Adeel Raza

Some Internal TA Teams Really Need to do Better? Recruiters often get bashed for poor ethics, being unprofessional and at times we just get 💩 for simply doing our job. But more and more I see TA teams being utterly unprofessional, withholding key information from recruiters, slowing down processes and providing poor if any feedback on CV's or interviews. I question what value some (not all) add to their businesses. Deep breath 😮‍💨 The last time we got a trading update from the client below was in April 2023 😂 The market, salaries and hiring priorities would have changed in almost the past couple of years, but the recruiter can't be bothered getting on the phone and just wants to see CV's. Why would we waste out time! Clients: For a recruiter to represent you well, and give all candidates the very best experience of your business, please ensure all of your recruitment partners know how to present your business, and you keep them updated with any key changes that will add value to their sales pitch. It's simple, and very beneficial. Rant over. I feel better now 🤸‍♂️🤸‍♂️🤸‍♂️

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What are some of the challenges UK agency recruiters face when moving into US market? 1. Broad approach and not a true specialist. Must be ultra niche, focus on growth areas and build pools of specialist talent. Get your GTM right. 2. Avoiding IR: Most US companies have an established internal rec team so need to partner with IR rather than going around them - agencies can help fill the 2-10% of roles prospects may be struggling with 3. Undervaluing your service: Based on above the perceived value is higher leading to Perm fees of around 25% and contract margin over 35%. Often increased appetite for retainers and projects. 4. Treating the US like it is one location: America is actually 50 states and compares more to Europe in size. Have an area of focus. 5. Underestimating the importance of compliance: US can be a legal minefield so clients want to be sure you are 100% compliant - prove it. There are so many more so what have you experienced?

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Does track record matter in the USA? There are a lot of differences between the UK and US recruitment markets, how you win business is one of them. For me going over there and speaking to my candidates and their experiences, one of the standout differences was how transactional their client expectations are in the US. In the UK, relationships and reputation often come first. In the US, you have to DELIVER to SELL. I recently spoke with Mark Whitby on The Resilient Recruiter Podcast about how recruiters can successfully adapt to the US market — especially if you're scaling internationally or planning to make your first hire across the pond. 🎧 Listen to the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/eMvwqY2W #hiring #staffing #recruitment #USAmarket #delivery

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When experiencing rapid growth, the business case for RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) is almost a dumb-not-to proposition: on-demand recruiters joining as an extension of your team on short notice, flexibility to scale up/down and turn on/off as hiring fluctuates, that's cost-effective compared to agencies, access to technology, etc, to name a few. During periods of uncertainty, like we have today, the use cases for RPO tend to revolve more around flexibility. Many Talent Acquisition Departments had to go through layoffs over the past 2 years and are running very lean. Here are some scenarios that we've been supporting customers with during this time period: - Adding temporary support during Q1 hiring budgets being set and an initial hiring frenzy - Adding fractional support (20hrs/week) for a handful of extra roles - Recruiting team is strong in one area but the team needs support in another area. (IE strong operations recruiters but influx of technical hiring needs) - Unplanned Recruiter turnover: Recruiter quits, fired, etc - Planned Maternity/Paternity Leave - Not wanting to add fixed overhead/full-time recruiters due to build-up/layoff cycles of the past 4 years and find a partner to keep things augmented - Larger organizations needing an external 'floater' team to be allocated as back-up to various departments, worksite locations, or even countries. These are some of the ways dynamic TA/HR Leaders are getting work done including leveraging a unique partner. 2025 is looking brighter, no doubt, but there are many risks to our market that are leaving business leaders in a position that prioritizes flexibility and needing to look at unique ways to operate their TA function. #rpo #chiefpeopleofficer #talentacquisition #chro

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AI in recruitment gets a bad rap for being impersonal... but what if it's actually making hiring more human? Automated tools free up time for meaningful candidate interactions. AI-driven insights help identify candidates who align with your mission. Chatbots enhance candidate experience by providing instant support. When used right, AI doesn't replace the human touch—it amplifies it. Are you ready to embrace this evolution? #AI #Tech #Recruitment #Hiring #BusinessDevelopment

