Why People-First Recruitment Still Wins: Lessons from Both Sides of the Table

What’s trending in recruitment right now? Data, automation, and speed. With that being said, it’s easy to forget that at the heart of every hire is a human being. Having spent time on both sides of the hiring table, as a recruiter and as Head of People in a high-growth tech

company I’ve seen firsthand that the most successful placements don’t come from processes alone. Although process is important, they come from relationships, trust, and

taking a people-first approach.

What does ‘people first’ actually mean?

People-first recruitment isn’t just about being nice. It’s about really listening to a candidate’s

ambitions, to a hiring manager’s pain points, and to the nuance that sits between a job

description and a real person doing the job. It’s about playing the long game, even in a

short-term market.

At JEK, we’ve built a culture where people come before numbers and that’s why I joined.

That doesn’t mean we don’t care about results quite the opposite. We know that placing

the right person, not just any person, leads to better retention, higher performance, and

stronger teams. Its why clients come back to us, and why candidates more often than not,

become clients later down the line.

Lessons from the other side

When I moved into an in-house HR role after years in agency recruitment, it gave me a new

perspective. Suddenly, I was on the receiving end of pitches, CVs, and interviews and I

saw clearly how rare it was to work with recruiters who really got it.

The best ones weren’t just transactional. They wanted to understand the culture, the

business model, the personalities in the room and they took the time to align every hire

to that reality. That’s the standard we hold ourselves to at JEK.

Joining JEK was exciting to me! Elly, Kevin and Joris built something rare: a firm where trust,

quality, and integrity are non-negotiable. We’re not in the business of churn or volume. We

focus on long-term partnerships.

Our combined experience across permanent and interim recruitment, across finance and

HR, across local and international markets, gives us a broad but focused edge. But more

than that, it’s our shared belief in people-first recruitment that defines how we operate

every day.

What to look for in a modern recruitment partner

If you’re hiring or considering your next move, here are a few questions to ask when

choosing a recruitment partner:

• Do they take time to understand your business or your goals beyond a job title?

• Do they challenge your thinking when needed, not just say “yes”?

• Do they care about the long-term success of the placement not just filling a role

quickly?

• Do they make the process feel easier, clearer, more human?

If the answer isn’t yes to all of those, it might be time to raise the bar.

As I start this new chapter with JEK, I’m excited to bring a fresh perspective, reconnect with

incredible people, and build new partnerships rooted in trust and shared ambition.

If you’re hiring or just want to understand how a people-first approach could benefit your

team or your career, let’s talk.