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We hosted another Brunch & Learn event this time in the heart of London at Back To Mine, once again bringing together recruitment agency leaders, marketers and operators for a morning of smart insights, dynamic conversation, and a solid spread of coffee and croissants. Our four impactful speakers dug into some of the biggest questions facing recruitment teams in 2025. Here are the highlights:     Crack Your Job Board Addiction Speaker: Frank Nijmeijer, Chief Growth Officer at Wonderkind Frank kicked things off by diving straight into one of recruitment’s most persistent habits: over-reliance on job boards.He made a compelling case for change and challenged attendees to break the cycle by experimenting with smarter, more sustainable alternatives. Key Takeaways: The Cost of Job Boards is Rising, but Returns are Dropping: Wonderkind’s data shows that while job board CPC and CPA values have worsened over the past year, social advertising continues to deliver stronger results at a lower cost. Most Candidates Aren’t Actively Looking so You Need to Go Where They Are: If your ads aren’t where your audience scrolls daily (like TikTok, Instagram, or LinkedIn), you’re invisible. Diversification Isn’t Just Smarter, It’s Urgent: 90% of recruitment ad budgets still go to job boards, yet 73% of candidates use social media in their job search.  Frank’s Practical Tips: Run through your own application process on mobile. On multiple browsers. If it’s slow, clunky or confusing, candidates will drop off. Start small, reallocate just 10–20% of your current ad spend to test a new channel or streamline a clunky process. Job boards keep it locked down. Diversifying your approach means better tracking and smarter targeting. 95% of Wonderkind applicants come via mobile. Your process needs to reflect that. Track conversions that tie to hiring outcomes, like interview progression or placements. “Diversifying will help you decrease the over-reliance that you've got on job boards right now. It will also help you to stand out as an agency. It will help you land new clients and capture the interest of both active and passive job seekers. So, small shifts, smart moves, big impact.” How to Build Your Marketing Universe (in 15 Minutes) Speaker: Kris Holland, Founder at Kitto Kris came in with a strategy-packed, space-themed session on building a recruitment marketing engine that’s structured and consistent. Framing his approach as a “Marketing Universe,” Kris walked through a model that helps marketers build clear strategies and communicate them to non-marketers in a way that makes sense. Key Takeaways: Start With the End in Mind: Before diving into platforms, campaigns or content, get clear on who you’re targeting and what they care about. Build a System, Not Just Campaigns: Marketing works best when it’s treated as a universe, where everything: brand, content, assets, audience, works together, not in isolation. Tailor Everything to Your Audience: Know who your prospects are, what they care about, and what challenges they face. If your marketing isn’t built around them, it’s just noise. Kris’s Practical Tips: Map out your core audiences (candidates, clients, colleagues, future colleagues) and design touchpoints that speak directly to them. Define a clear value proposition that stands out. “We find top talent” isn’t enough. Audit your tone of voice, brand consistency, and visual assets. If your LinkedIn sounds nothing like your website, that’s a problem. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. Be specific about who you help, how and why it matters. “Start with the end in mind. Know who your prospects are, what they care about, and what challenges they’re facing. Make sure your whole marketing strategy is structured around solving their challenges and helping them to meet their goals." Optimising Consultant Effectiveness Through Data & AI Speaker: Ben Cawood, VP Sales - EMEA at SourceWhale Ben brought the energy (and the data) to his Brunch & Learn session, breaking down how recruitment leaders can boost performance by measuring the right things and using AI in ways that genuinely support their teams. Key Takeaways: Know What to Measure (and Why It Matters): Focus less on vanity metrics like open rates and more on quality signals that drive revenue, like meetings booked, consistent workflows, and the candidate or client response. The Three Levers of Performance: Consultants should focus on the controllables: Quantity, Quality and Consistency.Quality > Quantity, But You Still Need Both: Using AI to read and classify outreach responses (positive, negative, or neutral) gives teams real insight into what’s working and what’s not.  Build Processes People Will Use: Standardised outreach journeys make it easier to train new starters, reduce brand risk, and ensure consultants aren’t burning through valuable leads.  Create Data-Led Conversations: Show consultants why performance dips by looking at their activity, consistency, and outcomes over time. This makes conversations more constructive and helps motivate long-term improvements. Ben’s Practical Tips: Map your team’s outreach journey. Track “meetings booked” as your leading indicator. It’s one of the strongest signs of BD effectiveness. Use AI to surface what’s actually being said and don’t just rely on reply rates or gut feel. Make it easier for your team to follow best-practice outreach, and for candidates to respond or engage. “Being able to measure the quality of what people are doing enables you to see how well they're targeting. If you can get to that level of control...and have a consistent journey that everybody is following...then you can measure it, you can figure out what's working and what's not working, and you can level up the business." The Future of Recruitment Marketing & SourceFlow’s Vision 2025 Speaker: Matt Comber, CEO at SourceFlow Matt closed out Brunch & Learn with a sharp and honest look at how job board dominance is fading and why brand-led, owned strategies are the future. Key Takeaways: The Job Board Tipping Point: Traffic is declining, candidates are disengaging and some platforms are shifting focus away from core hiring functions. Google’s Changing Priorities: Search engines are increasingly prioritising employer-led content. This makes SEO tougher for agencies, especially when competing against in-house hiring content. The Power of Brand Ownership: Recruitment businesses that build strong digital brands and become synonymous with their market niche will win.    Matt’s Practical Tips: Prioritise SEO for your agency brand because search visibility for niche services delivers more qualified leads than generic job searches. Invest in your owned media: your website, your job ads and your content. Owning your channels means owning your audience. Break away from middleware like multi-posting tools and build direct relationships with advertising platforms for better targeting and performance. “Job boards sell candidates and applicants to you, across the board, to everyone else. As an agency, owning your channels and your own candidates via your own job boards is huge.”  

Events

On our recent From the Source: Expert Insight webinar, SourceFlow joined forces with Recite Me to shed light on the European Accessibility Act (EAA) and its implications for recruitment businesses. As leaders in recruitment website design, we understand the importance of creating inclusive and accessible digital platforms. This legislation, coming into effect in June 2025, sets out mandatory accessibility standards for digital platforms, aiming to create more inclusive online experiences. Why the EAA Matters for Recruitment Firms The EAA is a vital step toward breaking down digital barriers for over 135 million people in Europe living with disabilities. With disabled job seekers applying for 60% more jobs than non-disabled candidates, it’s clear that accessibility can no longer be an afterthought.  Avneet Jagpal, an Accessibility Specialist from Recite Me, explained: "Accessibility basically means, in a nutshell, you need to make sure any service or any digital app that you're delivering is accessible for all." The act mandates compliance with the WCAG 2.1 AA standard and requires businesses to publish an accessibility statement, ensuring websites are perceivable, understandable, navigable, and interactive for all users. The Business Case for Accessible Recruitment Website Design For recruitment firms, the EAA offers not just legal obligations but clear business benefits. Non-compliance carries legal penalties and the risk of damaging brand reputation. More importantly, accessible websites widen the talent pool by making job opportunities available to a broader audience. Studies show that 69% of disabled users leave a website immediately if they encounter accessibility barriers—meaning inaccessible sites could be costing firms valuable candidates and clients. As Will Astbury, Global Head of Marketing at SourceFlow, noted: "If your site's not accessible, you're shutting off a huge tranche of candidates and a huge tranche of clients that can't access your materials, convert on your forms, speak to your recruiters. It’s absolutely huge." Key Compliance Steps for Recruitment Website Design To meet the EAA requirements, recruitment businesses should focus on two primary areas: Achieving WCAG 2.1 AA compliance: This involves addressing common web accessibility issues like: Ensuring sufficient color contrast for text and icons. Adding descriptive alt text for images. Providing clear and accurate form labels. Structuring pages with correct heading tags (H1 to H6) for easy navigation. Publishing an accessibility statement: This document outlines your site’s accessibility standards and ongoing efforts to maintain compliance. Practical Fixes and Tools for Recruitment Websites Recite Me shared some immediate fixes businesses can implement: Check and improve alt text on images. Use automated color contrast checkers to adjust visual elements. Ensure consistent and clear heading structures across pages. Timeline and Next Steps  New services launched after June 28, 2025, must be fully compliant from day one. Existing websites have a grace period until 2030, but recruitment firms are encouraged to start the compliance process early to avoid falling behind.  Helen Taylor, SourceFlow’s Head of Customer Experience, emphasized the importance of early preparation: "You might be sat here on this webinar thinking that doesn’t apply to you right now, but as we know with recruitment companies, you can grow exponentially overnight. So I’d really recommend getting ahead of the curve as soon as possible." SourceFlow is committed to supporting recruitment businesses on their journey to accessibility. We’re already working with clients to ensure their recruitment website design meets EAA standards, offering resources like our accessibility checklist developed with Recite Me. For those looking to get ahead of the curve, now is the time to act. Improving website accessibility not only ensures compliance but also enhances user experience, boosts brand reputation, and opens the door to a more diverse talent pool. Download our Recruitment Website Accessibility Checklist. It will help you audit your site’s accessibility.   You can also watch the full webinar on YouTube. SourceFlow do WAY more than industry-leading recruitment website design. We build recruitment websites and marketing tools that amplify ROI and provide transparency with state-of-the-art data insights.

