News (6 August 2026)
Hourigan exits Walters after 23 years, Randstad remain at #1, AI derails ATO recruitment, H1 results for Robert Walters, RCSA NZ award winenrs and tattoo-for-interview furore erupts in US
Hourigan exits Walters after 23 years
Past RCSA President, Sinead Hourigan, has announced her exit from Robert Walters in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday.
Originally from Ireland, Hourigan moved to Australia in mid-2001 and joined Robert Walters in Brisbane in mid-2003 to establish a dedicated government division, and was appointed as a director in November 2004. Hourigan moved into a head office role, working remotely, as the company’s first global head of customer experience in early 2022, progressing to global head of customer experience, commercial and advisory in 2024, and then global head of talent advisory in June 2025.
In 2014, Hourigan was elected to the RCSA board and in late 2017, she was elected the first woman President of RCSA (Aus & NZ) and served a two-year term. Hourigan served on the board for just over six years, the Qld/NT council for 8 years was inducted as a life fellow (member) at the industry awards night in Melbourne two months ago.
Hourigan is also a former CEDA (Committee for Economic Development in Australia) Trustee in Queensland, and QLD Council member of the Australian British Chamber of Commerce.
Hourigan commented in her Linked post, “I leave with enormous respect for Robert Walters, pride in what we built together, and a lifetime of memories of the good work we did and the great fun we had along the way.
As to her future, Hourigan simply said, “ For now, I am taking a little time to pause, reflect and recharge. For those of you who know me, you will appreciate that pausing is not something I do particularly well so I will be back in a few weeks with some updates on what comes next.”
Global staffing market grows for the first time in three years
The global staffing market itself grew for the first time since 2022, with revenue rising 2% to USD $639 billion, largely driven by growth in the Asia Pacific region, according to a new report from Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA).
The world’s 100 largest staffing firms generated $265 billion in revenue in 2025, accounting for roughly 40% of the global staffing market with Randstad holding onto the top spot for the eighth consecutive year
Aggregate revenue from these 100 firms stayed flat in 2025, after a 4% decline in 2024.
Geographically, the United States hosts the most headquarters among the largest firms (41), followed by the UK (14) and Japan (13). More broadly, SIA projects a further 3% increase this year.
By revenue, the ten largest firms are (all figures are in USD):
1. Randstad $23.0B (3.6% market share)
2. The Adecco Group $22.4B (3.5%)
3. ManpowerGroup $19.2B (3.0%)
4. Allegis Group $11.5B (1.8%)
5. Recruit Holdings $10.9B (1.7%)
6. Hays $8.9B (1.4%)
7. PERSOL Holdings $7.7B (1.2%)
8. Aya Healthcare $6.4B (1.0%)
9. Brexa Next $5.8B (0.9%)
10. Proman $5.1B (0.8%)
The global staffing market remains highly disaggregated as the market share of the top twenty firms is only 19 per cent.
RCSA (NZ) 2026 award winners
The winners of the RCSA 2026 Recruitment Industry Awards (New Zealand), announced at the Auckland Hilton Hotel on Thursday 23 August, were:
Business Innovation - Hunter Campbell
Candidate Care - Dynamix Recruitment
Client Service -Dynamix Recruitment
Safety and Wellbeing Culture - Advanced Personnel Services
Boutique Agency - Good Together
Medium Agency - Dynamix Recruitment
Large Agency - Stellar Recruitment
Rising Star - Paul Miller -Stellar Recruitment
Recruitment Professional - Fleur Clough (Sprout People)
Recruitment Leader - Kymberly Tupai (Stellar Recruitment)
CEO Outstanding Contribution - Sue Harrison (Tradestaff)
People’s Choice Unsung Hero - Bronwyn Wilson (Franklin Smith/Walker Smith)
People’s Choice Outstanding Vendor Service - Kathryn Edwards (Trade Me Jobs)
Inappropriate AI use derails recruitment of compliance officers at ATO
The Australian reported last week that a recruitment drive at the Australian Taxation Office has been derailed after artificial intelligence was incorrectly used to vet applicants.
During a recent hiring push for audit and compliance officers paying in the $84,000 to $100,000 range, it was identified that mandated human oversight had gone missing in the screening process.
