Recfest: A Festival of opportunity

Jamie Leonard and his wife Lois Holland Leonard founded Recruitment Events determined to do better in an industry Jamie describes as ‘notorious for very bad events’.   They went out to market with a series of small buyer/seller speed meeting shows in 2011 creating the brand and launched RecFest three years later – a festival-style event in a conference room, AstroTurf on the floor, attended by some 100 people.   In this episode, Jamie takes host James Dickson through the subsequent evolution of RecFest – how the founders and their small team turned the idea into an event that saw 4,000 recruiters at this year’s edition.   Held at Knebworth House, RecFest 2022 was the iconic location’s follow-up show to Liam Gallagher.   Jamie Leonard explains how, with its 10 stages of themed content and more than 100 speakers, RecFest combines the key elements of a conference with a trade show – buyers and sellers going there to connect, to seek clients and find out about new tech – wrapped up in a festival feel.   And, crucially, how the escapism, the no judgement of festivals, creates stronger relationships at the largest event in the world for talent acquisition.