Arnold Laver & GCS Associates
Arnold Laver is part of National Timber Group, the largest independent added-value timber distribution and processing group in the UK.
National Timber Group serves a diverse customer base including joiners, house-builders, and contractors, and is a favoured supplier of large-scale infrastructure projects. The Group has combined turnover approaching £300 million, over 1,300 employees and 55 processing and distribution sites from the North of Scotland to London and the South-West.
Aims & Objectives
After a restructure, Arnold Laver had several critical management positions which were needed to ensure not only business as usual but to facilitate growth. GCS Associates were initially tasked with implementing the right calibre personnel into 6 new and existing roles within time frames that ensured no detrimental impact to the business.
Recruitment Fulfillment
GCS successfully fulfilled a National Sales Management position for Arnold Laver at the start of 2021 before going on to recruit for 4 Senior General Management positions within the required time-frame. GCS continued successfully recruiting for Arnold Laver with the quick appointments of 2 brand new, specialist roles with great feedback from all involved.
Marc Bertrand
HR Director, National Timber Group
“We’ve worked with GCS for about a year and in that time GCS have recruited a number of critical roles for us. Working with GCS has always been a simple, straight forward process; I brief the team on our requirements, and they immediately go and find the right people for our business. They simply know the market incredibly well and have a wide network of contacts within the sector.
In summary, they produce a great shortlist of high calibre candidates, and we always struggle to pick from the great options they present. What more could you want from a recruitment consultancy!”
GCS have gone on to develop strong working relations with the key stakeholders within Arnold Laver filling several additional critical roles in the first half of 2021. GCS also ensure ongoing compliance with regulations and employment legislation, and manage screening & vetting for every candidate, giving Arnold Laver complete peace of mind.
Patrick Guest
Managing Director, Arnold Laver
“Arnold Laver have partnered with GCS Associates for some time now on a number of key recruitment initiatives. We are very pleased with high level of service & speed when GCS have recruited key roles for us and we look forward to continuing working together in future.”
Michael Parry
Managing Director, GCS Associates
“Working with Arnold Laver and the wider National Timber Group has been genuinely a pleasure. As a recruitment consultancy, we look for those clients where there is mutual appreciation and lines of communication are wide open and transparent.
The sort of relationship we have come to enjoy with Arnold Laver acts as a real driver to be the very best we can. We are always striving to improve and are looking at ways we provide improved efficiencies and cost savings for Arnold Laver when it comes to recruitment and talent attraction.”
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.
Promote your Business & Attract Top Talent using Video Marketing
Video marketing can be used for everything from building customer rapport, to promoting your brand, services, or products. Additionally, video marketing can serve as a medium to help recruit the best talent in the market.
A video will bring your business to life by explaining your products & what it’s like to work in your business. It’s such a powerful tool to use when looking for new business or employees. – video will help your business connect with potential customers & employees instantly.
Video is the bridge that links what you say to who you really are, allowing potential employees to peer behind the curtain and get to know you, your business, and your teams.
- Videos boost information retention. If your potential customers hear something only, they’re likely to retain about 10% of that information three days later; by contrast, if what they hear is accompanied by relevant imagery, they’ll retain an average 65% of that information three days later.
- In 2022, video content will account for an estimated 74% of all online traffic. Video content engagement has skyrocketed in recent years. Would-be customers love video, which means good video marketing will engage and attract more customers.
- Email subject lines that include the word “video” see a 19% increase in open rates, and a 65% boost in click-throughs.
- Four times as many candidates would prefer to watch a job video than read a job description.
If your business or team is growing rapidly or you simply want to explain to potential customers & employees what your business does, creating a company video is the answer.
Contact GCS and we’ll create videos that will bring your business to life and engage & attract new customers and employees.
Need more talented people in your business? We can help.
e: enquiries@gcsassociates.com
t: 0161 660 2548
Meet The Team: Steve Schaap, Head of FMCG Recruitment
Tell us about your career so far?
I spent my early career in print advertising working for major newspapers in the US. I was a territory manager looking after geographical areas in Colorado, Texas and Omaha, Nebraska – where I was born.
When I moved to the UK in 2008, after settling in, I decided to make a career change to recruitment. I started working for a generalist agency and really liked the work, however it was clear to me that a specialism was the way forward. In 2016, I started with an agency specialising in food manufacturing, recruiting interim and permanent managers up to Managing Director level, and I have enjoyed working in that market ever since.
