EP 40 – Rugby, Recruitment & Robots: AI and High-Performance Teams w/Gary Trueman
In this episode of The 1% Better Recruitment Podcast, I’m joined by Gary Trueman from Arrows Group — an ex-pro rugby player turned tech recruitment leader, now driving AI adoption and building high-performance teams across Europe. 🧠⚙️🏉 We dive deep into: ✅ Is AI really going to replace recruiters (or just the lazy ones)? ✅ Why Boolean, resourcers & admin-heavy roles might become extinct ✅ How Gary is embedding AI & automation into his recruitment business ✅ The truth about “prompt engineering” and how to master it ✅ What recruiters must do to stay relevant in a world of AI agents ✅ The parallels between elite sport and elite performance in recruitment We also talk ADHD, burnout, the myth of hustle culture, why most social media is toxic for recruiters — and how to actually build a 1% better mindset in a fast-paced, distracted world. If you're serious about staying relevant in the future of recruitment — this is unmissable. ⏲ Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro 01:35 – Meet Gary Trueman: rugby career, recruitment journey & Arrows Group 06:10 – Why Gary’s doubling down on AI in recruitment 10:50 – Will AI kill the resourcer role? 15:40 – What automation tools Gary is actually using 21:25 – Prompt engineering 101 for recruiters 27:19 – The human side of recruitment AI can’t replace 32:02 – Training your team to embrace AI properly 38:41 – How AI can free recruiters to focus on people 43:22 – Ethics, governance & data risks with AI tools 49:18 – AI for wellness, personal coaching & productivity 54:00 – Why high-performance teams are built like sports teams 1:00:15 – The real reason some recruiters never hit high performance 1:06:29 – Focus, data, and how to stop managing through guesswork 1:13:40 – Gary’s favourite AI tools for recruiters & leaders 1:17:52 – Final thoughts & what it means to get 1% better 🔗 Connect with Gary Trueman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garytrueman/ 🔗 Connect with Charles Kyriakou on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskyriakou1/ 📰 Subscribe to the newsletter – https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7244346543967731712/?displayConfirmation=true 🎙️ Follow on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/46LjJfw0Y4IVJwnigCdxJX?si=921bf1a780ae48d8 🎧 Follow on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1-better-recruitment-podcast/id1775201502 📲 Follow Charles on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@charles.kyriakou?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc Subscribe for no-fluff, high-impact recruitment advice that actually works. 💼🔥