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Recruitment is evolving faster than ever, and trust, authenticity, and efficiency have become central to hiring success. In the latest episode of From the Source: Expert Insight, SourceFlow’s Christian Coley sat down with Vinda Souza, CMO at RefAssured, to explore the changing landscape of recruitment marketing, automation, and candidate vetting. Here are the key takeaways from their discussion: 1. Trust is the Biggest Challenge in Hiring Today Recruitment marketing isn’t just about attracting candidates—it’s about building trust between agencies, employers, and talent. Many businesses struggle with candidate credibility, reference accuracy, and employer reputation. Why this matters:🔹 Employers are more cautious than ever, and trust is a key differentiator in competitive hiring markets.🔹 Recruitment agencies need to showcase credibility to win over both clients and candidates.🔹 Candidates increasingly seek transparency about company culture and hiring processes. 2. AI & Automation Are Transforming Recruitment Marketing Technology is reshaping how recruiters assess, engage, and vet talent. AI-powered tools like automated reference checking are making hiring faster, more reliable, and less biased. Key benefits of automation in recruitment marketing:✅ Speeds up the hiring process and improves efficiency.✅ Reduces human bias in candidate assessment.✅ Helps recruiters focus on relationship-building instead of admin work. "Recruiters should be spending more time advising and engaging with talent, not chasing references manually." – Vinda Souza 3. Traditional Reference Checks Are Outdated & Broken Many agencies still rely on slow, inconsistent, and unreliable reference-checking processes. Vinda highlighted how RefAssured is changing the game with automated reference verification, ensuring faster, more trustworthy hiring decisions. Why traditional reference checks don’t work anymore:🔹 They are time-consuming and slow down hiring.🔹 Hiring managers often receive inconsistent feedback.🔹 Candidates can easily manipulate the process. 💡 The Fix? Automated reference checks that verify credibility at scale—without sacrificing accuracy. 4. Recruitment Agencies Must Differentiate Their Brand With candidate-driven markets, standing out requires more than just job postings. Employer branding, reputation management, and seamless candidate experiences are now essential. How to strengthen your recruitment brand:✅ Use data-driven insights to personalise candidate outreach.✅ Build a strong online reputation through testimonials and transparent hiring processes.✅ Automate back-end hiring tasks to focus on engagement, not admin. 5. The Future of Recruitment: Faster, Smarter, & More Human While AI and automation are transforming recruitment marketing, human connection is still key. The best agencies will blend tech-driven efficiency with personalised engagement. 📌 What’s next for recruitment marketing?🚀 AI-powered hiring decisions that improve candidate quality.🚀 More automation in reference-checking and compliance.🚀 Stronger focus on trust & credibility in employer branding. Check out the full discussion between Vinda and Christian on YouTube.     SourceFlow do WAY more than industry-leading recruitment website design. We build recruitment websites and marketing tools that amplify ROI and provide transparency with state-of-the-art data insights.

