In this episode of Growth Bites, Jo welcomes back Kamal Ladwa, Founder and Managing Director of Syun Consulting, to talk about how AI agents are changing the way recruitment businesses use their CRM, data and technology.

Kamal explains why the real barrier to AI adoption usually isn’t the technology itself, but readiness: messy data, unclear processes and a lack of focus on where AI can genuinely create value.

Together, Jo and Kamal explore how recruitment businesses can move beyond using the CRM as a passive database and start using AI to surface buying signals, prioritise opportunities and prompt consultants to take action at the right time.

They also discuss the difference between AI copilots and genuinely agentic systems, why natural-language search could replace traditional CRM searching, and how AI could change what a recruiter’s day-to-day interface looks like over the next few years.

If you’re thinking about AI, automation, CRM optimisation or how to get more commercial value from the data you already have, this episode is packed with practical advice on where to start and what not to do.

In this episode of Growth Bites, Jo sits down with Shaun Ritchie, Founder of Third Wave and Marmalade’s Martech partner, to talk about one of the biggest missed opportunities in recruitment: the value already sitting inside your CRM.

Too many agencies assume they have a tech problem when in reality they have a data and workflow problem. Shaun explains why the issue isn’t the CRM itself, but how the data is structured, maintained and used across the business. From client data tagging and candidate segmentation to job matching, nurturing and automation, this episode explores what it takes to turn a CRM from a passive database into a genuine commercial asset. Jo and Shaun also dig into why automation and AI only work when the foundations are right, and why messy data will always lead to poor outputs.

They cover the common mistakes recruitment businesses make, why buying another tool is rarely the answer, and where to start if you want to get more value from the systems you already have.

If your CRM is full of records but not doing much else, this episode will help you understand how better structure, cleaner data and stronger processes can lead to better marketing, smarter outreach and stronger pipeline performance.

In this episode of Growth Bites, Jo talks to Amanda Capon, Chief People Officer at idverde UK with decades of experience shaping workplace culture and strategy.

Together, they unpack the real implications of AI and automation on work, beyond the buzzwords we’re seeing online every day. Amanda shares how she’s already using AI day-to-day, what the shift means for HR and people leaders and why it’s more about augmentation than elimination.

They explore the growing need for ethical guardrails, practical strategies for closing the human and technical skils gap and why reverse mentoring, career mosaics and flexible contracts could be the key to a stronger, more human workplace.

If you’re grappling with productivity, retention, tech adoption or the future shape of your team, this one’s essential!