The Retained Search Show

Lucy Robinson started with a laptop, a notebook of contacts, and a belief that recruitment could be done better. Today, LCR International is a global executive search firm placing senior leaders across the fresh produce industry on six continents, with more than 90% of its work retained. In this episode of Retrained Search, Lucy shares the real story behind the transition from contingent recruitment to retained search. From failed starts and difficult lessons to building a structured search b...

What if the best path to growth is doing more with less? We sit down with James Ward, founder of Clarity R2R, to unpack how a leadership-focused, values-driven R2R firm can scale in the United States without chasing headcount. From Manchester beginnings to a Miami base, James explains why a less saturated US market - with around 25,000 staffing firms serving 350 million people - creates space for specialist search across technology, life sciences, and financial services. We get candid about h...

Louise Archer, Sophie Robertson, David Wolstenholme and Adrian Byra come together to announce their exciting Sydney Masterclass Event taking place on October 23rd at the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel, designed to help Australian recruiters navigate changing market conditions with innovative strategies. You'll Learn How to win exclusivity and commitment in cautious markets, avoid costly delivery pitfalls, and guarantee fill rates that keep clients coming back.How to uncover hidden temp oppor...

The recruitment landscape is shifting fast and AI is handing boutique search firms the edge to compete with industry giants. In this conversation, we unpack how artificial intelligence is transforming workflows, enhancing capabilities, and reshaping competitive dynamics in executive search without losing the human touch. Jord shares how he went from using ChatGPT as “Google on steroids” to fully integrating AI into his day-to-day, like building a laser-targeted prospect list in minutes that o...

Ever wondered why most recruitment CRMs feel like they're designed for management rather than consultants? Manan Shah, co-founder of Recruiterflow, reveals how his accidental journey into recruitment technology led to creating a system that prioritizes consultant productivity over top-down control. Manan's insight is simple yet revolutionary: traditional recruitment software gets implemented when management "shoves it down the throat of consultants," creating adoption problems because it doe...

What do 100 door-knocks in a day and record-breaking recruitment billings have in common? Everything according to Jeron van den Elshout. In this high-impact episode, Jeron shares how he went from nearly getting fired in his first sales job to founding a global recruitment business operating across the US, Middle East, and Europe. You’ll hear how persistence turned rejection into revenue, and how a single conversation changed everything, catapulting him from frustrated jobseeker to top biller....

Contingent or retained - what’s the better recruitment model? It's a question that’s sparked debate for decades. But maybe we’ve been asking the wrong question all along. Our host for this episode, Hishem Azzouz, steps into the role of moderator and questions two industry experts with very different experiences and perspectives: Louise Archer, a passionate advocate for retained search, and Chris Moylan, who’s built successful businesses with a contingent-first mindset. What unfolds isn’...

Nick Hoadley shares his transformative journey from insurance broker to founder of Insurance Search, a successful retained executive search firm serving the UK, US, and Bermuda insurance markets. But the path wasn’t linear. Nick opens up about how working in contingent recruitment chipped away at his confidence and professional identity. “You don’t really want to mention to people that you’re a recruiter because of the stigma that comes with it,” he reflects, describing how even major compani...