A collaborative afternoon for recruitment agency leaders to find solutions to common challenges that empower change and productivity.

The end of the year is coming. Make it count.

2026 has been a year. For some, a breakthrough. For others, a grind. For most, a bit of both.

Before you step into 2027, it's worth stopping. Taking stock of what worked, what didn't, and what you're going to do differently that will move the dial during the 2026 run-in and set the tome for next.

That's what this event is for.

What to expect

A half-day of honest conversation, practical insight, and genuine connection - designed specifically for recruitment agency owners, directors, and future leaders who want to finish 2026 strong and hit the ground running in 2027.

Held at JMW Solicitors' swanky new office in Manchester, this is a focused, collaborative session covering the things that actually move the needle: technology, data, marketing, high performance, and sales.

On the agenda

Legal: an update on what's happened and what's next with Labour's changes and more

Tech: what's working, what's overhyped, and where to invest your attention in 2027

Marketing: how AI search (LLM) is reshaping how we must view our company website

Data: Leadership is built

Revenue: creating a robust recruitment businesss through recurring revenue

Who should attend

SME secruitment agency owners and directors ready to reflect on 2026 and set a clear course for 2027. Future leaders who want to be in the room where the real conversations happen.

As always, this event will conclude with networking drinks.

Thanks to Keybridge IT Solutions and Shazamme for sponosoring.

Paul Chamberlain, Head of Employment and People Solutions - Specialist Recruitment Lawyer

I provide solid, pragmatic and effective legal advice to employers, recruitment agencies, employees and workers in relation to the world of work.

Talk Title: What's Happening with the Employer Rights Act 2025?

The ERA 2025 is a major UK law passed on December 18, 2025. It changes rules for workers and bosses by ending zero-hours tricks, stopping fire-and-rehire practices, and updating family leave

Paul will summarise progress of the ERA 2025 and the consultations that are live/have finished (especially that on zero/guaranteed hours)?

Plus:

Unfair Dismissal: Cuts the wait time to claim unfair dismissal from two years down to six months, starting in 2027.

Day-One Rights: Makes parental and paternity leave available from day one on the job.

Fair Work: Sets up a new Fair Work Agency to enforce labor rules.

Trade Unions: Removes old strike hurdles and gives unions better workplace access

Nicole Clark, CEO, Shazamme

After 15 years in recruitment technology, Nicole got tired of watching agencies get held back by clunky websites and disconnected systems - so she built Shazamme. Beyond the platform itself, she's built an ecosystem spanning integrations, marketing automation and performance analytics, connecting the tools recruitment firms rely on into one working system. She now speaks regularly on AI, search and the future of recruitment technology, helping agencies modernise before outdated systems start costing them visibility and trust.

Talk Title - Adapt or Vanish - The New Rules of Recruitment Marketing in the AI Era

Why AI search is rewriting the rules of recruitment marketing - and what happens to agencies that don't keep up

How ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Copilot are reshaping the way candidates and clients discover recruitment agencies

SEO, AEO and GEO explained - and why treating them as the same thing is holding you back

Practical steps to get your website read, understood and recommended by LLMs, including the sector pages, location pages, structured FAQs and LLM Info Pages most agencies still don't have

How long-tail, conversational prompts are replacing traditional search behaviour among candidates and clients

The trust signals AI models look for: reviews, fresh content, credible proof - and how to build them in

The website mistakes quietly undermining your visibility, and how to fix them

A practical framework for future-proofing your recruitment marketing

Dan Jones, Founder, Kaizen SEO

10+ years in SEO for recruiters, several before that as a recruiter. The only UK recruitment SEO specialist who's actually placed candidates on a recruitment desk. Built KaizenIQ, a recruitment-specific AI search platform, because the generic tools don't understand the sector

Talk title: Why Your Best Clients Will Never Find You Again

A direct look at how search has changed in 2026, what's coming in 2027, and what every agency in the room can do about it - without a big budget or a technical team.

Format: 30-minute talk. Practical, data-led. Written for founders of agencies with 1–20 heads.

What I'll cover:

How search has shifted in 2026 - Google AI Overviews now appear on 48% of queries, ChatGPT and Perplexity are entering recruitment workflows, and most agencies haven't noticed what that means for

Description supplied by the event organiser.