Jobs market not as bad as 2008, says boss of top recruitment firm Robert Walters

Toby Fowlston knows better than most how tough it can be to fill the shoes of a firm’s eponymous founder, writes Leah Montebello.

But you combine this with a tricky jobs market and soaring interest rates, it can be even more of a challenge.

Fowlston took the reins at FTSE 250 recruitment firm Robert Walters in April after Walters himself stepped down.

Taking over, he inherited a backdrop of candidate shortages and employer anxiety.

But after spending more than 24 years at the company, Fowlston, 49, exudes a seen-it-all attitude when we meet at his Soho office.

Talent shortage: Toby Fowlston (pictured) took the reins at FTSE 250 recruitment firm Robert Walters in April after Walters himself stepped dow

‘I think back to 2008. That was absolutely brutal. It was working until midnight for months and months to try and find work for our candidates. This is not that – far from it.’

Established in 1985 by Robert Walters, the company grew rapidly despite a blip in the 1991 recession where the founder said he ‘nearly lost everything’. It listed in London in 1996.

But since taking the top job, Fowlston has issued a profit warning and seen quarterly fees drop 10 per cent year-on-year as firms delay hiring and talent remains in short supply.

This is problematic for a business that depends on City firms paying a fee for Robert Walters to find them the best white-collar talent across law, tech and accounting. 

But Robert Walters’s pain comes as the world of recruitment endures ongoing turbulence from the fallout of the pandemic and changing working patterns.

Around 9m people in the UK moved jobs during Covid, hoping to reset their lives in immense turmoil, leading some to dub it as the great resignation.

The trend has now swung back as we settle into a post-pandemic landscape, where many are reluctant to jump, waiting for more economic stability before making major career moves. But unlike previous downturns, recruiters are facing a new battle – flexible working.

A recent survey from social media platform Linkedin found more than a third of UK workers would quit if told to return to office full-time.

And Fowlston believes there is some ‘reticence’ from firms to force people into the office, largely because of the fierce war on talent.

He quickly adds that employers must balance this desire with ensuring young people get the training they need.

‘I feel very strongly that there is a responsibility on us for the next generation coming through,’ he said, especially in the relationship-heavy business of recruitment.

Recent research found office workers in central London are spending on average 2.3 days a week in the workplace.

Fowlston originally trained as a lawyer but later abandoned it because he was ‘not very good at it’.

He upped sticks from Somerset and headed to London.

He climbed the ranks at Robert Walters and relocated with his wife and three children to Singapore in 2013 to grow the global business before coming back to the UK.

Asked if he feels like there is more pressure on him because Robert Walters is named after its founder, he said: ‘I try not to think too much about it,’ before adding: ‘But I couldn’t have a better ally.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk