How Momentum's founder stepped out of delivery and took his first four-week break in 11 years

Momentum Search & Selection is an Australian executive search and business transformation firm with a reputation for delivering hard-to-find talent across DevOps, Salesforce and Change Management. Behind the scenes, the business relied entirely on its founder.

Every client. Every role. Every shortlist. Every update.

The founder trap

Alan Herrity was spending six to eight hours a day deep in sourcing, screening and admin. Business development slipped to the bottom of the list, and burnout was creeping in. He had not taken a real break in 11 years of running the business.

I was spending 6 to 8 hours a day on delivery work. That left almost no time for business development, let alone a proper break!

— Alan Herrity, Founder & MD

Hiring locally was not an option. Salaries were too high, and short-term contracts in niche markets made the talent pool even tighter. Alan's biggest fear was that quality would drop the moment he took his hands off the wheel.

• No scalable process that held quality without Alan's direct involvement
• Time-to-fill slowed by a manual, one-man approach
• Business development stalled because delivery consumed every day

A recruiter who took the delivery weight off the founder's shoulders

We embedded a dedicated offshore recruiter, Alyssa, into Momentum's team. Not a support hire: full-cycle ownership of every role, from sourcing to shortlisting to submission.

• Full-day focus on each role for precision sourcing and the right fit
• Screening beyond the CV: attitude, responsiveness and intent, not just skills
• Weekly check-ins and scorecards, so Alan had visibility without micromanaging
• Presentation-ready shortlists that cut client decision times

One of the key things for us is Ryan's background. He's walked in my shoes before. Sometimes if I have a question, I can bounce it off him and know he understands where I'm coming from.

— Alan Herrity, Founder & MD

Within weeks, Alyssa was confidently running niche briefs in DevOps, Salesforce and Change Management to Momentum's quality bar.

The results

In six months, Momentum went from a founder-dependent desk to a delivery engine that ran without him:

• 2+ placements per month, above the industry standard
• 2 to 3 weeks from job description to hire
• 6 to 8 hours a day returned to the founder for business development
• A shift toward higher-quality retained work

And the proof it held: Alan took a four-week holiday in Europe, his first in 11 years, and delivery continued uninterrupted.

I am very much satisfied with the management style of Momentum. I'm given space to make decisions independently, but I also get support when I need it. The feedback loop is fast, which lets me quickly update candidates and lock them in before they lose interest.

— Alyssa, Offshore Recruiter