If you’re struggling to hire high-performing recruiters across multiple cities or regions, the issue might not be your comp plan—it’s your value proposition. In this episode, I sit down with Lisa Walder of FIFTEEN WEST to unpack a strategy that more recruitment agency owners need to use: customizing your EVP (Employee Value Proposition) based on location.
Lisa shares hard-won insights from helping dozens of UK recruitment firms expand into the U.S. market. She reveals what actually moves the needle when it comes to attracting top talent, from wellness perks in New York to parking subsidies in Houston.
This episode is a must-listen if you want to build a high-performing team across multiple geographies.
Episode Outline and Highlights
- [03:25] Lisa shares how they founded FIFTEEN WEST.
- [09:45] Discussion on strategies for US Market entry.
- [18:59] Compensation differences and challenges between the UK & US recruitment markets.
- [29:59] An Attractive employee value proposition to attract the best talent.
- [32:57] Discussion on tech stack and offshoring certain delivery functions as an option for recruitment companies.
- [37:55] How 11 Investments recently acquired FIFTEEN WEST.
- [46:27] Aha moments: Key learnings from working with a bigger business that has been further in the journey.
Strategies When Expanding to the US Market
As a rec-to-rec firm, FIFTEEN WEST initially focused on helping UK-headquartered businesses to expand to America. They have eventually moved to the US as a strategic effort to become an embedded recruitment partner across their clients’ global operations. Doing so is not easy, so I wanted to pick the strategies that Lisa and her team applied when transitioning to the US market. If you are also planning to establishing an office physically within the US, below are the things that Lisa learned that you may want to keep in mind:
- Leadership Deployment: One proven method was sending a founder or long-tenured employee to launch the U.S. office, ensuring the company’s DNA and values were transplanted effectively. This model was described as the most successful—helping set culture, hire locally, and scale faster.
- Tailored Unique Value Proposition: One main differences that Lisa pointed out is the commission and base salary structure. To get the best recruiters and talents, they adapted their commission structures and incentives for the U.S. market, realizing early on that what worked in the UK didn’t translate directly.
- Market Culture Adaptation: Lisa recognized that the U.S. market is more pragmatic and transactional—clients care less about past success and more about current candidates delivery.
Overall, Lisa emphasized cultural embedding, leadership presence, and operational agility to navigate the distinct dynamics of the American recruitment market.
Understanding Your Candidates’ Needs to Attract the Best Talents
Another topic that resonated with me is how to attract the best talents, aside from the leveraging on the money side of things. Lisa would have a clear perspective on this topic coming from a rec to rec background.
Lisa emphasizes that location-specific customization is critical—what appeals to candidates in New York may not be the same as in Austin or Houston. Understanding the local culture and practical needs of candidates is just as important as offering flashy perks. She mentioned the following considerations when creating a unique value offer to potential candidates:
- Wellness & Lifestyle Perks
- Global Mobility Opportunities
- Work Environment & Culture
- Practical Benefits (Location-Specific): such as commuter benefits and travel allowances (especially in cities like New York) and parking subsidies (important in cities like Houston and Austin)
- Traditional Benefits such 401(k) pension plans and other standard employment benefits still matter but are enhanced by the lifestyle offerings
Learnings from Being Acquired
Lisa shared how they were recent acquired by Eleven Investments. The acquisition allowed them to leverage Eleven Investments’ resources and expertise to further enhance their growth and operational capabilities in the recruitment sector. If she is to share the learnings and aha moments from this event, below would be the summary:
1. Profitability Over Pure Growth
A shift in mindset: Lisa admitted that for the first five years, the focus was almost entirely on revenue — just “build, build, build.” The acquisition prompted a deeper look at profitability per consultant, not just topline numbers.
2. Understanding Value Drivers
Lisa highlighted that the partnership brought clarity around what really drives value in the business.
This includes:
- Recurring revenue streams
- Sustainable scaling models
- Preparing for future exit strategies
3. Bigger Vision Through Collaboration
Joining 11 Investments opened up new pathways:
- Exposure to exit options (e.g. private equity, trade sales)
- Access to a wider network of investors and business leaders
- Learning from leaders who’ve “been there, done that”
4. Acceleration Through Scale
Moving from a 10-person business to stepping into an 80-person sales floor gave Lisa and her team a view into what it takes to operate and scale a much larger, high-performing organization.
