The survey of recruitment agency teams and owners, conducted in August, found that 90% of recruiters identified winning new clients as a top priority, an increase of 50% since April when Talent Nexus took a previous poll. At the same time, 95% of agencies reported having fewer roles to recruit for at the moment, compared to before the pandemic.

Although developing a new strategy for the future was ranked second in importance, it was only cited by 54% of recruiters. Half also said filling existing vacancies was a priority. Diversifying the business was important for 39% of recruitment businesses, an increase of 10% since the April survey; only 10% of respondents planned to focus on implementing new technology. 

Winning new business also came out on top when agency recruiters were asked about their greatest concerns, with 69% citing it as a worry. Following with 44% was a concern about having enough work for recruiters, while 39% had the contrasting concern of generating results with fewer resources. “Agencies are looking for ways to streamline their costs (media, tech, etc) without affecting their ability to build revenue,” the report said.

Other concerns were the ability to retain existing clients (35%) and adapting to ‘new normal’ ways of working (29%). 

Of recruitment agency staff respondents, 39% reported that they had already returned to their offices, with 29% anticipating a return within six months. However, the report said: “The trend towards remote work continues, with 27% not planning to work in the office in the future.”

The report added: “The outlook for the future for recruitment agencies is mixed but generally more positive than in April. Recruiters feel more confident about their job security than they did back in April.”