I joined GCS earlier this year, in the newly opened office in Loughborough. I am very pleased to join the business at this exciting time of growth and look forward to contributing to its continued success.
What are your specialist sectors at GCS Associates?
I am currently Head of FMCG. I recruit manufacturing roles, specialising in food manufacturing and have experience across other consumable manufacturing. I specialise in both interim and permanent placement and typical roles I recruit are Development Technologists, Process Managers, Business Unit Managers and Shift Managers (to name a few!)
Tell me about how you help clients/ candidates?
I help my clients by offering them simple, honest and knowledgeable solutions. My clients usually call me because they have an immediate problem that needs an immediate solution. They expect me to understand their problem whether it be related to Operations, Engineering, Process or anything else related to their manufacturing site.
Steve Schaap, Head of FMCG
My candidates benefit from working with a consultant that knows the industry and has a history of working with integrity.
What do you do outside of work?
When we are not fighting a global pandemic, my wife and I like to travel and spend time with our family and friends.
If you are looking to recruit or considering a new job within food manufacturing, I’d love to hear from you!
CONTACT STEVE IF YOU ARE HIRING IN 2021 OR WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS FINDING A NEW ROLE.
e: steve.schaap@gcsassociates.com
t: 07309 659 339
GCS Associates Open Second Office in Loughborough, East Midlands
We are excited to announce GCS has opened our second office based in Loughborough, East Midlands – the team is focusing on Executive Recruitment within our current sectors but also Food and FMCG, utilising the extensive networks of the new team.
We’re pleased to welcome Tony Llewellyn and Steve Schaap who, between them, have over 40 years’ experience in recruitment across Food, FMCG, Manufacturing and Construction Supply sectors. They bring a wealth of experience to the business, with a particular focus on Executive Search & permanent and interim recruitment services across all disciplines; Operations, Sales, Logistics/Procurement, Technical and Finance.
Tony Llewellyn, Commercial Director, GCS Associates comments,
“We have nearly 40 years of recruiting experience between us, we know what good looks like and strive to constantly achieve the very best service to all our candidates and clients. Most of our work is based around exclusive partnerships with our clients and this inevitably results in a higher quality and more transparent experience and result for the candidates, the clients and ourselves as recruiters. Both Steve and I are very pleased to join GCS Associates at this exciting time of growth and look forward to contributing to its continued success.”
Michael Parry, Managing Director, GCS Associates comments,
“The recruitment market, across our current sectors of Builder Merchants, Construction, Hire and Building Supplies, has been extremely buoyant, and we’re pleased to report that these sectors are flourishing post-pandemic after a very uncertain 2020!
This increased level of activity and demand for talent has resulted in GCS needing to increase its headcount and, most significantly, opening a second office location in the East Midlands. Our new Loughborough office, where we are welcoming Tony Llewellyn and Steve Schaap, is focusing on Executive Recruitment within our current sectors, and branching out into FMCG and Food Manufacturing. Both Tony and Steve bring great experience and contacts along with fantastic professionalism & reputations within their sectors. With their addition and the opening of the new office we are really ramping up our service offering to candidates and clients alike now and in the future.”
For more information on how GCS Associates can help your business recruit the best talent in the market, contact Tony Llewellyn.
e: tony.llewellyn@gcsassociates.com
t: 07809 433 882
Huws Gray & GCS Associates
Huws Gray is the UK’s largest independent builders’ merchant, supplying building materials to trade and DIY customers from over 100 locations across the UK.
GCS Associates and Huws Gray have worked together successfully on various recruitment projects and roles. Most recently Huws Gray have been growing their teams even further, and kindly took part in ‘The GCS Pledge’. GCS started the pledge in December 2020 to help the many people made unemployed due to the pandemic.
Michael Parry, Managing Director, GCS;
“GCS were in a unique position last year where we could genuinely help some of those suffering due to Covid related redundancies. We approached Huws Gray late last year to explain the idea behind the GCS Pledge of 21 and we were delighted they took part. If we were able to get a few people back into employment whilst helping fill critical roles for the likes of Huws Gray free of charge, we were happy to be fulfilling our pledge ambitions.”