SourceFlow

We hosted an inspiring Brunch & Learn event in Manchester, bringing together recruitment leaders and marketers for a morning of actionable insights, exciting discussions, and valuable networking opportunities. With four impactful sessions, our speakers shared forward-thinking strategies to help recruitment businesses elevate their recruitment marketing efforts in 2025. Here are the highlights:     1. 25 Recruitment Marketing AI Megatrends for 2025 Speaker: Jo Perrotta, Managing Director at Marmalade Marketing Jo kicked off the event with an engaging overview of AI-driven trends transforming recruitment marketing. Key Takeaways: AI as a Strategic Partner: AI can enhance efficiency, predict market shifts, and personalise candidate experiences. However, businesses must avoid "AI joyriding" by setting clear objectives and governance policies. Personalisation at Scale: AI-powered tools are enabling more personalised outreach, improving candidate engagement and client satisfaction. The AI Hype Cycle: Jo introduced a 7-step AI maturity model to help businesses integrate AI responsibly, focusing on areas like predictive analytics, content creation, and employer branding. Jo’s Practical Tips: Leverage tools like LinkedIn Recruiter and TalentNeuron for AI-driven insights to optimise talent sourcing and recruitment marketing campaigns. Explore personalised email marketing campaigns with AI tools like HubSpot and Force24 to improve engagement rates. Continuously upskill teams with AI-focused training programmes to stay competitive.     2. Automations That Every Recruiter Needs to Win More Business Speaker: Rich Gibbard, Director at Recbound Rich focused on how automations can optimise recruitment marketing processes, save time, and increase business growth. Key Takeaways: Time-Saving Automations: Automate repetitive tasks like candidate follow-ups, lead scoring, and client engagement to free up time for high-value activities. CRM Integration: Ensure your CRM is the central hub for marketing and recruitment, enabling better segmentation and tracking. Balanced Automation: While automating processes improves efficiency, personalisation remains critical to building strong client and candidate relationships. Rich’s Practical Tips: Implement automations for re-engaging lapsed clients and creating targeted prospecting campaigns. Leverage CRM tools like HubSpot to manage data and segment audiences effectively. Monitor automation KPIs to ensure measurable success in your recruitment marketing efforts.     3. Are Your Recruitment Websites Ready for the European Accessibility Act 2025? Speaker: Sami Hobson, Partnerships Manager at Recite Me Sami’s presentation explored the European Accessibility Act (EAA) and its implications for recruitment businesses. Key Takeaways: Accessibility and Recruitment Marketing: Ensuring your website complies with accessibility standards improves the candidate experience, boosts SEO, and expands market reach. The EAA Deadline: Businesses targeting the EU must comply with WCAG 2.2 AA standards by June 2025 to avoid legal penalties. Accessibility Benefits: Accessible websites help recruitment businesses attract diverse talent and build trust with candidates and clients. Sami’s Practical Tips for Accessible Recruitment Websites: Audit your website for accessibility issues, focusing on alt text, colour contrast, and page structure. Use tools like Recite Me to ensure compliance and provide an inclusive digital experience. Include an accessibility statement on your website to align with the values of modern recruitment marketing.     4. The Future of Recruitment Marketing & SourceFlow’s Vision 2025 Speaker: Matt Comber, CEO at SourceFlow Matt concluded the event with a forward-looking session on recruitment marketing and SourceFlow’s product roadmap. Key Takeaways: Owned Media Revolution: Recruitment businesses should invest in owned media platforms to reduce reliance on job boards and external platforms. AI-Driven Recruitment: Matt’s share an overview of SourceFlow’s new features and products that will be released in 2025. Personalisation and Predictive Analytics: Dynamic, AI-driven strategies will shape the future of recruitment marketing, delivering personalised experiences across the candidate journey. Practical Tips for the Future of Recruitment Marketing: Transition your marketing efforts to owned media platforms for better control over content and ROI. Use AI-driven tools to create predictive analytics and personalisation that enhance the candidate experience. Stay informed about industry trends and technologies to remain competitive in recruitment marketing.     SourceFlow do WAY more than industry-leading recruitment website design. We build recruitment websites and marketing tools that amplify ROI and provide transparency with state-of-the-art data insights.

