Louise Archer

Founder, Retrained Search

“In 2025, we’ll streamline operations to enhance productivity, reduce workloads and lower business costs by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) tools and improved operational processes. With clearly defined strategies, we’ll refine our geographic targeting to address recruitment challenges in diverse markets such as Japan, Australia and the US. Each region faces unique obstacles, and we’re dedicated to delivering tailored, value-driven solutions to overcome them. Once we’ve perfected our processes, we’ll support our members in optimising their own operations to achieve greater efficiency and profitability.”

Seb O’Connell

CEO, Org Group

“In 2025, we’ll focus on saying ‘yes’ more thoughtfully. In challenging markets, it’s tempting to agree to every customer request – on pricing or solutions – but that approach often misses the deeper issues they face. As a global business, we have diverse ways to deliver better outcomes. What remains unchanged is our commitment to building strong relationships, enabling us to have constructively challenging conversations that drive real value for our customers.”

Kasia Krieger

Business manager, Pineapple Recruitment

“The recruitment landscape constantly demands a fresh approach, and the New Year is a perfect opportunity to do just that. So, we’re embracing artificial intelligence (AI) less and pushing human interaction more. While AI is a valuable tool, it can’t replace empathy that comes from personal/human connections throughout the recruitment process. We’re also introducing a DE&I strategy, focusing on neurodiversity. Our goal is to shift the narrative from identifying barriers to harnessing strengths. This involves rethinking job descriptions, interview methods and workplace adjustments to create environments where neurodiverse individuals thrive. By focusing on these priorities, we’re setting the stage for a transformative 2025.”

2025 is the year of the start-up recruiter

Having read your news story ‘2025: Hope for the best, plan for the worse’ (Recruiter, Nov-Dec 2024), I agree with Sid Barnes that 2025 is going to have a tough start. However, there are thousands of agencies opening each year; the estimated 600 who left in the last 18 months is not unnatural or that bad.

The market dynamics are changing and the time of the solo recruiter, or one to three-person start-up that is lean on cost and home-based working is where the industry is headed.

The pandemic gave the start-up recruiter a huge boost in acceptance of that model. Look at any desk in any niche and what you need to bill in a lean, home-based start-up is a lot less daunting than staying in a role.

Let’s say you were billing £150k, and earning £40k, if you billed £40k in your own start-up, you would be able to pay yourself close to what you were earning at £40k PAYE; bill £50k and it’s guaranteed you earn the same. So a recruiter’s choice might be to stay in a £150k-target role that the market has not got enough fees to support, or go and work from home and bill £40-£50k for themselves.

There are lots of grants that these start-up companies can target as well – so really, I see 2025 as the year of the start-ups.

Darren Revell, founder, RecruiterWEB

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