Terry Owen, Managing Director, Huws Gray;
“GCS reached out to Huws Gray just before Christmas about their pledge to get people made redundant due to the pandemic back into employment. To offer up their time and resources without charge I found highly commendable and we were happy to support this worthwhile initiative. I am pleased to say we have our first GCS Pledge candidate due to start with us soon.”
Chris Joyce, Area Manager, Huws Gray;
We are very pleased to support such a worthwhile initiative in the GCS Pledge. There aren’t many recruitment companies who are going above and beyond to help people back into work, completely free of charge and we’re proud to support this. We’ve now employed two people into the Huws Gray family via the pledge and are really happy with these new employees.”
GCS have gone on to continue working with Huws Gray in 2021 and having ties with North Wales, GCS are pleased to be partnering with a business that originated from that part of the UK. From humble beginnings, the growth of Huws Gray has been fantastic to witness in recent years and with the news announced on the 1st July about the acquisition of the Grafton brand, it must be the biggest deal of its kind and massive news for our sector.
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.
Sunbelt Rentals & GCS Associates
Creating Consistent Processes and Candidate Engagement
Sunbelt’s team of specialists provide rental equipment and managed solutions into every market and sector, and are part of the FTSE100 Ashtead Group plc, the global leader in equipment rental. Sunbelt has over 500 employees in the UK.
Sunbelt were looking for a select number of recruitment partners that they could trust. Sunbelt are a large organisation and due to volume, timescale and specialist focus they use GCS to help attract the right talent within tight deadlines. GCS became Sunbelt’s trusted recruitment partner by forging genuine relationships and bringing in time and cost efficiencies by successfully finding talent, quickly and efficiently.
Tracy Edwards, Recruitment Manager, Sunbelt Rentals;
“When we tendered for our new PSL, quality was the most important aspect and selecting suppliers who would be our trusted partners, supporting the Sunbelt Rentals employer brand. GCS have worked with our hiring managers over several years to develop an in-depth understanding of our business and culture, ensuring that they place the right person in the right role. We have great relationships with the GCS team and confidence that they will deliver where we need their support in sourcing the best talent, including some of our most challenging vacancies to fill”
Working with Sunbelts internal recruitment function, GCS used the internal processes during
recruitment drives; resulting in increased communication, consistent candidate engagement and decreased time to hire. GCS also ensure ongoing compliance with regulations and employment legislation, and manage screening & vetting for every candidate, giving Sunbelt complete peace of mind.
Phil Leahy, Managing Director, Sunbelt Rentals:
“GCS have been working with Sunbelt Rentals for some time now on a number of key recruitment initiatives and we are very pleased with the outcomes. The team at GCS have a high level of integrity, show a genuine passion for people and, on several occasions have gone above and beyond in terms of their service offering to Sunbelt and we look forward to it continuing well into the future”
GCS have a recruitment fulfillment success rate of 92% across all roles including Sales, Management and Engineering roles as well as support and senior roles. GCS Associates’ expertise in directly sourcing candidates quickly has enabled the Sunbelt to not only achieve significant cost savings but has resulted in several critical hires for key projects.
Neil Driscoll, Regional Director, Sunbelt Rentals;
“GCS Associates played a key role when we were recruiting within my region. To date, they recruited several roles for us and saved myself & my managers considerable time and money by providing great candidates who were right, not only the role, but for our business culture too. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend GCS if you have any recruitment requirements”
David Payne, Service Centre Manager, Sunbelt Rentals;
“Sunbelt have enjoyed a strong partnership with GCS Associates for many years. GCS have supported our recruitment drives and have brought significant improvements to the hiring process, producing excellent talent for us at different levels of the business. GCS is a recruitment partner we can really trust to get the job done, they thoroughly vet the candidates, fill our vacancies quickly and have great communication. If you are looking to recruit I can 100% recommend 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.
Senior Leader Interview 2021: Mark Nottingham, Travis Perkins
From Driver to Director, Mark Nottingham at Travis Perkins shares insight from his 40+ years in the Builders Merchant industry – discussing the positive changes in the areas of Diversity and Digitalisation, and why customers should always come first.
Where did you start your career?
I have worked in the industry for forty years – joining Travis Perkins when they acquired the Independent Merchant I was working for in the late 80s. I started out in the yard, but my first week was spent working with a sales representative – ringing customers & trying to sell products. Then in my second week, the Yard Foreman drilled into me that if a customer got out of his van and I wasn’t standing next to him ready to sell then I’d failed!
