1% Better Recruitment Podcast
1% Better Recruitment Podcast
Podcast Description
Hello and welcome to the 1% better recruitment podcast, with your host, Charles Kyriakou.
The goal of this podcast is to have a wide variety of people all within the recruitment sector that will add tremendous value to those who are either looking to get into recruitment, working within the industry, running their own business, or thinking about setting up their own company.
I aim to make sure that after every episode, you leave 1% better off.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers themes such as personal and professional development, business strategy in recruitment, mental health in the workplace, and the importance of emotional intelligence in client interactions. Episodes include discussions on topics like cultivating the right mindset for recruitment, the impact of therapy on business success, and navigating the challenges of cold calling and business development.
Hello and welcome to the 1% better recruitment podcast, with your host, Charles Kyriakou.
The goal of this podcast is to have a wide variety of people all within the recruitment sector that will add tremendous value to those who are either looking to get into recruitment, working within the industry, running their own business, or thinking about setting up their own company.
I aim to make sure that after every episode, you leave 1% better off.
“How do you scale a recruitment firm to 100+ people without losing your niche?”
In this episode of The 1% Better Recruitment Podcast, I’m joined by Nick Barton, Founder of The Barton Partnership — a global executive search firm built on strategy, transformation, and a relentless focus on customer service.
Nick shares his 25+ year journey from packing boxes in a warehouse to leading a 100+ person firm with offices in London, New York, Singapore, Paris and Sydney.
We cover:
✅ How to scale a recruitment business without losing focus
✅ The culture-building mindset that creates collaboration — not competition
✅ Why face-to-face meetings still beat Zoom in a post-COVID world
✅ Creating true specialism and staying niche at scale
✅ When ego helps and when it kills consultant performance
✅ Building infrastructure that actually supports growth
✅ What most recruiters get wrong about CRMs, KPIs and “admin”
✅ The only tech worth adopting — and how to drive usage without force
✅ The difference between working hard and working smart in 2025
Whether you’re running a search firm, building a niche agency, or planning your next big leap — this episode is full of practical, battle-tested advice.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
01:30 – Nick’s journey from osteopathy and fashion to recruitment
05:00 – Building a business with real purpose and market connection
09:00 – Why strategy recruitment gives you impact and scale
13:00 – Staying niche while building globally
17:00 – Creating a collaborative culture with no ego or top drawers
21:00 – Marketing as a growth lever: what most firms overlook
25:00 – Why infrastructure and training come before scale
29:00 – Why most recruiters are too transactional post-COVID
33:00 – Face-to-face rapport and the lost art of human connection
37:00 – NLP, mirroring, and advanced client communication
41:00 – Tech, AI and why most tools don’t get used properly
45:00 – Smart vs. hard work: what separates 500k from 1M billers
47:00 – Final thoughts: how to get 1% better in recruitment
🔗 Connect with Nick Barton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasbarton/
🔗 Connect with Charles Kyriakou on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskyriakou1/
Disclaimer
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