Why Community-Building is the Ultimate Differentiator in Recruitment, with Leo Hewett, Ep #250

03/13/25 • 69 min

Imagine building a recruitment firm where every placement creates an actual positive impact. That’s exactly what Leo Hewett did with Core3 — and this is how he made it happen.

After over a decade of experience working for large corporates up to Director level, Leo decided to take the plunge and launch his own ethical recruitment business, Core3 -specialising in Finance & Accounting talent.

Alongside their B Corp certification, Core3 are proud to have won multiple awards since launching in 2022, including REC's 'Start up of the year' (2023), and Business Leader's 'Business of the Year' (2024).

Episode Outline and Highlights

[03:23] The story on how Leo’s mom inspired him to give back to the community through recruitment.
[08:43] What inspired Leo to launch Core3?
[15:30] A purpose-driven recruitment firm: how Leo set up their organization differently.
[28:33] How making a difference can easily attract talents.
[30:39] Highlights and challenges in Core3’s growth journey.
[34:59] Strategies on reactivating past clients.
[37:15] ROI from building a personal brand on LinkedIn.
[40:41] The practicality of following through with a voice note after a LinkedIn connection or engagement.
[43:10] Developing an inner-circle community to add value.
[51:50] Bringing in experienced hires in your team.
[57:15] Overcoming two setbacks when scaling: Culture & Cashflow.
[1:05:31] Most meaningful metrics Leo and his team focus on.

Building a Purpose-Driven Recruitment Firm

Leo reached director level at Robert Half and was detached from billing for years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he led his team on hands-on recruitment and rediscovered that he still enjoys doing it. With an unexpected inheritance, he built a financial buffer which helped him establish Core3. He established his business in a way that is very much different from most recruiting firms: by being B-Corp Certified!

B-Corp certification acts as a "fair trade" equivalent for businesses, signaling that Core3 is committed to high ethical standards and strong ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) credentials. Core3’s decision to pursue B-Corp certification was driven by a desire to embed impact into the business model and stay accountable to ethical standards. The certification also enhanced its attractiveness to stakeholders who value purpose-driven businesses.

“The values are more than words written on a wall and people love the culture and work I'm working here. But it's, it's different because you can feel it every single day. Because we've given 3% of revenue to these three good causes that we support. Every consultant feels it with every placement. The client, after every placement, gets a menu of which charity they would like to choose where that 3% of this placement will go,” explained Leo.

Another way that Core3 engages with its community is by building inner-circle groups.

Adding Value Through Inner-Circle Groups

Leo and his team have strategically built value-driven communities to foster meaningful conversations among finance professionals. The approach began with the Conscious Finance podcast, which explored finance’s role in meaningful change. As the podcast gained traction, clients expressed interest in deeper discussions, leading to the creation of roundtable events. These roundtables bring like-minded professionals together to discuss shared challenges in an open, collaborative environment. There are challenges in hosting events for these inner circles, such as resource, time, and event costs. However, Leo shared the benefits in adding value to your niche community by developing these inner circles:

Stronger Client Relationships – Moves Core3 beyond transactional interactions, making them a trusted partner rather than just another recruiter.
Enhanced Brand Authority – Hosting and facilitating discussions positions Core3 as thought leaders within the industry.
Exclusive Networking Opportunities – Clients benefit from valuable peer discussions and insights, making them more likely to stay engaged with Core3.
Self-Sustaining Communities – With ongoing engagement via messaging platforms, these groups create lasting professional connections beyond Core3’s direct involvement.
Business Growth & Differentiation – Unlike traditional recruiters focused solely on job placements, Core3 creates a deeper, more meaningful engagement model that attracts both talent and businesses.

By fostering these high-value, non-sales-driven communities, Core3 successfully differentiates itself from competitors and creates lasting relationships with finance professionals.

The Challenges of Scaling Your Business

Another topic that I can relate to is how Leo deal...

Imagine building a recruitment firm where every placement creates an actual positive impact. That’s exactly what Leo Hewett did with Core3 — and this is how he made it happen.

Episode Outline and Highlights

[03:23] The story on how Leo’s mom inspired him to give back to the community through recruitment.
[08:43] What inspired Leo to launch Core3?
[15:30] A purpose-driven recruitment firm: how Leo set up their organization differently.
[28:33] How making a difference can easily attract talents.
[30:39] Highlights and challenges in Core3’s growth journey.
[34:59] Strategies on reactivating past clients.
[37:15] ROI from building a personal brand on LinkedIn.
[40:41] The practicality of following through with a voice note after a LinkedIn connection or engagement.
[43:10] Developing an inner-circle community to add value.
[51:50] Bringing in experienced hires in your team.
[57:15] Overcoming two setbacks when scaling: Culture & Cashflow.
[1:05:31] Most meaningful metrics Leo and his team focus on.

