EP 43 - How to Successfully Build a 100+ Person Recruitment Business w/Nick Barton
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 specialising in strategy, transformation, and ESG. With 25+ years in recruitment and offices across London, New York, Singapore, and Sydney, Nick shares the hard-earned lessons behind building a business that lasts. 🌍📈 We dive deep into: ✅ Starting a search firm during the 2008 crash ✅ Scaling to 100+ people while staying niche and focused ✅ The critical difference between working hard and working smart ✅ Why great recruitment has to be personal and relationship-led ✅ The role of AI and tech in modern recruiting (and what most get wrong) ✅ How to create a high-performance culture rooted in customer service ✅ Why most recruiters don’t use their CRM properly (and what that says) ✅ The importance of marketing, L&D, and foundational infrastructure ✅ Building a business in 2025 vs. 2007 — what’s changed and what hasn’t ✅ How to get more time back in your day and actually use it to grow If you’re a founder, leader, or aspiring high-performer in recruitment, this one is absolutely packed with gold. ⏲ Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro 01:30 – Nick’s journey from fashion warehouse to global search firm 05:00 – Why passion for your market is non-negotiable 09:00 – Scaling The Barton Partnership to 100+ people 13:00 – Strategy for growth: staying niche while expanding 17:30 – How to create a collaborative, cross-selling culture 20:00 – What most recruiters misunderstand about customer service 23:00 – The role of training, marketing, and infrastructure in scaling 27:00 – The lost art of face-to-face recruitment 32:00 – Why remote-only recruiters struggle to build loyalty 36:00 – Rapport, NLP, and reading clients the right way 40:00 – How to get buy-in for tech adoption (no excuses) 44:00 – The truth about activity, outcomes, and real success 47:00 – Final thoughts: how to get 1% better 🔗 Connect with Nick Barton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasbarton/ 🔗 Connect with Charles Kyriakou on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskyriakou1/ 📰 Subscribe to the newsletter – https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/... 🎙️ Follow on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/46LjJfw... 🎧 Follow on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 📲 Follow Charles on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@charles.kyria... Subscribe for no-fluff, high-impact recruitment advice that actually works. 💼🔥
