In this case study, we’re sharing how GSR2R helped Freedom Recruitment Capital build a scalable attraction framework significantly reducing reliance on agencies, all for an investment of less that the cost of a single recruitment fee.
Orlagh Reynolds is the Managing Director of Freedom Recruitment Capital, a consultancy that supports experienced recruiters to set up their own businesses.
With over 24 years in recruitment, Orlagh joined the business to help recruiters take control of their careers and build something of their own. Success for FRC relies on engaging and attracting experienced recruiters who are ready to make that move and start their own agency.
From a standing start of 50 people in their community and a goal to onboard 100 new recruiters in the following 12 months, to grow, Orlagh needed to attract more experienced recruiters into the community.
The goal was to move away from 100% reliance on rec2rec and build a more sustainable way to hire.
When Orlagh stepped into the role, she faced a primary challenge regarding reach within the recruitment consultants’ community.
With an unestablished UK network on LinkedIn, limited reach to experienced recruiters and low engagement from existing activity, Orlagh required a plan to engage, attract and convert recruiters. Despite actively trying to generate interest, she wasn’t getting traction.
“It wasn’t that I wasn’t trying, I just didn’t have the right audience,” said Orlagh.
Working with a rec2rec Orlagh’s goal was to attract and hire recruiters to the business, saving them rec2rec fees. The target was a 50/50 position, operating from a standing start of 100% rec2rec.
Orlagh called Cheryl at GSR2R initially to engage another rec2rec. Following an overview of her needs, Cheryl was able to recommend an alternative solution that would get Orlagh to her goals quicker and save time and costs in the long term.
Initially, Orlagh reached out to Cheryl at GSR2R to engage another rec2rec. Following the initial meeting, the conversation shifted.
Instead of more agency support, Cheryl recommended a different approach. This approach would help Orlagh to achieve her goals faster, while reducing long-term costs and reliance on rec-2-recs.
“Cheryl was the only one who came with options and thought outside the box.”
Rather than focusing on filling roles, Cheryl worked as a fractional partner to build something valuable – a recruitment network within the business making the clear shift to capability, from dependency.
This shift enabled FRC to have the ability to attract recruiters directly, consistently and without ongoing reliance on agencies, while continuing to deliver hires, long after the engagement ended.
The objectives for Orlagh was to:
Reach their target of 100 new companies by end of 2026.
Over three months, what was built was a structured, repeatable framework that was implemented inside the business to attract, engage and convert recruiters.
This included:
“Alongside this, we worked collaboratively. I don’t feel like she works for me, I feel like we work together.”
Recruiters receive up to 11 messages a week, therefore knowing exactly what they want to hear makes all the difference.
Within the first hour, one change to messaging increased LinkedIn response rates by 200%.
The original target was 15 conversations in 3 months. This target was achieved within the first month.
Within three months:
One of those hires has since launched their own recruitment business in a specialist market.
Over three months, what was built was a structured, repeatable framework that was implemented inside the business to attract, engage and convert recruiters.
This included:
“Alongside this, we worked collaboratively. I don’t feel like she works for me, I feel like we work together.”
Recruiters receive up to 11 messages a week, therefore knowing exactly what they want to hear makes all the difference.
Within the first hour, one change to messaging increased LinkedIn response rates by 200%.
The original target was 15 conversations in 3 months. This target was achieved within the first month.
Within three months:
One of those hires has since launched their own recruitment business in a specialist market.
Orlagh now has:
“Cheryl has opened my pool of candidates on LinkedIn and given me ways to get better reach. She has delivered the tools to be less reliant on other agencies, which will be more cost-effective.”
This created:
“Cheryl goes above and beyond more than anyone. She understands how we work, asks the right questions, recommends, delivers, and holds me accountable. I’d highly recommend her to anybody.”
While the initial brief was filling roles, the primary brief shifted, because of Cheryl’s extensive experience, to focus on building capability inside the business.
“She helped me do something that would continue when she was gone… she gave me the tools so I could do it myself.”
Cheryl’s knowledge enabled Orlagh to create a sustainable, self-managing and low-cost model that enables her to achieve her goals consistently. This is the difference that engaging with GSR2R offers. A transfer of knowledge, creating ownership with long-term impact that significantly reduces reliance on external support in the future.
Many recruitment businesses rely on agencies because they do not have a framework. When you build one, you will achieve the same successes as Freedom Recruitment Capital.
If you want to attract recruiters directly, reduce costs and create a consistent pipeline, you need a framework that works without relying on someone else to deliver it. We can help you do exactly that.
If you’re thinking about building your own and are heavily reliant on rec2rec or struggling to attract the right recruiters, there is another way.
We build the framework with you, so it continues to deliver long after we step away.
Reach out to Cheryl today for an informal talk to see how we can ramp up your recruitment framework to achieve long-term, sustainable success.
While the initial brief was filling roles, the primary brief shifted, because of Cheryl’s extensive experience, to focus on building capability inside the business.
“She helped me do something that would continue when she was gone… she gave me the tools so I could do it myself.”
Cheryl’s knowledge enabled Orlagh to create a sustainable, self-managing and low-cost model that enables her to achieve her goals consistently. This is the difference that engaging with GSR2R offers. A transfer of knowledge, creating ownership with long-term impact that significantly reduces reliance on external support in the future.
Many recruitment businesses rely on agencies because they do not have a framework. When you build one, you will achieve the same successes as Freedom Recruitment Capital.
If you want to attract recruiters directly, reduce costs and create a consistent pipeline, you need a framework that works without relying on someone else to deliver it. We can help you do exactly that.
If you’re thinking about building your own and are heavily reliant on rec2rec or struggling to attract the right recruiters, there is another way.
We build the framework with you, so it continues to deliver long after we step away.
Reach out to Cheryl today for an informal talk to see how we can ramp up your recruitment framework to achieve long-term, sustainable success.