PaintWell Partner with GCS Associates for Branch Expansion Project
About PaintWell
PaintWell are the UK’s leading supplier of trade quality decorating and painting supplies. With over 80 years of combined experience under our former names of Bromborough Paints and Trade1st, PaintWell brings you a huge range of trade-quality paints and painting accessories from all the major brands. PaintWell is a one-stop shop for painting and decorating supplies and currently has over 20 branches in the UK.
About GCS Associates
GCS Associates are specialist consultancy providing talent acquisition and staffing solutions to the building materials, construction, technical & engineering sectors. With over 15 years’ experience partnering with a wide range of businesses from FTSE 100s to SME’s & smaller independent businesses – we simply provide the right talent to the best organisations.
PaintWell (formerly Bromborough Paints) is on a huge growth trajectory with plans to open a substantial number branches over the next 2-3 years. In 2021, we began a recruitment partnership with PaintWell with the aim to provide the extra support needed to recruit key personnel for their branch expansion plans.
Dan Peacock, Commercial Director at PaintWell Comments; “We engaged with GCS on a retained basis through a Managed Service Agreement, to primarily oversee the recruitment and talent attraction for our extensive branch opening project, as well as handling other recruitment projects.
They have been responsive, communicative, and effective, taking the time to understand our business and sector. There is a lot going on within our business right now and it is great to know GCS are here to handle all things recruitment.”
In that time GCS have recruited a number of critical roles for PaintWell, have streamlined their recruitment processes & are producing key assets which will future proof PaintWells recruitment strategy.
Michael Parry, Managing Director, GCS Associates comments; “PaintWell are a fantastic business, and we are proud to partner with them to help them scale up during their expansion. Working together on a Recruitment Process Outsourced (RPO) basis has meant we’ve been able to allocate significant resource to ensure they the right people in place to open new branches.
We’re also supporting for the future by creating a new careers website, candidate packs and video to help attract new talent into the business.”
At GCS Associates, we work with our clients to find the best recruitment solution for them. If you’d like any advice on recruitment or retention strategy, please get in touch.
e: enquiries@gcsassociates.com
t: 0161 660 2548
Meet The Team: Liam Tolan, Account Manager at GCS Associates
Tell us about your career journey so far?
I’ve worked in recruitment for nearly a decade now. I started in retail where I learnt the ropes, then chose the construction sector as my specialist area.
Whilst working for some household names I progressed through to senior account manager from trainee consultant before taking over my current position with GCS, working onsite as Recruitment Account Manager at Beesley & Fildes, a leading independant Builders Merchant.
Why did you join GCS Associates?
Joining GCS was clear career progression and it meant undertaking a long-term recruitment project where I thought I could really add value. Because of the location and flexibility of the position it meant I get to see a lot more of my family AND the position and the project were just too good to turn down.
What does your job involve?
I work onsite for Beesley & Fildes, one of GCS’s RPO clients within the Builders Merchant sector as an “Internal Recruitment Manager”. Based in their head office near Liverpool, I oversee and manage all our client’s recruitment and sourcing, from advertising to interviews and onboarding.
It’s a varied role where I get full autonomy which I love, we are also starting to work on more strategic projects for Beesley like Employer Branding and video creation to attract and engage more talent into the business.
How do your help your stakeholders and candidates?
I’m honest and upfront from the get-go. I think honesty and realistic expectations are paramount in our profession.
Also, biscuits, everyone loves donuts and biscuits!
What are you working on at the moment?
I think an easier question to answer would be what I’m NOT working on.
I’ve got a large long-term project at Beesley – with the mission to streamline their recruitment processes and benchmark salaries across a rapidly growing business that already employs around 350 people.
Day to day recruitment also fills my time to ensure all the branches & our HQ have the right talent in place.
What do you do outside of work?
Two young kids take up a lot of my time, but that’s time that I’ll never get back so I’m keen to spend it wisely with them now.
I’m Irish, so perhaps obligatory to say I don’t mind a pint of stout from time to time. I still play 11-a-side, albeit as a proverbial pensioner, but I still enjoy the odd worldy strike, although it’s becoming few and far between these days.
I am also a HUGE football fan – viva Ronaldo!
For more information on GCS Associates retained recruitment and RPO solutions, please get in touch.
e: enquiries@gcsassociates.com
t: 0161 660 2548