Danny Steel of Recruso on Resilience, Recruitment Tech & Surviving a Tough Market

In this deeply honest and wide-ranging episode of RecTalk, Nitin Sharma sits down with Danny Steel, Founder & MD of Recruso, to talk about resilience, leadership, recruitment technology, and what it really takes to survive (and prepare to thrive) in one of the toughest recruitment markets in recent memory.Danny opens up about why he’s been quieter over the last year, sharing the personal impact of a devastating house fire and how it forced him to reprioritise family, mindset, and business. From there, the conversation moves into the realities of running a recruitment software business through a stagnant market, retaining customers when growth slows, and why keeping the lights on became the priority for many agencies in 2025.You’ll also hear a deep dive into Recruso’s roadmap for 2026, including:Why Recruso focuses on fast-moving temp agencies in logistics, healthcare, education and other essential sectorsThe launch of a full open APIEnd-to-end Time & Attendance (T&A) from clock-in to pay & billRecruso Payroll and why owning payroll is becoming critical with upcoming umbrella and PAYE changesThe thinking behind launching a separate, purpose-built perm product (and why shoe-horning perm into temp CRMs doesn’t work)Danny and Nitin also tackle some of the biggest themes facing recruiters right now:Automation vs AI (and why most agencies should fix automation first)Margin pressure, compliance, and the reality of April payroll and umbrella reformsWhy many agencies are underestimating their riskSubscription, retained and non-traditional recruitment revenue modelsEducating clients instead of chasing vacanciesWhy smaller clients often outperform “big name” logosWhat the best-performing agencies are doing differently in a flat marketThe episode wraps with practical advice for recruitment business owners, founders and tech leaders navigating uncertainty, plus a reminder that sometimes survival, stability and learning are wins in themselves.Who this episode is forRecruitment agency owners navigating tough or stagnant marketsTemp and high-volume recruiters facing margin and compliance pressureRecruitment tech founders and SaaS leadersAgencies worried about umbrella, PAYE and payroll changesRecruiters exploring subscription or non-traditional revenue modelsAnyone balancing leadership, life challenges, and business resilience🔗 Connect with the guestDanny Steel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannysteel/Check out Recruso: https://www.rectools.io/product/recruso-2/🔗 Connect with the hostNitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/New episodes of RecTalk, including Founder Diaries and Talking Talent, drop on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.Look out for new episodes of The Mixed Grill — the official podcast of the Recruitment Curry Club — dropping on Thursday.https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-recruitment-curry-club/Listen on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/🔗 Get in touch with these recommended suppliersRobert Woodford — The Marketing Junction: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marketing4recs/Barry Cullen — recLAW: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrycullen/Andrew Philipson — JOBBA: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewphilipson/ Ross Thompson — Infinity Staff Global: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rossnthompson/Dougie Loan — SourceWhale: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougieloan/Andrew Constantinou — Nodex: https://www.linkedin.com/in/apconstantinou/#RecTalk #RecruitmentTechnology #RecruitmentLeadership #TempRecruitment #RecruitmentSoftware #SaaS #RecruitmentBusiness #Payroll #UmbrellaCompanies #RecruitmentStrategy #FounderStories #Resilience #Rectools