The role of itMatch in the recruitment industry

Justyna: In that case, how has itMatch adapted to the current conditions of the market?

Bartek: Until recently, the scope of our services was oriented toward handling major accounts, i.e. those with whom we had worked for many years in a row. We had, after all, teams strictly set to serve just these companies. As a part of our response to the changes, we had to rebuild them to operate in a so-called open market. Now, these are flexible units in our organization that can instantly switch to serving another client, operating in a project model. We are more focused on shorter customer relationships and smaller-scale recruiting.

Justyna: What if you had to point out one lesson we could learn from last year? What have you been taught?

Bartek: As I said, the only constant is change, and you shouldn't settle on your laurels or cling to your own comfort zone. I am even more convinced that it is necessary to take on new challenges in recruiting, which may bring some complications and troubles, but for the moment, this flexibility in approaching clients is absolutely crucial, absolutely necessary. We don't bind ourselves to new collaborations on a long-term basis, we set our sights on shorter, but more focused activities. By the way, we have also changed our mindsets - we put much less emphasis on mentally tying ourselves to a project.

Justyna: In that case, what was the most difficult for you in 2023? I don't mean failures as such, let's focus more on the challenges, whatever they may be.

Bartek: The most difficult part was maintaining employment and retaining employees while at times the business was shrinking. It was also difficult to survive moments when sales were too low, to persevere through uncertainty. There were also moments when I came to work and was afraid of what I would see when I opened my laptop. I'm very glad that I've been able to cure myself of these fears - whatever message comes, you just have to face it.

Justyna: And what do you consider your biggest success in the past year, then? What was the coolest moment?

Bartek: The coolest thing has been the people we have at itMatch, really. I enjoy meeting the same people with whom I have been building this company for many years. We still trust each other and continue to grow together, and I'm incredibly proud of that. It was also a success to lead itMatch on my own after our board changed. We were able to meet the business goals we set and get new clients, this also makes me very happy and motivated.

Justyna: Do you have any particular memory with a client from last year? Did something really surprise you? Whether it was a positive or negative memory. I mean something very specific.

Bartek:  All the things that come to mind happened unexpectedly. Was there one particular situation? I can recall one client who one month laid off an internal recruiting team and some employees, and after a month decided to do some really large-scale recruitment. This situation certainly made a huge impression on me and surprised me a lot. I found out that in business anything is possible - their decision was probably conditioned by rapid changes in the organization's environment. A sudden change in the situation in the company you serve makes you lose one day and the next day you are already winning.

Justyna: Did we experience any recurring situation last year where itMatch did better than the competition? Different, better, in a unique way.

Bartek: Well, what comes to mind are the reviews we receive from managers from the companies we serve and the fact that we are recommended all the time. We were recently named a unique agency, the client emphasized the added value mentioned earlier. I heard that it was worth paying for a qualitative and "complete" approach to recruitment.

Justyna: This is the last question about the past year. If you had to summarize what has changed most in the labor market from the perspective of the candidate, recruiter and employer, what would you say?

Bartek: From the perspective of employers, what has certainly changed is that candidates are more willing to talk, many of them appreciate their current workplace more. My impression is that the overall quality of communication has improved - candidates are more open to conversation, the dialogue is more cultured. In my opinion, this is a healthy realignment as a result of the recent adjustment. It seems to me that candidates were receiving so many offers from recruiters that they were simply tired of them. Nowadays, things are normalizing, our industry has slowed down a bit. From the candidate's point of view, the level of service during the recruitment process has certainly improved - we take a lot more time with each person, each element is more polished and elaborated. Of course, this is due to fewer open vacancies, no need to act on the run, to participate in the race to process all profiles as quickly as possible. This is definitely a positive change. As for recruiters, it's also good - I think we're a little more appreciated as specialists and as people. I have a feeling that, against all odds, basically everyone can be happy with the current changes in the recruitment market.

Justyna: Thank you for our conversation!

Bartek: Thank you!

This is the last part of Justyna's conversation with Bartek. We hope you found the form as well as the content interesting! Share your opinion with us on our social media and follow for more!