Why Recruitment Agencies Are Broken – And How JOBBA Is Fixing It (with Andrew Philipson)

In this episode of RecTalk, Nitin Sharma sits down with Andrew Philipson, Founder of JOBBA, to unpack one of the biggest problems in recruitment today: why businesses hate agencies, why great recruiters are getting punished, and what a fairer model actually looks like.Andrew shares the real story behind building JOBBA — a platform designed to connect businesses directly with independent recruiters, cutting out bloated agency margins while increasing transparency, trust, and outcomes for everyone involved.They dive deep into:Why the UK recruitment market is flooded with “cowboy recruiters” and how that’s damaged trustHow JOBBA removes agencies entirely and empowers solo recruiters to earn more for their workWhy businesses can reduce fees by up to 80% without sacrificing qualityThe difference between business development skills and true recruitment deliveryHow JOBBA’s open market model gives hiring managers access to dozens of specialist recruiters instantlyThe power of candidate verification to stop CV spamming and misrepresentationWhy candidates are becoming the real scarce commodity againHow JOBBA can act as a lifeline for out-of-work TA professionals, in-between gigs, on maternity leave, or going soloWhat JOBBA Teams are, and how companies can build their own on-demand recruitment squadsLessons learned from 18 months of MVP testing, fundraising struggles, and building a product recruiters actually wantAndrew also opens up about his personal “why” — frustration with seeing brilliant recruiters tarred by the same brush as bad actors — and his mission to create an ecosystem where good recruiters can finally thrive.This episode is a must-listen if you’re questioning traditional agency models or thinking about what recruitment should look like in 2026 and beyond.🔗 Connect with the guestAndrew Philipson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewphilipson/Check out JOBBA: https://www.rectools.io/product/jobba/🔗 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 every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.Look out for new episodes of The Mixed Grill — the official podcast of the Recruitment Curry Club — dropping on Thursdays.https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-recruitment-curry-club/Listen on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/#RecTalk #RecruitmentPodcast #IndependentRecruiters #TalentAcquisition #HiringTech #RecruitmentInnovation #FutureOfWork #JOBBA #RecruitmentMarketplace #Rectools