Building a Purpose-Driven Recruitment Firm

Another way that Core3 engages with its community is by building inner-circle groups.

Adding Value Through Inner-Circle Groups

Stronger Client Relationships – Moves Core3 beyond transactional interactions, making them a trusted partner rather than just another recruiter.
Enhanced Brand Authority – Hosting and facilitating discussions positions Core3 as thought leaders within the industry.
Exclusive Networking Opportunities – Clients benefit from valuable peer discussions and insights, making them more likely to stay engaged with Core3.
Self-Sustaining Communities – With ongoing engagement via messaging platforms, these groups create lasting professional connections beyond Core3’s direct involvement.
Business Growth & Differentiation – Unlike traditional recruiters focused solely on job placements, Core3 creates a deeper, more meaningful engagement model that attracts both talent and businesses.

By fostering these high-value, non-sales-driven communities, Core3 successfully differentiates itself from competitors and creates lasting relationships with finance professionals.

The Challenges of Scaling Your Business

Another topic that I can relate to is how Leo deal...

Previous Episode

How to Design Recruitment Training People Actually Enjoy, with David Bloxham, Ep #249

What if your next training session became the highlight of your recruiters' week rather than just another calendar obligation? We explore how innovative recruitment leaders transform traditional onboarding into engaging experiences that drive performance and retention.

In this episode, a tenured recruiter and recruitment business owner shares his experience in training hundreds of recruiters in this career. For David, “training and developing people is fun!”

David Bloxham is the CEO of GCS Recruitment. With over 30 years of experience, David is passionate about connecting innovative technology companies with the expert talent they need to drive their businesses forward.

In 2017, he led a successful management buyout (MBO) with nGAGE Talent, further solidifying his leadership in the industry. Under his guidance, GCS Recruitment has expanded globally with a team of 100 consultants and 7 offices including London, Reading, Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Orlando and Philadelphia.

Episode Outline and Highlights

[02:12] How did David get started in recruiting?
[04:30] Has productivity in recruitment remaining relatively constant over time?
[13:08] Effective and efficient team structure to increase productivity.
[20:23] Hiring and developing hundreds of people over the years, what key training elements David wishes to share?
[36:05] David and his team use tools and technology for reports and gamifying objectives.
[40:27] Core focus of recruiters despite technological advances: telephone first and networking.
[49:31] Discussion on David’s Management Buyout (MBO) experience and learnings.
[56:53] Should your recruitment firm get an investment from a Private Equity?

Training and Developing People is Fun!

David started in the recruiting industry in 1996, and both of us agree that training back then was almost as simple as “here is a phonebook, and a phone, start calling.” We both understand the value of effective training as a key ingredient to successful recruiting results.

Having hired and developed hundreds of recruiters over the years, what is David’s approach to training, especially in this age where technology can overwhelm the human factor of a new recruiter? For David, it is about going back to basics and focusing on what a recruiter really does. Phone first, and building a network. He utilizes existing technology and tech stack, especially when monitoring and gamifying performance as part of training and development. Most importantly, his mindset says a lot about his success, “Training and developing people is fun!”

Below are some of the takeaways he shared on this topic:

Passion for Teaching – He genuinely enjoys training people, seeing them "get it," and watching their progress. His enthusiasm makes training engaging and impactful.
Gamification and Fun—He introduces friendly competitions, small challenges (like mentioning random topics in calls), and a team environment that keeps training lively and engaging.
Hands-On Learning – He believes in learning by doing, allowing trainees to make calls early, experience rejection, and develop resilience.
Focus on Fundamentals – Despite industry changes, he emphasizes that the core of recruitment remains the same: connecting clients and candidates.
Creating a Supportive Environment – He fosters a collaborative setting where trainees can share wins, struggles, and experiences.
Emphasizing Resilience – He prepares recruiters for the challenges of the job, especially handling rejection and navigating modern recruitment complexities.
Adapting Training to Modern Challenges – He acknowledges changes in recruitment (e.g., difficulty reaching candidates, compliance hurdles) and tailors training to address these new realities.

What Does a Recruiter Do?

