Established in London in 1976, Michael Page has grown to become one of the world’s best-known and most respected recruitment consultancies. Customer led, people powered and insight driven, we put people into jobs and build careers.
Today, Michael Page continues to grow and evolve in order to deliver specialised sector experience, market knowledge and a consultative approach to recruitment, making up one of the core brands of FTSE 250 company PageGroup, alongside Page Executive and Page Outsourcing.
What’s stuck with us since 1976 is the Michael Page commitment to the professional success of our clients, candidates and employees; the company values of earn trust, grow connections and make a difference, are as evident now as they’ve ever been. Throughout the Group, we now employ 7,500 people in 36 countries, providing recruitment services and career opportunities at a local, regional, and global level – covering 25 disciplines from actuarial to technology.
As managing director of Michael Page south, I’m responsible for leading our South Regional business for Michael Page, including our head office disciplines. Entering my 21st year at the company, having started as a consultant in 2004, I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead an excellent team focused on changing lives.
What hiring trends are you seeing in the market currently?
Creative talent solutions are coming to the fore as business leaders and hiring managers navigate tighter budgets in 2025 – and we can expect this to underscore many of the trends we see this year. Whether it’s the creation of cross-functional roles to offer streamlined talent solutions across multiple teams, or opting for seasonal hires for projects over permanent contracts, businesses are not necessarily hiring in the linear way they once were.
Unsurprisingly, hybrid working continues to rate as a hot topic for candidates and clients alike. Candidate priorities have shifted in recent years and work/life balance and flexibility is a key factor when considering a new role. In some industries we’re even seeing candidates prioritise these benefits above salary. As business leaders work to strike the right balance, we can expect to see hybrid working remain one of the key trends in 2025.
What advice do you have for business leaders looking to hire in 2025?
The market is competitive right now and hiring managers are, without a doubt, feeling the pressure to find the perfect candidate for their team – in fact, our latest Talent Trends insights show that 60% of businesses struggled to hire in the last 12 months.
To help with this, I would encourage employers to focus on honing a competitive employer value proposition that goes beyond just salary. What this looks like will vary business to business – for some, it’s flexible working arrangements; for others it’s healthcare and discount initiatives. Taking the time to consider what you can offer employees beyond their payslips will help you stand out in a market where candidates are increasingly prioritising these added benefits. Not only will this secure the right talent for your team, it will help you keep up in a competitive market if increasing salaries is not an option for your business right now.
Beyond this, I would also encourage hiring managers to set clear expectations from the outset of the recruitment process. Don’t be afraid to clearly outline the requirements of the role – ranging all the way from workload to time in office. Setting expectations will reduce the chance of disconnect during the recruitment process, and ensure the right person is hired for the position. Be transparent with candidates, just as you’d expect them to be with you.
How is Michael Page leveraging new technology in recruitment?
As a business, we’re insight driven and data led; we have a dedicated team actively seeking out new technology to make sure we’re at the forefront of technology, and we’re well down the path of established AI usage. It’s embedded across our business, allowing us to work faster and more efficiently – but we don’t just use it for the sake of it.
Partnering with industry leading technology experts to make sure our cutting-edge tech and AI systems are safe and secure, we use AI to create more time for our consultants to do what they do best – providing a personalised service and building high value relationships with clients and candidates.
That said, we always keep the human at the heart of everything we do: we work with AI by our side; we don’t use it at the cost of our values.
Can you tell us about some of the corporate social responsibility initiatives Michael Page has taken part in?
At Michael Page we’ve set ourselves the goal of driving social impact by changing one million lives by 2030. To ensure we don’t lose sight of this goal, each UK employee has been tasked with changing one life through social impact in 2025.
But what does this look like? In the UK, we work with various partners like Generation UK and YourGamePlan – where employees can volunteer to run virtual mock interviews with unemployed people and school students with the focus on improving their technique and building their confidence.
Through our charity partner LTSB, we’ve also had the pleasure of hosting young people from diverse backgrounds, offering them the opportunity to shadow our CEO and executive board members.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
In my early career, I was subscribed to the notion that to be successful, you need to get everything perfectly right. If I had the chance to give my younger self some advice, it would be this: don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Get out there and try new things; being the best is great, but the biggest learnings come from when things don’t go the way you wanted, or were expecting. Real success is learning from your mistakes, and putting those learnings into practice throughout your career.
I’d also say: stay true to yourself, embrace authenticity and work hard. Those that do well are the ones that work hard – but don’t feel like you need to change your value system to be successful in a corporate environment.
