How to Grow a Recruitment Business in New Markets from the UK

Building a Global Recruitment Business from the UK 

“If you can train and show others that you can operate in multiple locations from your HQ, it’s a win-win for everyone.”

Like all markets, recruitment can be such a competitive industry and scaling your business from the UK into a new market can provide a lot of opportunities for expansion.

From day one, Daniel Cox and his co-founder Ben Wallin had a clear vision for their recruitment agency, Edison Smart. A decade ago, entering new markets often meant opening a local office or setting up an entity, an approach that simply wasn’t viable for a bootstrapped startup like Edison Smart. Instead, they recognised that route as a barrier and shifted their focus towards quick cash strategies and implemented a recruit from afar method which became central to their recruitment agency business model.

The ‘recruit from afar’ method is a common strategy many of Workwell Global’s UK clients use to grow their recruitment business in new markets. Offering a low-risk approach to build revenue and test markets before committing to physical business expansion costs. Interested in trying this method? Download our Recruit From Afar checklist which explains how you can enter the largest staffing market in the world, the US.

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The Importance of Building Business Relationships 

When executing a recruit from afar strategy in new markets, strong relationships with your co-founders and team are essential to successfully grow a recruitment business. Within this episode on The Global Talk, Dan mentioned two big pieces of advice for early-stage founders, or anyone looking for important steps on how to grow a recruitment business.

Firstly, work with colleagues who complement you to help you grow a recruitment business. As Dan puts it, it’s like “having somebody that’s like the yin and yang.” Dan shared how him and Ben Wallin, co-founder of Edison Smart have known each other for 15 years and emphasised:

“We are completely different individuals. But one thing that we do have, we’re very much aligned on is that we’re ultimately driven on building a global functioning business.”

“We are completely different individuals. But one thing that we do have, we’re very much aligned on is that we’re ultimately driven on building a global functioning business.”

Building a supportive and complementary team helps business leaders make better decisions, which is also crucial when planning a scalable and sustainable recruitment agency business model. Dan highlighted that his partnership with Ben allows them to move quickly and trust each other’s instincts when building a global recruitment business.

“We have a rule of if somebody feels really strong about something and the other person doesn’t, crack on, go.” 

Secondly, relationships aren’t built overnight. It’s about having the right energy and bringing the best out of each other when things get tough! Together, these insights form part of a strong recruitment business development strategy. It is important for early founders to note that scaling a business starts with the right people by your side. Ben expanded more on the struggles of building a global recruitment business in the podcast episode hence the importance of strong relationships:

“There are very dark times, especially in the early days. You do question yourself; it doesn’t matter how good you are, it’s relentless!”

The Importance of Structure and Partner Relationships to Build a Global Recruitment Business 

“From a contract recruitment point of view, we wouldn’t have been able to break the contract market without the right partners and planning and knowing when to use our partners.”

In the full episode of The Global Talk podcast, Dan shared the planning and strategic decision-making that shaped the company’s growth from day one. Although their recruitment business was founded in 2021, the leadership had already defined a clear vision for where they wanted to be by 2024 and 2027.

Dan explained one of the pivotal decisions during that early stage was hiring an operations lead, whose role was instrumental in ensuring Edison Smart was structured to grow. As Dan put it:

“Our appetite to scale our recruitment business globally was absolutely there. But doing it the right way was so important.”

Before seeking external support, Edison Smart invested in their recruitment agency business model by strengthening their internal systems so they can lean on partners externally to take them to the next level. That operational foundation gave them the confidence to scale through trusted partnerships.

A key example was Edison Smarts collaboration with Workwell Global, to compliantly engage and payroll their contractors in new markets. In the full episode, Dan emphasised the importance of understanding the differences between contract and perm markets and how each comes with its own set of realities, and failing to understand them could be catastrophic to your recruitment business.

“If you get contract wrong in the US, it can be pretty catastrophic to your business.” 

The US market presents unique challenges, including employment laws varying significantly state by state. There are a few common misconceptions that recruitment agencies can fall into when first operating in the US market. It’s crucial to understand key compliance factors such as:

• Employer burdens for contractors
• Overtime
• Misclassification
• Healthcare

Different countries have different rules and regulations, if you get this wrong, misclassification can result in serious penalties. Workwell Global offers Employer of Record and Agent of Record services to ensure compliance across 150+ countries. We handle everything from payroll and onboarding so you can focus on growing your business.

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Building a Recruitment Agency Business Model fit for Global Expansion 

When building a recruitment agency business model fit for global expansion, Dan and Edison Smart focused on three core pillars they still rely on today:

• Leadership
• Supportive culture
• Strong Strategy

1. The Importance of Leadership

Dan believes that getting the right leadership takes time, but it is essential. Building a scalable business means stepping back and understanding the importance of replacing yourself.

