Being brilliant at recruitment doesn’t automatically make you brilliant at teaching it. We know, because we’ve tried. At Insight Executive, we’re lucky to have some exceptional recruiters. People who’ve spent years building specialist knowledge and relationships, and refining approaches that consistently deliver for our clients and candidates. But knowing how to do something and knowing how to pass it on are two very different skills. Ask anyone who’s tried to teach a teenager to drive.
Getting what we know out of our heads and into everyone else’s
Our consultants work across different locations, specialist sectors and recruitment disciplines. Some are in their first year. Others have been doing this for decades. As we’ve grown, we’ve wanted to make sure what we know doesn’t just stay with the people who’ve accumulated it. Our senior people understand our methods instinctively. Turning that instinct into practical, engaging learning for everyone else is a different job altogether. So we tried doing more of it ourselves and learned two things:
- Being exceptional at recruitment doesn’t necessarily make you an exceptional trainer.
- The people with the most to teach are often the people busiest winning and running the business.
We needed someone who could understand our business, respect what makes our approach work, and turn it into development that works for people at very different stages of their careers. Ideally, someone who also believes you should enjoy what you do. Learning included.
Finding the right person
Cue some serious head-scratching from Katie Yianni and Robert Parker. We didn’t want a series of off-the-shelf training sessions. We wanted a partner who would work with us, challenge our thinking and help us make the most of the expertise already in the business. Someone who understood recruitment from doing it, not just studying it. As it turned out, the right person was someone we already knew.
Why Graham
Graham has more than 20 years’ experience in recruitment, alongside an extensive background in learning, development and coaching. He now works independently with businesses that are serious about investing in their people, and we’re delighted Insight Executive is one of them. He’s worked with consultants at different stages of their careers and understands the importance of making training relevant, practical and enjoyable. He also brings something nobody else could: history with us. Graham has worked alongside IE directors Richard Collins and Andrew Pyman before, so he already knows many of the methods and values that underpin how we work. He isn’t learning our approach from scratch; he’s seen it in action. Richard and Andrew have plenty they’re passionate about passing on. What they don’t always have is the uninterrupted time to do it justice. Graham brings that focus. Along with patience, humour and a genuine enthusiasm for watching people get better at what they do. And, quite simply, he’s a really good person to spend time training with. Which, as anyone who’s sat through a long training session will know, matters more than it sounds.
“Clients and candidates look you up long before they pick up the phone. This team has real expertise, and I’d love to help them show more of it.” Graham Peck
Raising our own bar
For us, partnering with Graham isn’t about changing everything we do. It’s about recognising the value of what we’ve already built and finding better ways to share it as the business grows. We want our newest consultants to benefit from the experience of those who’ve been doing this for decades, while giving our more established people opportunities to challenge themselves and continue developing. And if you’re a recruiter who wants to keep getting better, wherever you are in your career, that’s exactly the kind of place we’re trying to build. We’re looking forward to working with Graham, and to seeing what our team does with it. Here’s to raising our own bar. Again.