How GemPool Fills SaaS Roles Faster Than Anyone Else

How GemPool Fills SaaS Roles Faster Than Anyone Else

Speed has become one of the biggest competitive advantages in recruitment.

Clients want shortlists sooner. Candidates expect faster communication. The agencies that consistently deliver quality hires quickly are the ones winning market share.

So what separates those businesses from everyone else?

According to Michael Lantry, CEO of GemPool, it's not one revolutionary AI tool or an endless stream of activity, but rather the systems, relationships and communities you build long before a vacancy lands on your desk.

Speaking with TRN CEO Gordon Stoddart, Michael shared how GemPool has transformed the way it approaches recruitment - creating a business that consistently fills technology roles faster by investing in trust rather than transactions.

One of the biggest shifts came from a surprisingly simple idea.

Instead of waiting until companies needed to hire, Michael began bringing CTOs together over lunch. There were no presentations, no sales pitches and no expectation that business would immediately follow. It was simply an opportunity for technology leaders to connect with peers facing similar challenges.

Those lunches gradually evolved into an engaged community. A WhatsApp group grew from just a handful of members to more than 50 technology leaders, with conversations taking place daily about leadership, AI adoption, hiring and business challenges.

The commercial impact has been significant.

Rather than constantly chasing new clients, GemPool is now regularly recommended by members of that community. New assignments arrive through introductions, referrals and trusted recommendations because the relationships already exist before hiring conversations begin.

As Michael explained, the goal was never to build a sales channel. The goal was to become genuinely valuable to the people they wanted to work with.

That philosophy extends far beyond community building.

Throughout the discussion, Michael repeatedly returned to the importance of relationships. In an industry increasingly shaped by automation and artificial intelligence, he believes the human side of recruitment is becoming even more valuable.

Technology can automate administration, sourcing and repetitive tasks. It cannot replace genuine trust.

That is why GemPool actively measures face-to-face meetings, coffee catch-ups and client conversations. Some relationships take years to produce commercial opportunities, but when they do, the results can be transformational.

One client relationship, maintained through occasional coffee meetings over several years, eventually led to an 18-placement project worth more than €250,000 in fees.

There was no hard sell.

Just consistent relationship building.

Technology still plays a huge role, but only where it delivers measurable business value.

GemPool has explored dozens of AI platforms, yet every investment is judged against a simple commercial test. If a new tool cannot increase revenue, reduce costs or improve productivity, they simply don't adopt it.

That discipline has allowed the business to embrace AI without becoming distracted by it.

The same commercial mindset applies to marketing.

Rather than treating marketing as something that simply raises awareness, GemPool measures it in exactly the same way as sales performance. Website traffic, lead generation, candidate applications, placements and revenue are all tracked back to marketing activity.

That data allows the team to see exactly what is working and where to invest more effort.

It also reinforces another important lesson.

Marketing isn't separate from recruitment. Done properly, it becomes one of the biggest drivers of commercial performance.

Perhaps the most refreshing part of Michael's story is his honesty.

He openly admits that GemPool hasn't perfected everything. The business continues to experiment, test ideas and learn from others, particularly through the TRN community.

That curiosity has become one of its greatest strengths.

Whether it's launching a new leadership community, trialling AI workflows or refining marketing strategy, the team is willing to try something, measure the outcome and improve it over time.

It's a reminder that sustainable growth rarely comes from one breakthrough idea.

It comes from consistently executing the fundamentals.

Building relationships before they're needed.

Creating communities instead of databases.

Using technology to create more time for meaningful conversations.

And measuring everything that matters.

For recruitment businesses looking to improve both speed and quality, GemPool's approach offers an important lesson.

The fastest agencies aren't necessarily the busiest.

They're the ones who've already done the work before the vacancy arrives.

Speakers: Gordon Stoddart, CEO & Co-founder, The Recruitment Network & Michael Lantry, Director, Gempool