Despite technological advances in AI, David strongly believes that focusing on the human factor by understanding what a recruiter does is still the key success factor in this field. He believes that two things are essential:

Telephone First
Building a Network

Regardless of what AI or other tools can do to improve your recruitment process, it is still a recruiter’s human factor of connecting with candidates and clients that drives the decision of whether you will win the business or not. As he puts it, “And, and that's really where I kind of come to with, with what does a recruiter do? What a recruiter does is it has the human interaction, the human touch, right? And if we can really get that into the heads of recruiters, this is where your value is. This is what you do, right? You meet people, you talk to people, you network, you find out things.”

Indeed, recruiters who rely too much on automation risk becoming replaceable. ...

Next Episode

How to Design Client Events That Feed Your Recruitment Pipeline, with Dandan Zhu and Grace Marlin

Dandan Zhu and Grace Marlin, co-founders of DG Recruitment, share tactical insights to help recruiters achieve top biller status in today's competitive landscape.

Their rec-to-rec agency has given them unique visibility into what separates elite performers from the rest.

"To succeed in sales, you need to understand that everyone is extremely focused on their own needs," explains Dandan. "And hiring managers' primary need is that they suffer when it comes to hiring."

This episode dives into three game-changing strategies: maintaining robust client pipelines beyond just a few accounts, making strategic relationship investments with measurable long-term ROI, and perfecting the MPC approach to immediately capture hiring managers' attention.

With Dandan’s background as a top-performing recruiter who achieved financial independence by 28 and Grace's 6.5 years helping launch and elevate recruitment careers, they offer a powerful perspective on building sustainable success in agency recruitment.

Episode Outline and Highlights

[01:28] How Dandan and Grace started working together.

[04:00] Insights on what is currently happening in the recruitment space.

[06:40] What do top billers do consistently?

[15:06] The ROI of thinking big and going the extra mile.

[20:37] The concept of the “Golden Loop.”

[27:26] What an MPC strategy blueprint should look like.

[33:30] The value of adapting to rapid changes in market and technology.

[37:22] How to learn more from Dandan and Grace’s online platforms.

Top Billers Never Stop Building Client Pipelines

While many recruiters became comfortable with just a few accounts during good times, Dandan Zhu observes these recruiters were "scrambling" when markets changed. To maintain a robust pipeline, top billers consistently build relationships through webinars, panels, and content creation.

Dandan questions why more recruiters don't implement proven strategies: "Go out and set up a webinar for your network, for your niche. Go and set up a panel and invite your clients to be part of that as a BD tool." He notes that "all the playbook is there" but few recruiters convert theory into practice.

Grace adds that success comes from "who is willing to go one to two steps deeper than everyone else" with investments that might take "six to eight months to really start getting there." These consistent efforts ensure you'll never be left claiming "nobody's paying fees" during downturns while competitors continue closing deals.

The Long-Term ROI of Strategic Relationship Investment

DG Recruitment hosts rooftop events and specialized gatherings like pottery painting sessions targeted to client demographics. Though measuring immediate return is challenging, Grace notes these investments create "much higher odds of placing candidates" and develop "closer relationships with more trust."

"That year I met that person, two years later, that became a placement." Dandan explains their events were specifically designed for their target audience - "middle-aged women with kids in the Jersey pharma belt" for pottery painting, and New York recruiters for rooftop gatherings.

These strategic relationship investments help recruiters stand out in an industry with reputation challenges. Grace observes it's "very easy to do better" than competitors by "just doing a couple things differently." While others focus on transactions, this approach builds a foundation of trust leading to higher placement odds, client loyalty, and valuable referrals.

MPC Strategy: Skip the Intro and Sell Your Talent

Most recruiters waste time on company introductions when contacting hiring managers. Dandan recommends a more effective approach: "Sell the NPC right away. Boom, boom." This direct method recognizes that hiring managers prioritize solving their problems over hearing about your firm.

Hiring managers focus primarily on addressing their own challenges. A refined approach that immediately demonstrates candidate value shows respect for their time while positioning you as a solutions provider. Dandan emphasizes creating compelling candidate profiles with a confident, engaging tone instead of a nervous or disinterested delivery.

In today's competitive landscape, the first few seconds determine client engagement. Leading with immediate value helps bypass typical screening filters, significantly increasing your chances of meaningful engagement and placement success.

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TRR #110 - Why Top Billers Don’t Want to Join Your Recruitment Agency

Dandan Zhu Bio and Contact Info

Dandan Zhu launched her agency recruitment career at the age of 23, quickly excelling as a full-desk headhunter specializing in a technical niche and eventually executi...