Author: Eleanor McKenzie – Robocore Press Officer
This year has thrown us all a curve ball, in both our business and personal lives. But tech-led recruitment company Robocore UK Ltd proved there was still an opportunity for growth.
Adapt to survive
In January 2020, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation predicted that the recruitment industry would grow by 4.6% this year. This estimate was made before lockdowns hit countries worldwide, but more recent indicators suggest the industry has been hard hit.
Natasha South at Camino Partners recently wrote, “The latest figures have already shown the steepest decline in the recruitment industry since the 2009 global economic crash.” However, she added, “Businesses that adapt and survive this turmoil will be in a position to take a competitive advantage in what is likely to be a changing world of employment.”
Her thoughts were echoed by Iain Wright, director of business and industrial strategy at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He told the Times: “Every downturn in economic history is accompanied by a rise of entrepreneurship. This could be the start of new, innovative businesses.”
So, it is not all doom and gloom. The pandemic also resulted in more widespread Working From Home (WFH), due to necessity, and this scenario presented opportunities for business growth, as Robocore UK Ltd discovered.
Robocore welcomes more recruiters in 2020
One of the upsides of the increase in WFH combined with unexpected redundancy, which was the case for a significant number of people, is that it encouraged many who had been toying with the idea of setting up their own recruitment business to take a leap of faith and do just that.
Robocore’s franchise package sales saw unexpected growth in 2020, considering the circumstances, with the number of new franchisees coming on board increasing by 175% over 2019. But this is not the only growth measurement exciting the team. Outside of the UK, Robocore now has a presence in Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Namibia, the Philippines, Brazil and the USA. Our current goal is to reach 30 franchise sales through organic growth, and we’re almost there. Robocore’s acting CEO, Dennis Rudin, commented, “ It’s a considerable achievement considering how so many businesses have been negatively affected by Covid-19 this year.”
Not only did this expansion indicate to us that there was still strong support for recruitment as a long-term business proposition: it also underlined our belief that Robocore’s AI-based software was gaining traction with recruiters, who recognised the value of new technology in an industry that has for some time stuck with old school methods.
It has been encouraging to note that IMS People in its Forecast of the UK Recruitment Industry 2020 said: “A variety of technological advancements were made in 2019, with Artificial Intelligence at the forefront of them all. 2020 is set to follow the same trajectory as more apps, software and platforms become available to recruiters worldwide.”
Strong investor support
The credibility of our business proposition in the eyes of investors is also important for expansion. In early 2020, Robocore received angel funding via a number of investors, and thanks to the growth the company has experienced this year, we are confidently planning a Series A funding round in 2021.
Looking forward to 2021
Furthermore, we have a series of exciting Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) projects already in the pipeline for the coming year, where Robocore will have exclusive contracts to manage clients’ HR process. The interest shown in Robocore’s solutions is another thumbs up for the use of innovative technology in recruitment, and we’re feeling confident that the picture will be even brighter next year.
Rudin summed up what the Robocore team believes is at the heart of our excellent growth in 2020: “In accordance with our values, people matter. Technology is not supposed to make people redundant, but rather enable them to be a better self. By automating the time consuming bits of the recruitment process, our recruiters can spend more time on what matters, human interaction.” Or, as we also like to say ‘Make it easy!’
