What does it take to transform a 500-person staffing company and restore profitability while maintaining high engagement and renewed purpose? In this episode of The Resilient Recruiter, you’ll hear how one leader rebuilt culture and strengthened organizational performance through people-first leadership, without sacrificing values or authenticity.
After joining the company as a trainee in 2001, Matthew Wragg eventually became CEO in 2022. In this conversation, he shares the inside story of the business transformation at Gattaca PLC: removing executive offices, tying leadership bonuses to employee engagement, and launching a new cultural framework that turns values into specific, observable behaviors. We also dive into his personal lessons from two decades in recruitment, including the wins and mistakes that shaped his approach to growth, leadership, and resilience.
Episode Outline and Highlights
- [05:46] How Matthew got into recruiting and why he still stayed with the same company he started with, where he is now the CEO.
- [14:23] From Trainee to CEO: lessons in personal branding.
- [22:00] How a win can be derived from lost opportunities by accountability and learning from mistakes.
- [30:55] How focusing on values and culture increased employee engagement for Gattaca.
- [46:01] Eliminating glass offices within the office block and tying leaders’ compensation to staff engagement.
- [49:48] Matthew shared their “Changing Up the Game” strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- [52:18] Aligning on what their “Values” really meant.
- [59:29] Discussion on strategies around AI.
Losing a £30M Deal and Using It to Learn and Win Future Deals
One of the most powerful stories in this episode is how Matthew turned a major sales failure into a long-term strategic win. Early in his leadership journey, he lost a £30 million bid that Gattaca was perfectly positioned to win. They had the right experience, competitive pricing, and capability, but still lost to a competitor that didn’t even specialize in the sector.
Why? As Matthew candidly admits, they didn’t take the time to truly understand the client. They assumed their credentials were enough and didn’t build the relationship. But instead of blaming the market or hiding from the failure, Matthew took ownership and called the client directly. Over the next 12 months, he invested in rebuilding trust, asking for small opportunities to prove value, and showing up consistently.
A year later, when the original provider fell short, Gattaca won the business back at a 70% higher price than their initial bid. More importantly, this failure triggered a shift in the company’s sales culture: fewer assumptions, more discovery. Less volume, more strategic focus.
How Culture and Values Fueled Gattaca’s Turnaround
When Matthew took over as CEO of Gattaca, the business faced challenges: as a 500 million revenue company not making profit, the organization had become “a bit too corporate” and was losing its people focus. Rather than chasing quick wins or cost-cutting, Matthew focused on rebuilding from the inside out, drawing on the strong foundation built by his predecessors who had completed necessary restructuring and system improvements.
His first move? Making employee engagement a priority. He eliminated executive glass door offices, which dramatically increased leadership visibility. They introduced weekly internal video updates to improve communication. Perhaps most importantly, he tied 10% of leadership compensation directly to employee engagement scores.
Every month, Matthew even personally reads and responds to hundreds of anonymous staff comments, starting with the negatives.
These moves helped shift sentiment from 58% detractors to 58% promoters over two years. The takeaway? If you want to drive performance, start with your people. Don’t just talk about culture, measure it, fund it, and model it from the top. Staff engagement isn’t a soft metric. It’s your leading indicator for client satisfaction, candidate success, and long-term profit.
How Gattaca’s “DNA Deck” Drives Culture with Performance
Most recruitment firms talk about culture and values but struggle to make them tangible. At Gattaca, Matthew led the creation of a “DNA deck” that does exactly that. Instead of abstract values on a wall, the DNA deck breaks culture down into specific principles and behaviors that can be observed, coached, and measured.
For example, one core principle is: “Be brave enough to tell the truth, but kind enough to say it the right way.” This idea isn’t left to interpretation; it’s paired with real examples of what “good” and “bad” look like in action. That clarity allows teams to hold each other accountable, develop more self-awareness, and foster a culture of direct but respectful feedback.
The DNA deck isn’t just a feel-good initiative. It’s fully embedded into Gattaca’s performance management process. Every quarter, all employees, including Matthew, are reviewed not just on sales and activity, but also on behavior. It’s impossible to top-score if your values don’t show up in how you lead, communicate, and collaborate.
What similar approach have you taken in your organization to drive culture and performance?
