019 is up 8% from 2018." Kate Shoesmith The status report out on 16th December is an insight into the shape and size of the industry in 2019 to help recruiters plan for their businesses in 2021.

"Pre-pandemic, only 15% of job vacancies were able to reference any form of flexible working in the job vacancy. What we found [post-pandemic] is that the increase has been minimal. It's now 22% of job vacancies in the UK over this year on aggregate are now showing that it's possible to work flexibly from the point of hire." As a recruiter, how do you approach conversations about flexible working with your clients? We spoke to Emma Stewart, Co-founder and CEO of Timewise, UK's leading flexible working consultancy on the latest findings from their Flexible Jobs Index 2020. Timewise has been tracking the jobs market over the past five years looking at how many job vacancies are open to flexible working at the point of hire through their Flexible Jobs Index. In Neil Carberry's latest podcast discussion, Emma talks about: • What flexibility really means? • The shift in flexible working in job vacancies pre-and post- pandemic - based on Timewise's Flexible Jobs Index 2020 report • The role of flexible working

"It's not just what we can do during global pandemics, but how we handle life in general." Anthony Gruppo, CEO of Marsh Commercial. This has been a unique year. Next year will come with its own share of challenges for new and established leaders. But the key thing that'll determine how you come out of the other end is resilience. Anthony is a visionary and thinker around leadership issues as well as a published author. His take on leadership is inspirational and practical. Tune into his discussion with Neil Carberry where he shares his views on how leaders can maintain resilience during tough times and how our values and behaviours can drive impact around us.

How can businesses facilitate the transition for candidates in a post-COVID-19 world? How can the employability and recruitment sectors work together to benefit job seekers? We were joined by Tony Carr, Director of 4front partners, and Jo Ingold, Associate Professor, Department of Management, Faculty of Business & Law of Deakin University, to share expert findings from their research on employability programmes and the role of 'collaboration' between both sectors to bring forward positive results for the industry. Need more advice like this? Access our latest digital guide: REC2020: A guide for future-focused leaders here: www.rec.uk.com/rec2020lessons

"I think there'll be a need to plan for some connection that is more social, more human - on both sides - as we go through the journey of attraction and onboarding." Tech has changed the way we connect with our employees, but also how we build new relationships with future talent. Hear Jayne Haines, Senior Vice President, Talent Leadership and Organisation Development of GSK discuss how they have adapted their people strategy during the crisis to connect with current employees and worked with key partners to source new talent. You'll hear about: • What has homeworking meant for how GSK sources talent – hiring directly and working with partners? • What does a mixed model of home working mean for GSK in the long-haul? What are the benefits and complexities? • What gets GSK interested in working with a potential partner on people issues? • What recruitment business owners need to be mindful of when working with their clients

The recent crisis was a catalyst that accelerated tech adoption across our sector and many others. But how can we take tech innovation beyond video conferencing and online candidate screening? We spoke to PwC UK's Director of AI and REC2020 keynote panellists Rob McCargow to learn more about the advantages of automation and AI in recruitment. Tune in to our latest podcast to hear about: • PwC UK's AI journey • Application of AI in recruitment • Impact of tech on onboarding • The role of technology in making good work happen • Using data to innovate and drive value • Advice for agency owners on getting started with AI Catch Rob's REC2020 talk here: www.rec.uk.com/rec2020lessons

How are client expectations changing and how can recruiters change their operations to meet them? What lessons can we learn from international businesses who used this crisis as an opportunity to innovate? We spoke to Rhona Driggs, Chief Executive Officer of global staffing specialists Empresaria Group on the key lessons they learnt during the crisis and what advice they'd give to fellow recruitment businesses. Tune in to hear about: • How the pandemic has affected the Empresaria Group • How the Empresaria’s group has tailored their approach to clients, staff and their candidates during the crisis? • What innovations they brought into their operations as a result of the crisis • Key differences the Empresaria team has noticed about international responses and its impact on their operations • Real-life lessons on future business planning for recruitment business owners and leaders Need more on leadership and culture? Download our latest digital guide: REC2020: A guide for future-focused leaders here: www.re

Employees are the backbone of any successful business. Ever considered 'employee ownership' as a succession strategy for your recruitment business? We spoke to the Chief Executive of Employee Ownership Association Deb Oxley OBE. She thinks employee ownership unleashes the power of ownership in an individual and explains what makes employee ownership a popular way of managing succession. But how do you get started? Deb was joined by Neil Smith MBE, Managing Director of Kinetic Plc, an employee owned business and an REC Audited member. He shared how Kinetic moved to this model, key learnings for fellow recruitment business owners and how it has impacted their performance as a business. Need more on leadership and culture? Download our latest digital guide: REC2020: A guide for future-focused leaders here: www.rec.uk.com/rec2020lessons

With the Brexit deadline looming large, what is your game plan for survival? Thinking international is a great starting point, and there are plenty of success stories in the recruitment fraternity where you can gather inspiration from. One such example is Gattaca, an international recruitment business with more than 800 staff across the world. Hear Gattaca's CEO Kevin Freeguard share his advice and business lessons on how you can plan your future including: • Gattaca's outlook on sectoral shifts during the crisis • Tips for future workforce planning to meet client needs • Impact of remote working on business performance • Lessons and trends from Gattaca's international business • Advice on building international recruitment firms Want more on leadership? Download our latest digital guide: REC2020: A guide for future-focused leaders here: www.rec.uk.com/rec2020lessons

What should remote leadership look like? Hear James Reed, Chairman of The Reed Group share his leadership lessons including what today's leaders should be doing now to become a future-focused people's leader. James kicks off his discussion with Neil Carberry with Reed's latest labour market insights while adding his own findings on where our economy is headed which hints on his optimism about our industry in the coming months. Listen to this discussion to take away some important lessons on: • What remote leadership in the modern sense should look like? • The role of digital in shaping the future of work • Key messages from the Keep Britain Working campaign • How recruitment businesses can contribute to the recovery of the UK economy Want more on leadership? Download our latest digital guide: REC2020: A guide for future-focused leaders here: www.rec.uk.com/rec2020lessons

Many recruiters have been through a tough time but as we move forward there is also clarity emerging around how to build back better and use the current circumstances to innovate and do things differently. This episode asks Richard Bradley, Managing Director UK & Ireland from Kelly Services and Richard Vickers, Chief Executive Officer from Search Consultancy what opportunities they see and what the government can do to help the labour market. Both Richards were clear on the importance of the industry's role in working with the government on schemes such a Kickstart to help get the labour market back to strength. Richard Bradley from Kelly thinks the government must engage with bodies like the REC to get more people into work.