Independent recruiters in Scotland believe business is theirs to gain, as the economic downturn tightens its grip.

At a recent Recruiter roundtable in Glasgow, director Shan Saba of Brightwork Specialist Recruitment, said clients saw “a big difference in the way we transact our business, how we work locally - and nationally as well - and we’re capitalising on that at the moment. Our relationships… are quite deep, and we are known locally for what we are doing.”

John Hailstone, managing director of First People Solutions Group, said that a benefit for independents such as his firm was lower staff churn than nationals’ generally: “That’s our USP [unique selling proposition] - low staff turnover.” National firms “certainly won’t be concerned about staff turnover in a downturn”, he added. For more, see our feature on Surviving recession in Scotland.