Speaking on ‘Resilience in the face of an uncertain world’, Ricks compared the current turbulence to that experienced by recruiters in the 2008 global financial crisis, when Ricks’s own business at that time suddenly faced a 65% drop in demand. Recovery took several years, and the UK economy in that crisis did not benefit from the staff furlough option that has supported many businesses to make it through at this juncture, she pointed out. “A key differentiator” in the Covid-19 pandemic crisis also is that “100% of the world’s developed economies are affected”, she said.

“Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face,” she said. “Resilience becomes your best friend.”

Ricks emphasised that resilience is “your capacity for change… a necessity, not a luxury right now. It’s an absolutely critical ‘must have’ in your skill set” that can carry an individual from a seeming breaking point to breakthrough point. 

Right now, she said, recruitment business leaders need to have a six-to-nine month plan to take them through recovery from the three-month lockdown the UK has experienced. “Communicate, communicate, communicate – be positive and honest,” she said. “Focus everything on the things you can control… Rip up your [pre-Covid-19] strategic plan or interrogate it with rigour”, looking at “the why” of what the business is doing.

Business leaders should also “follow the money” in terms of discovering potential new specialisms for their agencies in the light of issues that become new challenges for potential clients. 

At the same time, “toxic productivity” must be strictly avoided, she warned. The balance between work and self-care “become completely misaligned”, she said. 

Ricks’s talk, moderated by leading recruitment business woman Natasha Clarke, was a Women in Recruitment event. WiR is supported by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).

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