One of the benefits of having run my business for over 11 years, is that I get to see the long-term outcomes of my recruitment work.

It's all well and good saying I enjoy recruiting for key vacancies that can effect transformation, and that I've filled all of these roles since the start of 2020.

But when you're an employer recruiting a key role, you expect it to be filled by the sole agent you instruct and you expect it to effect transformation.

You also expect many of these hires to fail, either through that agent not actually doing what they said they'd do, or that they do fill the role only for it to become unfilled within the year.

Worse still, the unfilling of that hole rips out the foundations around it, with objectives unmet, culture damage, and naffed off team members who left for pastures new.

And on the rare occasion I find out one of my hires hasn't worked out, I take it very personally for the things I missed or didn't do well enough, despite those hiring managers telling me of their accountability for missing the same in their interviews.

So the conversation I had with one MD a couple of weeks ago is always a great one to reflect on. Someone I've recruited for periodically in their SME business over the past few years, who speaks only to me about their sensitive projects.

Who trusts me because they have seen the outcomes I aspire to deliver through finding the right people. A doubled turnover. Improved fit for purpose systems and team performances. People with the capability to progress in their succession planning.

I didn't do that personally of course - the people I recruited for them did.

That's one reason why retention is so important for me - finding people who are right, both for now and the future. And why I'm proud of a 4+ year average tenure for leadership hires.

Don't take my word for it. If you have a key commercial, operational or technical leadership vacancy in the UK, and need the right recruiter to do the job well - ask me for references, and they'll tell you how I can help.