Navigating Change & Winning in 2026: Live Panel Insights from TEAM Regional South Midlands

Nitin Sharma hosts a live panel at the TEAM Network South Midlands Regional Meet Up, bringing together recruitment leaders to discuss lessons from 2025 and strategies for thriving in 2026. Michelle Theuma, Luke Pitkin, Stewart Roberts and Bethany Foley share unfiltered insights into market conditions, including why agency performance depends on more than January optimism, and how high-performing firms differentiated themselves.

The panel explores practical tactics reshaping recruitment: offshore resourcing as a growth lever, the realistic role of AI rather than hype, and the resurgence of direct BD methods like door knocking and video outreach. They discuss how networking and genuine human connection remain the strongest differentiators, and why selling on process and transparency—not price—wins client trust and builds scalable revenue through retainers and subscriptions.

Throughout the conversation, the panellists address how clients are buying differently, the importance of avoiding low-value clients, compliance risks in the umbrella market, and why recruitment expertise will not be replaced by technology. This episode offers practical, experience-based advice for agency owners, recruiters and leaders planning their 2026 strategy.