A guest blog from AllSorter as part of our From Surviving to Thriving: Practical Ways to Boost Margins Right Now series.
The UK recruitment market is under pressure – from all sides.
Agencies are battling increased costs, longer sales cycles, and higher salary expectations, all while clients demand faster candidate turnaround and flawless submissions. For many firms, profit margins are thinning to the point of real concern.
But not for all.
At Allsorter, we work with some of the world’s largest recruitment brands; and many ambitious mid-sized firms across the UK – and the difference between those surviving and those thriving comes down to one principle:
Work smarter, not harder.
At Allsorter, we have seen first hand how small process improvements can have a huge impact on an agency’s profitability and team performance. Here are three ways the most resilient UK recruitment businesses are protecting their margins right now – and the tech that’s powering them.
1️⃣ Stop Wasting Billable Hours on CV Admin . You wouldn’t pay a top biller to wrestle with Word formatting for 30 minutes per CV – but many agencies still do. Whether done in house or offshore, manual resume reformatting is a silent margin killer.
With Allsorter, recruiters eliminate that drain on revenue. Experis Netherlands slashed formatting time from 30 minutes to under 5 minues per CV, unlocking over 80% in time savings! “The time savings have been incredible. Each resume formatting task now takes an average of just 5 minutes, compared to the minimum of 30 minutes it used to take. It’s almost unbelievable to think that just a year ago we were still manually copying and pasting resumes into the Experis format. Such inefficiencies are no longer acceptable for any forward-thinking company.”
– Wesley Baatje, Performance Lead, Experis Netherlands
By removing these repetitive tasks, Experis gave its recruiters more time to focus on high-value activities—building stronger client relationships and delivering faster turnaround times, both of which drive better margins. In short, every hour spent formatting is an hour lost to revenue generating work. The most competitive UK firms are reclaiming that time and putting it where it matters.
2️⃣ Streamline Processes for a More Efficient Team
As agencies grow, messy processes become margin killers. CV quality becomes inconsistent. Submission times vary by consultant. Admin workarounds become bottlenecks. The result? A bloated cost base, frustrated teams, and slower placements.
That’s why firms like Alchemy GTS have moved to automation-first workflows using Allsorter. Within weeks, their team was formatting more CVs, faster, with less training, and greater brand consistency .
“We’ve had a great experience working with Allsorter – the process was incredibly smooth from start to finish. The platform is user-friendly, and our team has been really impressed with its functionality and ease of use.”
– Harriet Verney, Systems & Project Executive, Alchemy GTS
With a seamless onboarding experience and a platform that fits naturally into their day-to-day, Alchemy’s team was able to quickly reduce admin friction and stay focused on growing their business.
With ISO-certified security, integration into Bullhorn and JobAdder , and one-click formatting, Allsorter becomes not just a tech vendor – but a process enabler.
3️⃣ Focus on High-Value Work to Protect Margins
Margins improve when consultants spend time on placements, not paperwork. But they also improve when firms focus on the right clients and high-fee roles.
Allsorter’s platform enables this by giving recruiters complete control over how CVs are presented—from anonymised versions to tailored role-specific profiles. This not only saves time, but boosts interview conversion rates—because clients see exactly what they need, faster.
With built-in analytics, recruitment leaders can also see where time is being spent and redirect resources toward the sectors, clients, and deals that deliver.
Why This Matters Now?!
With recruiter churn rising and agency costs under scrutiny, there’s never been a more urgent time to optimise operations. The best firms aren’t hiring more—they’re doing more with less. They’re turning every recruiter into a brand ambassador. Every CV into a client-ready asset. Every saved minute into a potential placement.
That’s what Allsorter enables.
Trusted by firms like Randstad, Addison Group and Michael Page, Allsorter delivers:
- Up to 85% time savings
- Over $2 million in annual cost reduction
- A proven 6X ROI through automation, faster submissions, and reduced admin overhead
Final Word: A Smarter Path to Profit
Margins in recruitment won’t fix themselves. But they can be protected—and even improved—when you rethink how work gets done.
The smartest UK agencies aren’t just cutting costs. They’re elevating output. Streamlining teams. And empowering their recruiters with tech that works for them, not against them.
If that sounds like the kind of future your firm wants, now’s the time to explore what Allsorter can do.
👉 Learn more at www.allsorter.com
