APSCo Steve Carter

Steve has almost 35 years of recruitment agency experience and has been dedicated to supporting SME organisations since 2015. He believes that the SME's ability to be nimble, highly specialised and remain entrepreneurial is the future of the agency sector in the UK.

I have almost 35 years of recruitment agency experience with the majority being spent at Executive and Board Level with global organisations such as Morgan McKinley and Robert Half International.

Since 2015, I have been totally dedicated to supporting the SME organisations that make up the vast majority of our sector based on my belief that their ability to be nimble, highly specialised and remain entrepreneurial is the future of the agency sector in the UK.

I am not a traditional NED or advisor, but more akin to a ‘hands on’ contributor to businesses, working closely with owners and management but equally at home on the shop floor discussing the realities of life as a recruitment consultant and practically resolving the challenges they face everyday.

I believe that the industry needs to change and that continuing to utilise the same practices and procedures is destined to fail or at a minimum sub-optimise performance in the light of severe economic challenges, existing and emerging challenger services, new technology and the continuous tream of innovative start ups.

I have been very grateful for the opportunities that the industry has afforded me and equally proud of the many successful initiatives that I have been integrally involved in over my long career, including numerous restructures and turnarounds, the recruitment and/or development of people that have gone on to lead substantial organisations, leading businesses into international markets including China, successful large scale strategic pitches including an Olympic Games and most recently the introduction of Agile frameworks to agencies.

Agile is a proven business methodology that many of the world’s most admired companies are built on, and over the recent past I have developed an adapted version of Agile specifically for recruitment agencies that improves efficiency, reduces operating cost and increases revenue, builds a more robust and sustainable culture and most importantly breaks away from many of the legacy processes and myths that agencies base their business model upon.

My interest in change and evolution of agencies is a real focus and I am never comfortable when businesses are not on constant pursuit of improvement.

Specialisms

• Technology, Systems & Operational Excellence - I look beyond outdated practices to create sustainable growth businesses. I am a certified Agile practitioner and successfully adapt Agile frameworks to agencies, increasing efficiency, performance and culture.
• Growth Management & Business Planning - I’m committed to supporting organisations grow, regardless of market conditions, by innovating, getting the best out of leaders and staff, having realistic and deliverable plans and by embracing new ways of doing things.
• Market/Sector/Function/Geographical Specific - Having decades of global board level experience allows me to cut through obstacles and work with owners and directors to develop high growth strategy, explore new revenue streams, create cost efficiency and deliver profitably
• Organisational Design & Development - I have a particular passion for creating inclusive workplaces and believe that recruitment agencies need to represent the communities they represent by being at the forefront of the D&I agenda.

Reference 1

"Our association with Steve stretches back over 4 years and he has been integral to supporting both our FMCG recruitment business and more recently our RPO operation. He breaks his focus into two distinct areas a) board level strategy, financial due diligence and overall business direction and b) direct involvement with the leadership team, developing business development plans, mentoring staff and providing independent support. He challenges the entire team to improve and to never settle for the status quo."

Reference 2

"We have established our specialist accounting and finance agency over 25 years ago and started working with Steve in 2015. It’s fair to say that we have gone through a degree of change in that time and he has guided and supported us with difficult decisions, refocusing the operation and creating new revenue streams to augment traditional revenue streams. He continues to work with us at both board and operational levels and works directly with the leadership team, consultants and support teams, including marketing, to keep us focused and driving forward."

Reference 3

"My relationship extends back over many years, initially as a supplier of recruitment services to a major national RPO where I was CEO and subsequently as a colleague on industry focused groups and committees that support the recruitment industry. Whilst we have never worked directly we regularly confer on industry issues, strategic approaches to problems, the wider people challenges including diversity and the future of the sector and I trust his judgement completely."

Reference 4

"We are a specialist national recruitment agency focused on the engineering sector and Steve has supported and advised us over the past two years introducing new strategies, reinvigorating growth and guiding us on a wide range of issues including staff acquisition and retention, compensation planning and our overall financial direction. Recently Steve has started migrating our business to an Agile based framework, changing our traditional approach, and we believe that will equip us for the immediate challenges of the post-lockdown period and beyond."

Reference 5

"Steve was my direct line Manager for over 5 years and in that time we developed a successful partnership that saw us dramatically grow a national agency where our skills combined extremely well. He is a natural innovator, challenges the standard way of thinking, finds creative solutions and has a strategic approach to challenges, however large. Since then, I have become the Managing Director of a large, well-know recruitment brand and still have the occasional conversation with Steve to get his perspective, including some recent support for his research into adapting Agile frameworks for recruitment agencies."