In our last post, we talked about the challenge of growing profits in your organisation, and we shared four strategies guaranteed to produce results.

The uncomfortable truth is that, as the leader of your recruitment adventure, you will face challenges and …………constantly.  

If it were straightforward every biller that hit a £100k would start their own company.  They don’t because it’s not as easy as it looks on the outside, as you now know. 

It has been interesting for us to listen to the many recruitment owners who have attended our recruitment roadshows and Rockit events about the challenges they face. 

The downside is that many people don’t spot the issue until it’s right there in front of them causing havoc.  

It’s easy to spot a lack of cash by its absence in our bank account; though not always as easy to understand the deeper reasons why it happened in the first place. 

So here, in our humble experience of helping hundreds of business owners, are the five hidden challenges to look out for. 

 

Self Doubt 

We have all experienced a lack of confidence at some point in our journey; even those macho recruiters you see at the rec industry events. You have to handle self-doubt. Otherwise, your inner dialogue will kick in and cause problems.  

Self-doubt often stems from self-comparison.  While it can stimulate you to take action and JFDI, it can also be toxic. 

“Am I measuring up? XYZ is doing ABC; should we?” 

STOP! 

The only thing to measure yourself against is your own goals and expectations. If you aren’t quite there yet, it could be a time issue, a process or a skill gap.  

It’s rare that you aren’t up for the job. This is where the power of working with a group or coach like ourselves makes all the difference. 

 

Tackle Problems And Push Through Struggles 

Do you think the many business leaders you follow on LinkedIn don’t struggle? They do. 

Last year I had an amazing opportunity to go to Necker and meet Sir Richard Branson and another dozen billionaires. The struggle stories they told at dinner would make you laugh out loud and feel sick to the stomach! 

The good thing about struggle is its full of lessons which ultimately lead to true progression and growth.  As a friend of mine always reminds me, the best way to nail a problem is by going straight through it rather than round! 

 

Poor Communication 

Yep, we can all fall foul of this, and as a business owner, it’s your job to take responsibility for how you communicate. 

This will push your buttons, and the majority of recruitment business owners we meet aren’t great communicators when it comes to talking to their teams. 

They think they are …. and yet their billing teams have no idea what is expected of them.  

Get rid of your ego and work on this consistently. Between Katy and I we have approaching 40 years experience in the industry, and yet both of us attended a communications skills course earlier this year.  Go figure… 

 

Being Authentic 

I know this might seem like a trendy buzzword. Fact: Today our teams want authentic leaders who do the ‘right’ thing and deal authentically and ethically with their team. 

Of course, a leader wants to make more profit and grow, and yet if you don’t embrace being an authentic leader, you will never scale to the heights that are possible for you. 

You’ll start to experience poor months, and then your top biller will ‘up sticks’ and leave…. probably followed by three or four others; who, by the way, will tell everyone else why they left. 

Authenticity and integrity play a major role in your ability to lead and influence. Authentic leaders are great leaders. 

 

Being A Control Freak And Avoiding The D………. Word 

Recruitment is an interesting sector. Katy and I mix with business owners from every market imaginable, and there are some character traits that, as recruiters, we have more than most. 

Many of us started as 360 billers and super salespeople that led to us starting our own company. 

Our ‘personality and drive’ was called on many times to get us out of a cash flow crisis and so much so we now ‘think’ we are Wonder Woman or Superman. 

Which is OK at some level….. though only if we want to have our income capped and stay as an indie (not good in today’s competitive recruitment and staffing sector). 

Most leaders—if not all—think they can always do everything better themselves, and as a result, they have a hard time delegating.  

However, refusing to delegate turns you into a micromanager and erodes trust in your leadership, which leads to a constant struggle.  

Learn how to delegate the right task to the right person and then maintain the right level of involvement. 

 

What Next? 

Do these challenges ring a bell? You aren’t alone. Our clients and students experienced them too.  If you are ready to scale and bust through these roadblocks, we can help. 

If you want to find out more, get in contact here and put challenges in the title. 

 

Warm regards,  

Nicky and Katy 

P.S. Have you completed your business health check yet? You can download it here.