Mistakes show you are trying. They are hard evidence that you’ve attempted to make something happen. And in the ideal world of this column, you will go on to learn, adapt and amend as you move forward, gaining the skills and insight you need to not do it again (and again).

Central to this, however, is creating an accountability framework both as an individual and for your business.

In my experience, great recruiters work a lot from instinct and intuition. They are driven by emotion and the thrill of the hunt – they take risks and have high expectations of success.

But all too often, great recruiters think they can also be great business people and leave the existing business environment in which they were held to account. They take the leap of faith because they are high billers, and can take this out into the wild and go it alone.

The truth is this is much, much harder than it looks. (And I wear some scars to prove it!)

The truth also is that very often the kinds of people that thrive in established businesses with accountability-driven cultures will struggle to create boundaries and infrastructure that a business needs to not just make money but grow and prosper long term.

According to data from Companies House, more than 6,000 recruitment businesses were registered last year, which is a 3% increase on the previous year. More than half of these were registered in London and the South-East, with growth also in the Midlands, Wales and North-West.

This is building on the tens of thousands of recruitment businesses already registered. And the reason it’s important to comment on this now, is that as we enter another bumpy period in business it will be tempting for many recruiters to want to jump ship and follow suit.

However, I would urge caution to these lofty ‘founder’ or entrepreneurial ideals in the current market.

While some will undoubtedly succeed in a fluctuating economy, there is a great need for stability in the current environment, and experience has shown me there is strength in numbers when the going gets tough.

My advice to those who may feel that there are opportunities out there they could capitalise on themselves is to consider what can be achieved within the frameworks they already operate within.

What does this have to do with accountability? Well, I believe that the recruitment industry right now must be held to account for the work it is undertaking.

I believe that the recruitment industry must be held to account for the work it is undertaking”

We are living through a unique period in history – one in which we are finding our way day by day, and business leaders in recruitment need to hold firm to set a course that will lead us through these trying times.

There may be multiple prospects to make money now, but we must be accountable to the outcomes to help create sustainable futures – not least that the future of professional recruitment relies on a prosperous economy to thrive.

We have opportunity to grow as an industry: to challenge the status quo on how things are done – to challenge ourselves on what the future of work really looks like.

Undoubtedly, we will make mistakes – but leaders in businesses who operate with grown up, transparent and accountable behaviours will stem the brain drain to new enterprise and create a more robust foundation on which to build for future success.

Mike Beesley is co-founder of TIMESTWO Consulting. He is also a serial entrepreneur and investor

Image credit | Freia Turland