Our Story

Why i-intro® exists 

i-intro® was created to solve three simple but costly challenges in recruitment.

1. Reducing commercial downtime 

2. Improving new employee Retention rates

3. Decrease overall cost-to-hire

To understand them, you have to see recruitment from the client’s perspective. 

Most employers see recruiters as transactional conduits. 

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Find suitable candidates.

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Send them across.

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Move quickly.

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Compete on cost. 

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That perception has shaped a contingent model where: 

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The probability of filling every role decreases

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Recruiters have little control over fees

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Up to 90% of agencies compete the same way

Both employers and recruiters have normalised the contingency process.

 

The contingent model revolves around speed and cost. 


Retained Recruitment changes that structure. 


i-intro® exists to help recruitment agencies move from contingent supply to a  structured Retained Recruitment methodology. 

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Built from real recruitment experience

i-intro® was co-founded by Plamen Ivanoff and Paul Hickey, whose careers span recruitment, advisory and international markets. 


Over time, one pattern became impossible to ignore. 



Most recruiters do not believe their process is broken. 


They believe the market is harder, clients are slower and competition is higher. 


But if the structure truly worked, Retained would not feel difficult, fees would not be under constant pressure, and outcomes would not fluctuate role to role. 


The issue is not effort, it is structure. 
That realisation became the foundation for i-intro®. 


Managing Director James O’Brien, who first adopted the i-intro® process as a recruitment agency owner before joining the leadership team in 2015, was among the early proof points that this approach worked in practice.

A better way to deliver recruitment 

i-intro® was not created as a training course. 

It was not built as a software platform. 


It was built as an end-to-end solution that supports the transition of recruiters to sell and deliver a Consultative Retained Recruitment process, where:

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Clients commit properly 

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Clear ownership of outcomes

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Fees reflect real value 

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Retention becomes the priority 

This shift changes how recruitment businesses operate day to day. 

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Why Retained Recruitment Matters Now

Recruitment is evolving, and fast.


Automation and AI are commoditising transactional recruitment.


Speed alone is no longer a differentiator.


The agencies that will succeed are those that operate as Trusted Advisors, not CV suppliers.


Retained Recruitment is not about charging more.



It is about a different recruitment process.


i-intro® exists to help recruiters make that transition with clarity and confidence.

Proof that delivery matters

Recruiters using the i-intro® process model consistently achieve: 

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Retained Pitch-to-Win rates up to 70% on qualified roles

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96% first-year Retention, strengthening client relationships

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More predictable revenue and consistent cashflow visibility

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Higher average fees,

driven by value not competition

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Improved fill rates

and more efficient hiring processes

These outcomes are driven by structural change, not increased activity.

Watch the story behind i-intro®

In this interview, Plamen Ivanoff, Co-Founder of i-intro®, explains:

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Why transactional recruitment is being replaced

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What Retained Recruitment really requires

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How recruiters can future-proof their businesses

This is the thinking that shaped i-intro®.

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Who the i-intro® method is for

i-intro® works with recruitment agencies that:

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Focus on permanent recruitment

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Want to move away from transactional, contingent work

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Are committed to building a consultative, Retained Recruitment model

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Care about reputation, Retention and client relationships

We typically support owner-led agencies, partnerships and growing recruitment businesses across the UK, US and Europe, with a multi-lingual system supporting international implementation.

Build a more predictable recruitment business

You do not need more roles to work on.

You need more roles you are paid to fill.


i-intro® helps recruitment agencies move from transactional to Retained Recruitment with clarity and confidence.