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Recruiters 'losing BD muscle', now not the time to ease up

Despite the strong demand for recruitment services, now is not the time to take the foot off the gas regarding business development, with three leaders warning the industry risks losing some BD "muscle".

"We always talk about the best business development [being] filling your jobs really well because your reputation is everything," says Beaumont People managing director Nina Mapson Bone.

But as the market continues to tighten, and the time it takes to fill roles increases, she says a key focus now is on ensuring her people are consulting with clients to explain why.

"We're using facts and stats and data and a lot of the information that's out there to show them that it's the market, and what we're doing over and above that, and what we can do that they can't potentially do themselves...