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Recruitment agency optimism levels are at a four-year low. Today we launched the Firefish Software annual recruitment report. It won’t come as a surprise to see optimism decline again however despite caution, the data shows that 72% of agency leaders are forecasting sales growth in 2025 with agencies in London forecasting the lowest levels of sales growth across the UK & Ireland. There are some interesting sectors specific growth projections, particularly in construction, engineering and professional services. Well worth checking out in the report. Last year saw a lot of shrinkage with 33% of agencies reducing their headcount and only 24% of agencies growing. This year's data shows a bigger swing in terms of growth, although by moderate amounts which leads to the new AI stories. Only 16% of agency leaders are adopting AI into the interview process versus 62% improving sourcing efficiency through AI. Some really interesting insights on the new AI Adoption section here. On return on investment, 79% of agency leaders reported their leading ROI came from their existing database in 2024 however social sourcing looks to set for year-on-year growth in 2025 as the primary sourcing channel. There are so many data stories worth exploring from sales growth, working structures, temp vs perm focus, retention and financials. Leave a comment for the full report in your DMs or visit in comments.

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Hiring feels broken. So we throw recruiters at the problem. But what if that’s not the real issue? Across 70 tech companies, we saw the same thing. We created the Talent Acquisition Capacity Report to map how TA teams scale and where they don’t 🤔 It uses a 9-part framework, moulded into this pretty formula, to score teams across factors such as sourcing, stakeholder load, and time allocation. It gives a clear view of what separates high-performing teams from the rest. And one thing became obvious: Headcount rises. Hiring stays slow. Burnout spikes. Everyone blames “not enough recruiters.” But most teams are scaling inefficiency — not fixing it. You don’t (always) need more recruiters. TA leaders, how do you track capacity? Want your team’s scorecard? incl. >benchmarked scores > analysis of your strengths and weaknesses > access to hundreds of resources Comment Scorecard, and drop me a connection, and I'll DM availability.

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The promise of an OTE on a job ad or in interview 🤥🤥 We've seen it on plenty of ads, entry level recruiter “OTE €100K+”. Sounds great, but here’s the reality: 👉 OTE (On-Target Earnings) is often based on perfect scenarios, hitting targets from month one, no ramp-up time, red hot desks, no drop offs 👉 It can be more of a sales hook than a realistic reflection of what you’ll actually take home 👉 Having an unrealistic OTE can leave people frustrated when their payslip doesn’t match the promise 💡 What should companies do instead? 🫰Be upfront about realistic first-year earnings, based on actual team averages (not the top biller) 🤑Break down commission structures clearly thresholds, accelerators etc. 🎯 Recruiters who are going to do well need transparency, clarity, and the tools to succeed Thoughts? Have you been stung by the promise of an OTE? #rec2rec #recruitment #recriters #agency

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The one metric most companies are missing—but candidates desperately need. It's great to hear Tom Hacquoil the CEO of Pinpoint Applicant Tracking System, discussing Candidate Waiting Time (CWT) on Joe Atkinson's latest podcast episode. Thank you, Tom and Joe, for the mention. CWT is a metric that shifts the focus to the candidate. It measures how long a candidate has waited for updates, communication, or feedback—whether an interview invite, rejection, or offer. It's simple: the CWT looks at it from the candidate's perspective, not the company. This keeps teams accountable, improves transparency, and highlights any ghosting. If you haven't listened yet, Tom dives into how data like CWT can inform better decisions and improve hiring processes. For those looking for a podcast to learn and grow, check out the podcast in the comments below. It's perfect for recruiters, entrepreneurs, and anyone building something big. Don't miss it.

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#TalentAttraction, #HR, #Recruitment, #IRD, #IRD25 ☀️  The Sun is Out in the UK, and it is International Recruiters Day ❤️ While things are moving fast, have the fundamentals of recruitment changed? Today I am getting more AI/Automated calls from Sales and Recruiters daily, and I am seeing more elements of AI sprinkled across technology and solutions. I am all for automation and optimisation, embracing AI to assist, help with daily tasks, but I am not convinced of the recent calls that seem more Automated than true AI. Several years ago, in some cases, I likened buying HR tech to a stakeholder that had purchased ice cream for the whole company, a 99 with a flake, only to discover half were lactose intolerant and the other half allergic to nuts. Today, AI is transforming the workplace, and some great leaps of efficiency are being made, which I am loving, but are we perhaps still over-engineering recruitment? With the AI Ice cream van outside our window offering your favourite solution now with AI sprinkles and AI sauce, are we potentially there again, adding layer after layer and missing the point? Knowing what good looks like, the fundamentals of what a great candidate experience is, how onboarding should be, and what clear job descriptions should contain, etc, remain key and a key skill of recruiters/TA professionals and hr. AI can and is shaping the future; it is and can help us be more efficient, but our human skills, knowledge, and understanding are still essential. Let’s blend those skills, use that knowledge before we rush out to buy all the flavours that some sprinkles of AI offer, before it leaves a bittersweet taste in our mouths, and potentially sours the relationships with the current and future candidates/applicants/employees we are there to help and support. The human difference matters. Enjoy the sun if it is shining ☀️ and Happy International Recruiters Day *Disclaimer The image was created by AI 🤖 😎