When learning how to grow a recruitment business, a key strategic step is hiring people who can do the job better than you. Dan credits Edison Smart’s pivotal hires for enabling their scale. What matters most is having a strong, aligned leadership team focused on growing their recruitment business.

2. Create a High-Performance Environment

Leadership isn’t just about scaling; it’s about creating a space where people feel safe and people can thrive. Dan revealed how he and his team have worked hard to instill confidence across the business, helping individuals trust in their ability to succeed and reach their full potential has been central to their culture.

“At the end of the day, there’s a lot of turmoil in the world… we need to make sure we’ve created a safe space where people feel supported and somewhere the team believes they can succeed in delivering our business goals. There’s a belief function in that.”

3. Follow a Strong Business Strategy 

When it comes to market timing when planning to grow a recruitment business, Dan is adamant luck is rarely the full story! Behind every “right place, right time” is usually data, research, and strategy.

Edison Smart’s approach to growing a recruitment business is to:

• Read the data
• Understand future markets
• Place the right people where the opportunity is

Even if things don’t take off immediately, sticking to the strategy and staying consistent pays off.

Dan shares how the recruitment cycle is just a cycle. Stay focused, trust in your market, and the results will come!

“Sometimes as a leader, when everything else outside the uncontrollable is going a little bit crazy, stick to a plan. Instill belief in your leadership team… everything else will take care of itself if you’re in the right market!”

During this part of the podcast, Amy, Workwell Global’s Managing Director, was reminded of a previous episode with Allyson Stewart-Allen, who helps businesses expand globally. One thing Allyson shared was that businesses and especially business leaders need to give expansion space and time to grow. Often, leaders can be impatient when they don’t see immediate results after making investments. Whether that’s hiring a new headcount or opening an office in a new market, growth needs air and time.

Interested in learning more about how to achieve global business growth? Catch up on the full episode below.

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Structure Your Recruitment Business for Long-Term Success in Global Markets 

Create the Right Culture for Your Global Business

“Understand what you need as a business to get to where you want to go!”

In the full podcast episode, Dan shared what it is like to be a tech-led business. Dan was reminded of the number of early founders he has spoken to whose mindset is strictly focused on building or earning cash. Dan highlighted the importance of taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture.

Your current plan will result in saving you one month or two months’ worth of problems, but how does this look long term?

“Whether it’s one person at the moment or 50 people, those people want to know that their company is moving ahead, moving forward and moving in the right direction.”

When learning how to grow a recruitment business, having a strategy in place is the key to success as emphasised from Edison Smart’s experience. Knowing where you want your business to go and understanding how to get there will make you an attractive partner for other businesses.

Define Your Niche

“If you don’t quite know what your service offering is or you don’t know what your niche is, stop what you’re doing until you define it… Because at some point, it’s going to really haunt you.”

One of Edison Smart’s biggest strengths in growing a global recruitment business has been knowing exactly what they stand for and sticking to it. Being a British-led business has helped them build trust in the American market, where there’s strong demand for niche specialists.

Dan contrasted this with the ‘go after everything’ mindset many high-margin businesses adopt (something Dan doesn’t see as the future). Instead, Edison Smart has stayed focused on a specific niche, which their global clients love.

It’s not about being better than the competition, but having clarity, precision, and deep market understanding, that’s what gives them the edge. His advice to early founders on how to grow a global recruitment business is clear:

“Future markets, stay niche, stay agile as a company. And you’ll weather most storms, if not all storms.”

How to Recruit from Afar in New Markets with a Global Expansion Strategy

When it comes to the sustainability of the recruit from afar model as a strategy to enter new markets, Dan acknowledged it can work with the right setup. While time zones are a challenge, Edison Smart has stayed with UK working hours, valuing work-life balance.

The real turning point for establishing a local presence in new markets, Dan explained, often comes down to leadership. For example, recruiting in the Middle East wasn’t an immediate priority, but when the right leader joined with deep regional knowledge, expansion became the obvious next step in their recruitment agency business model.

For founders looking to scale globally, in this podcast episode, Dan recommended checking in between two to five years. Ask yourself, Are we profitable? Do we have steady client demand? Is there a specific region growing fast enough to justify having a local presence?

Ready To Grow Your Recruitment Business by Entering New Markets From Afar?

Are you looking to succeed like 100s of UK recruitment agencies we’ve helped enter new markets, who started from their home office? Access Workwell Global’s recruit from afar checklist focused on the US staffing market to find out the steps to get started. Workwell Global’s checklist outlines the key steps to getting started in the US from afar. Review essential considerations to position your recruitment agency for success, win business, and build a US presence.

Whether your scaling into Europe, North America, or elsewhere, understanding international compliance and employment regulations can be burdensome when growing a recruitment firm. That’s why Workwell Global help you hire whoever and wherever, in the world with our Employer of Record services.

Disclaimer: The information provided here does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal or accountancy advice. Instead, the information and content available are for general informational purposes only.