Somewhere in the workflow for these roles, an AI tool reviewed or filtered applications, in breach of the rule.
Internal ATO rules require a human decision-maker to approve any shortlist of candidates for a role, not an automated system.
That discovery forced the whole round to be scrapped.
According to The Australian, it is still unclear at what stage of the hiring process, the problem occurred and whether the mistake was caused by an internal ATO process error or by an external recruitment agency. Nor has it been disclosed how many roles or applicants were affected by the aborted round.
Robert Walters posts H1 2026 gross profit decline on revenue rise
Robert Walters plc posted mixed results for the six months ended June 30, 2026. Revenue climbed 7.7% year-on-year to £433.7 million, but net fee income (gross profit) fell 4% to £134.6 million, reflecting fewer permanent placements and on-payroll temporary workers across its specialist recruitment business.
Despite the fee decline, the group narrowed its operating loss to £4.5 million, down from £7.8 million a year earlier, helped by cost cuts that offset roughly 70% of the lost fee income. Pre-tax losses and the overall loss for the period also improved compared with the prior year. First-half total headcount fell by 11% year on year to 2,782, from 3,125 in the year-ago period.
Performance varied sharply by region. The UK stood out with 29.6% revenue growth, while Europe revenue dropped 16.6%.
Net fee income in Australia was down 6% although “..temp volumes (are) at the highest level since H1 2024, albeit perm performance was softer”. New Zealand’s 14% improvement in net fee income was “…also driven by temp volumes.”
Asia Pacific, which includes Australia and New Zealand, saw net fee income hold flat on an 8% rise in revenue, as a 4% decline in permanent placement fees was balanced by a 14% rise in temporary fees.
CEO Toby Fowlston called the results “in line with our expectations,” citing continued cost savings and momentum heading into the second half, with management now forecasting a full-year result toward the upper end of analyst expectations.
Tattoo-for-interview stunt lands cofounder in hot water
A San Francisco AI startup, LemonLime, sparked backlash after co-founder Jordan Zietz offered instant job interviews to afterparty attendees willing to get a tattoo on the spot.
Zietz hosted what he described as the “most unhinged” Y Combinator Startup School afterparty at the company’s San Francisco office last week, aiming to attract the “most insanely out-there people in the world”.
Seven people agreed, and the founding team got inked too. Zietz initially framed it as a loyalty test on LinkedIn, but after severe criticism he deleted the post, called the stunt “reckless,” and apologized for the coercive power dynamic it created.
Although Zietz initially framed the initiative as a way to find bold and committed talent, the criticism focused on the lack of genuine consent when there’s a job on the line, especially when the employer holds all the power.
Even a participant who wanted the tattoo felt she lost control of her personal narrative once it went viral.
Ultimately, the company apologised and offered to fund tattoo removals.
“Regardless of said intent, turning a celebration of personalised art into a company stunt was poorly exercised judgement,” Zietz said.
“We’ve taken the posts down and have spoken to everyone who participated.
“I’m sorry to the people we put in that position, and to everyone who expected better from me.
“There’s no clever explanation here. I got carried away, and I was wrong.”
RCSA calls for Council nominations
If you are motivated to help your industry association strengthen the sector you work in, then this is your opportunity.
The RCSA’s work is carried out through a Board of Directors along with several regional and member-group councils covering Australian states and territories, New Zealand, and the health and medical sectors. Each council member takes on a specific portfolio tied to RCSA’s core areas of member value, ensuring focused contributions across the organisation.
Council members are expected to champion RCSA’s goals, represent their region or member group, contribute to policy and advocacy work, participate in regular meetings, foster relationships with stakeholders, support major events, and model professional integrity.
A notable feature is the Next Gen Representative role, reserved for recruitment professionals within their first five years in the industry. These reps give voice to early-career members and lead the Next Gen Collective, a community offering networking and development opportunities.
Eligibility to nominate extends to employees of Corporate Members and Individual Professional Members, who should apply to their relevant regional council.
Councils Accepting Nominations:
NSW/ACT Regional Council
VIC/TAS Regional Council
QLD/NT Regional Council
Western Australia Regional Council
South Australia Regional Council
New Zealand Regional Council.
Nominations close Thursday, 13 August at 5:00 pm AEST.
More information is available here.