Why do some recruitment agencies collapse during recessions while others keep growing?

Gerard Koolen has watched his business expand through three major crises: the 2008 financial collapse, COVID-19, and the war in Ukraine. Each time, Lugera grew. Not by working harder, but by building the business differently.

Gerard is the founder of Lugera, a recruitment agency with 11 offices, over 500 employees, and €243 million in annual revenue. Operating across a region tested by economic downturns and geopolitical instability, his firm has been forced to adapt repeatedly. Instead of relying on a single revenue stream, Gerard built what he calls an “all-seasons service portfolio.”

Over time, Lugera developed eight distinct revenue streams. When permanent hiring slowed, outplacement surged. When clients froze recruitment, other services stepped in. One stream compensated for another, keeping the business resilient when markets turned.

That approach created a new problem. Managing eight revenue streams manually nearly broke the company. Gerard invested 10 years and €2.2 million in building technology to automate work that once required a team of 30 people. Today, one part-time employee handles what used to take an entire department.

In this episode, Gerard breaks down how the model works. He explains how to monetise the 99% of candidates most agencies never place, why traditional ATS systems quietly limit growth, and how outplacement can become a counter-cyclical revenue stream.

If you want to build a recruitment business that grows through uncertainty instead of being crushed by it, this conversation will change how you think about revenue, technology, and resilience.

What you’ll learn:

Why Lugera grew 20% during the 2008 recession
What an “all-seasons service portfolio” looks like in practice
Why most agencies monetise only 0.2% of their candidate database
How eight revenue streams reduce risk and smooth volatility
Why your ATS may be capping your growth without you realising
How automation replaced 30 staff with one part-time role
Why does outplacement generate revenue when hiring stops

Episode highlights:

[03:30] Growing during the 2008 recession
[05:53] The all-seasons service portfolio
[08:01] Monetising the 99% of candidates you never place
[14:34] The real cost of building the technology
[19:42] Why most ATS platforms restrict growth
[27:02] Doubling placements without doubling effort
[31:33] Turning outplacement into a €1M revenue stream
[45:25] Automated outreach that converts job ads into leads

Sponsor

This episode is brought to you by Recruiterflow.

Recruiterflow is an AI-first ATS and CRM built to help recruitment businesses run and scale more efficiently. It combines ATS, CRM, sequencing, data enrichment, marketing automation, and AI agents in one platform. Many leaders in our coaching community rely on Recruiterflow to streamline operations and improve execution.

Learn more or request a demo at recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow

Guest Bio

Gerard Koolen is the founder of Lugera, a recruitment and staffing agency with 11 offices across Eastern Europe, over 500 employees, and €243 million in annual revenue. After investing 10 years and €2.2 million developing proprietary AI matching technology, Gerard created the Recruitment Revenue Platform to help recruitment agencies build multiple revenue streams beyond traditional placement fees. This is Gerard’s third appearance on The Resilient Recruiter.

Connect with Gerard
LinkedIn: Gerard Koolen
Website: lugera.com
Recruitment Revenue Platform: recruitmentrevenueplatform.com

Special offer: Get 100 free credits plus personal onboarding at recruitmentcoach.com/staa

Connect with Mark
Free strategy session: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session
LinkedIn: Mark Whitby
Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

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