SourceFlow

In 2025, your recruitment website design is far more than just an online brochure – it’s a critical business development tool that drives growth. Whether you’re focused on attracting top talent or expanding your client base, your recruitment website must be optimised for both performance and conversions. Insights from Darren Curtis, CRO at SourceFlow, and James Osborne, Founder of The Recruitment Network (TRN), provide a roadmap to transform your website into a powerful growth engine for your recruitment business. 1. Make Your Recruitment Website Design a Growth Engine Your recruitment website design needs to function as a dynamic business development platform. In today’s competitive landscape, websites serve as the core of your recruitment marketing strategy. As James highlights, a recruitment website should never exist in isolation. It should be integrated with a comprehensive recruitment marketing strategy to drive traffic, enhance brand awareness, and generate conversions. When designed strategically, your website can be a key asset for growing your recruitment business. 2. Drive Conversions with High-Quality Content Content is one of the most effective tools for driving conversions on recruitment websites. Darren stresses the importance of offering high-quality content that resonates with both candidates and clients. To stand out, create valuable assets like white papers, trend reports, and salary surveys – content that addresses the pain points of your audience. This content should not only provide insights but also encourage visitors to engage by providing their contact details, thereby building your leads. Effective recruitment marketing hinges on offering content that is valuable enough to warrant a visitor’s commitment. When done correctly, your content will turn passive visitors into active candidates and clients. 3. Integrate Recruitment Marketing with Your Website To truly maximise the potential of your recruitment website, it needs to be part of an integrated recruitment marketing strategy. According to Darren, a recruitment website alone won’t drive results if it isn’t actively marketed. From social media campaigns to targeted email marketing, every marketing effort should be focused on driving traffic to your site. By creating a robust marketing ecosystem that connects back to your website, you can turn it into the central hub of your business development activities. 4. Optimising for Mobile and User Experience (UX) A recruitment website must provide an exceptional user experience (UX), especially on mobile devices. As mobile usage continues to increase, ensuring that your website is mobile-responsive is non-negotiable. James emphasises that websites should load quickly and be optimised for mobile, allowing candidates and clients to interact with your site on the go. In terms of UX, the conversion process should be smooth and seamless. Visitors should be able to find information easily and submit applications or queries with minimal friction. When the recruitment website design focuses on simplicity and usability, engagement and conversions improve significantly. 5. Boost Visibility with Effective SEO and Longtail Strategies SEO is essential for driving organic traffic to your recruitment website. Darren highlights that focusing on longtail SEO – using niche and question-based keywords – can significantly improve search visibility. Instead of just targeting broad terms like “recruitment agency”, focus on more specific queries like “best recruitment agency for tech startups in London” to attract highly qualified leads. Optimising your recruitment website for search engines ensures you appear when potential clients or candidates are actively searching for your services, providing a steady stream of targeted traffic. 6. Leverage AI for Smarter Recruitment Integrating AI into your recruitment website can improve the recruitment process and enhance the user experience. AI-powered tools can match candidates with relevant job opportunities based on their skills and preferences. By leveraging AI, your recruitment website can deliver personalised job recommendations, ensuring that candidates only see roles they are qualified for, reducing bounce rates and increasing engagement. In addition, AI can be used to optimise the content on your website, ensuring it answers the most common questions and queries from potential candidates and clients – improving both SEO and user satisfaction. 7. Track Performance with Analytics Data analytics are crucial to improving your recruitment website’s effectiveness. As Darren notes, you need to implement robust tracking to measure the effectiveness of your recruitment marketing campaigns. This includes tracking which channels (e.g., social media, email, organic search) are driving the most traffic and conversions. With the right data, you can refine your strategy to focus on the most effective tactics and improve ROI. Regularly reviewing your website’s analytics will help you understand what’s working and where improvements are needed. This ongoing optimisation ensures that your website continues to meet the needs of your candidates and clients. 8. Ensure Security and Scalability Website security is a top priority, especially when handling sensitive data like CVs and personal details. Darren highlights the importance of keeping your recruitment website secure, particularly when using platforms like WordPress. Regular security updates, SSL certificates, and secure data storage are necessary to protect your users' information and build trust. Additionally, your website must be scalable. As your recruitment business grows, your website should be able to handle increasing traffic and new features, ensuring that it remains a powerful tool for business development. Conclusion Your recruitment website design should be a core component of your business development strategy in 2025. By integrating high-quality content, optimising for mobile and UX, leveraging AI, and focusing on effective SEO, you can transform your recruitment website into a conversion powerhouse. Regular tracking, continuous improvements, and integration with your recruitment marketing efforts will help ensure that your website drives the growth and success of your recruitment business. Invest in making your website not just a destination, but an essential part of your recruitment marketing ecosystem, and watch it drive results in the years to come. Want to learn more? Watch the full conversation between Darren Curtis and James Osborne for deeper insights into building a recruitment website that delivers results in 2025. SourceFlow do WAY more than industry-leading recruitment website design. We build recruitment websites and marketing tools that amplify ROI and provide transparency with state-of-the-art data insights.

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