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In the last 6 months, we’ve evaluated the recruiting capability of 25 technology businesses Here are the key findings: - New ATS: 40% have set up a new ATS in the last 12 months and 25% are procuring one now - 55% have identified interviewing skills as a key training priority - 85% are looking at implementing automation & ai assisted recruiting: Yet, we identified several critical gaps: - Lack of scorecards: 44% do not use scorecards for candidate evaluation, leading to subjective decision-making. - Unclear job ads: 13 organisations had ads that lacked clarity, e.g missing tech stacks, not clear about work set up and no salary posted - Generic copy: companies use generic language in blurbs, failing to convey their unique culture and values and a shopping list of requirements - Hiring manager maturity varies wildly: The maturity of hiring managers in understanding recruitment processes differs significantly across teams. KEY TAKEAWAY Identification of the needs for interview training is great, totally agree. but many of the basics are being missed. Fundamentals that will inform the tech that sits on top of them. What have you noticed as a gap in your framework?

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You're not alone! (No, I'm not listing song titles from the 90's this morning but if I was I'd probably opt for Olive over MJ on Spotify). When speaking to clients & prospects about their contingent workforce it soon becomes apparent how many functions this effects; more often than not we forget that whilst this might have "landed" on our desk to resolve and find solutions it's worth spending the time to understand how this impacts cross functionally - but why? Too many businesses look at this with a limited perspective and later wonder why it becomes difficult to get approval to implement or gain traction with the rest of the business. We all have the natural tendency to look at the contingent workforce when it comes to how it effects our team and day to day but it goes much further afield. What we discussed when Myself, Alex Farr, Jack Spencer & Scott Wilson was how can we better support individuals navigate the complexities and ALL the layers of stakeholders to address the growing need when it comes to a Contingent Workforce. The three main themes were around Knowledge, the why & Empowerment. The Objectives... Providing the knowledge to better understand how other businesses are operating and addressing similar challenges, WHY a well run contingent workforce programme can be of benefit to a business AND how can we empower people to have these conversations with their colleagues, superiors and even the Exec team. The businesses that succeed with this take the time to understand all angles and work with the business to present the strongest possible business case for impact. Here's the first snippet of our conversation, hopefully it begins to position the idea of leaning into the uncomfortable of not knowing all the answers but being open to learning to drive better results and outcomes. How do you engage cross functionally? Do you engage cross functionally? Have you ever considered that whilst this might be an issue in your part of the business it could well be a bigger challenge to other areas also but the lack of discussion means everyone suffers in silence? As always; open to honest conversations about the challenges you may be facing as an organisation to get on top of this. Plenty of content to follow in the coming weeks! Is there anything we've missed you would like to understand better? (Link in the comments to the full recording)

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I’m currently supporting an organisation on a contingent basis, and their internal team mentioned that another agency is sending 10-15 CVs a week across just 3 roles. For transparency - DanOps has sent 7 CVs total across those same roles. At first glance, it looked like the other agency was “working harder”… but when you break it down, this is where being a true market specialist pays off. Principal Cloud Engineer - DanOps → 2 CVs → 100% 1st stage, 1 straight to final (no 2nd needed), 1 offer, 1 placement - Other agency → Sent 28 CVs (they had the role 5 weeks earlier), only 3 first stages, 1 second, 0 finals Head of SRE - DanOps → 2 CVs within 12 hours of receiving the brief → 100% requested for interview - Other agency → 16 CVs over 6 weeks, just 2 first stage requests Senior SRE - DanOps → 3 CVs → 100% 1st stage success - Other agency → 42 CVs in 5 weeks, 15 interviews booked… all dropped after failing to back up their CVs in interview On the surface, it looked like they were “smashing it” with volume. But volume isn’t value, it’s just noise. Worse still, they even sent CVs without speaking to the candidate about the role… which should honestly be outlawed in recruitment. When you live and breathe your market, quality isn’t a target - it's a standard. ✅ Quality of introduction ✅ Time saved on irrelevant interviews ✅ ££ saved in wasted process and feedback cycles That's why DanOps doesn’t do busy work. Don’t be fooled by fake busy.

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