​This article originally appeared on LinkedIn

I ended my last post talking about quality. But this works both ways.

In my opinion, there have been ongoing attempts to commoditise what we do and drive down price when in fact the best recruitment firms make a big difference. The raw cost of making a placement does not tell the whole story.

As an industry, I don’t think we’ve done a great job of explaining the cost of sourcing the best people, or more pertinently the cost of hiring the wrong person. It’s hard to put a figure on it but as all the research reveals, organisations are paying a substantial price in terms of disengagement and lost productivity.

That said, many increasingly realise the impact of not getting the best people. The rise in employer branding to attract the best talent is a case in point. This is also reflected in the trend towards personalised online assessment as organisations seek to promote their cultures and environments during the application process. It’s all about the candidate experience, and for all their scientific rigour, assessments also need to be fun and engaging.

Unlocking potential

For me personally, I’m still as excited as I was when I first set foot in a recruitment company as a fresh-faced and highly inquisitive auditor. The passion for the people aspect captivated me then as it does today. Having started out in finance, I was committed to learning as much as I could and cut my teeth as a financial recruiter before co-founding Hydrogen in 1997.



Understanding your client’s specific challenges, nuances and angles, team fit and selling the role to the candidate is what makes recruitment so special. Our job is to help people unlock the talent in individuals so that they can achieve their true potential but it’s our duty as employers to provide an inclusive environment to allow them to flourish.

That’s our goal at Hydrogen. I’m proud to say that, 20 years on, we’ve made a lot of strides.