In this powerful episode of The Recruiter’s Recruitment Podcast, Lysha Holmes is joined by Mel Knight and Naomi Hewitt, Co-Founders of Action Potential Performance, to tackle one of the biggest questions facing our industry right now: are we investing enough in people?
From the decline in trainee hiring to the over-reliance on experienced billers, Mel and Naomi unpack the commercial pressures recruitment leaders are facing – and why short-term thinking could be costing businesses their future growth.
Drawing on backgrounds spanning neuroscience, operations, sales and leadership, they explore:
- Why Gen Z’s relationship with communication is reshaping recruiter skillsets
- The growing confidence gap in early-career consultants
- Coachability, curiosity and resilience as the new “DNA” markers of top recruiters
- The real impact of hybrid working on culture, training and retention
- Why top billers don’t automatically make great leaders
- How leadership blind spots, lack of L&D budgets and poor management are driving attrition
The conversation also dives into fractional L&D models, safe spaces for leadership development, and why even Mel and Naomi invest in their own coach to sharpen their edge.
This is a candid, forward-thinking discussion about building sustainable recruitment businesses — not just profitable ones.
🔗 Connect with the guests
Mel Knight: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mel-knight-chartered-mcipd-46686422/
Naomi Hewitt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-hewitt-0899b1161/
Action Potential Performance: https://actionpotentialgroup.org/
🔗 Connect with the host
Lysha Holmes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyshaholmesr2r/
Qui Recruitment: https://www.quirecruitment.co.uk/
Follow the podcast on YouTube, Captivate, Spotify and Apple Podcasts:
https://www.youtube.com/@therecruitersrecruitmentpod
https://the-recruiters-recruitment-podcast.captivate.fm/
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The Recruiter's Recruitment Podcast is proudly sponsored by Paiger, and partnered with Needi, Keybridge IT Solutions, Bristow & Hardy and Diversity in Recruitment.
Our sponsor:
Paiger - Making Recruiters Smarter and Faster. Paiger helps recruiters build personal brands, identify new business opportunities, attract candidates, and have better conversations.
Find out more about Paiger: https://paiger.co/
Our partners:
Needi is a concierge gift-matching service using psychology and AI, to pinpoint the perfect gifts and experiences for your recipient, from the best local independent businesses. Their team of expert gift finders save companies time and money with their complimentary corporate gifting service.
https://needi.co.uk/
Bristow & Hardy partners with SME recruitment agencies to accelerate growth through sales enablement and recruitment marketing. With over 7 years’ experience, we specialise exclusively in the recruitment sector, delivering strategy, branding, websites, marketing campaigns, and sales support. Our proven growth suite of products helps agencies attract more clients, win more business, and scale efficiently.
https://www.bristowandhardy.co.uk/
Diversity in Recruitment helps recruitment businesses understand diversity, equity, and inclusion in a way that makes sense. Our training and advisory work is designed to attract diverse talent, recruit inclusively, improve your candidate journey and confidently partner with their clients. DE&I doesn’t have to be complicated and scary - it’s simply about fair, ethical and high-quality recruitment.
https://diversityinrecruitment.com/
Keybridge IT Solutions is a London-based Fully Managed IT Support and solutions Provider - Providing 24×7 Support to all Customers. Specialities include Microsoft Cloud, including Office 365, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Azure, Security, Internet Connectivity, VoIP, and much more.
https://www.keybridgeit.com/
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