I hated my first two weeks at work. But it taught me customers were the reason I was there, and my job was the same as every other colleague – we were all there to sell stuff. That lesson has stayed with me all this time.
What has changed most in the industry over your career?
So much has changed over the years. When I was a Driver, we would unload products by hand due to access or quality of the crane. Now we have so many types of vehicles to meet customer requirements such as moffats and rear mounted cranes. Technology has moved on significantly and we’re keeping up with the demand from customers wanting to order online. This demand is only set to increase.
We are now an industry attracting so many great people from a far more diverse workforce which is such a rewarding step forward. With all genders in almost every job role from Drivers to Managing Directors, and we have colleagues from such a wide range of ethnic backgrounds and disabilities. Everyone is made to feel welcome and part of the team. This was not the case in my early years and is such a welcome transformation.
What’s been the highlight of your career so far?
The highlight of my career was becoming Regional Managing Director in 2001 and being responsible for about 180 Branches working with a team of about 7000 colleagues. I think I have always remained humble and treated all with respect and dignity, we are all one team, and we win together.
What advice would you give to someone starting out in the industry?
My advice to any new starters in the industry would is
“Come to work each day with a great attitude, make a difference and remember that customers are our day job – they are the reason we are here. Customers and suppliers will become your friends which will make your job rewarding. Aim as high as possible – you are in control of your journey so it’s up to you to realise your potential”.
What advice can you give leaders when managing businesses and teams through times of uncertainty?
The pandemic has hurt so many businesses, but the vast majority of Builders Merchants have come out of the other side even stronger. We are a very fortunate industry; our lockdown was short, and many builders carried on. During the pandemic it was critical that we gave strong and clear leadership, many colleagues were uncertain and were looking for help and direction.
We tried very hard to communicate on a regular basis on what’s being done, what needs to be done and what help was needed. It was a time for some bold decisions and using lockdown time to fix some of the things that you would never normally get around to.
What’s next for you?
I am now enjoying semi-retirement and working two days a week supporting Travis Perkins on some new initiatives which is very exciting. I have also taken up playing golf, so I hope I can use this to keep in close contact with many of my work friends.
IF YOU ARE HIRING IN 2021 OR WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON OUR RECRUITMENT SERVICES CONTACT MICHAEL PARRY.
e: michael.parry@gcsassociates.com
t: 0161 660 2548
Meet The Team: Adam Hewitt, Recruitment Consultant
Tell us about your career so far?
After leaving University in Leeds I didn’t really have a plan. I studied Sport and Business Management then worked in an estate agent for a couple of years before spending a year travelling the world – which I’d recommend to everyone!
I then had the opportunity to join GCS where I have now worked for 5 years. I haven’t looked back, I love working within the recruitment industry and especially like working with the people within our specialist sectors across construction and merchants.
Why did you join GCS
I was looking for a new role and I was put in touch with Mike Parry, Managing Director at GCS. He sold me the dream of working in recruitment and helping find people new jobs! I was keen for a new challenge and after learning more about recruitment I realised there would never be a dull day.
After speaking with Mike I knew that GCS would be the right place for me to develop and be part of a growing business.
What are your main responsibilities at GCS?
Over the years my role has changed. Originally, my job was to source & screen candidates for the vacant roles briefed into GCS from clients. Building and maintaining good relationships with candidates is important given the niche sector and it’s what I enjoy most about the job. It’s always a good day when you can tell someone they have been successful in securing a new role!
In regard to sectors, I specialise within Builders Merchants and Equipment Hire companies and predominantly recruit for sales, management and engineering roles.
What kind of roles are you recruiting for?
Given the recovery and fast movement in the market right now, it’s no surprise many companies are investing in new talent within their sales teams. We have a number of internal sales, account management and business development roles available across the country at all levels.
It’s a candidate market right now so if you are looking to move jobs, please get in touch. There’s a lot of demand for talent within the sectors at the moment so now is the time to secure the new job and salary package you might be looking for.
What’s the best thing about working at GCS?
GCS is also a really nice place to work – we’re given the trust and independence to manage our own days but help and support is always there when needed.
The best thing about my role securing new jobs for people! Being able to find the right person for our clients’ needs is important so it is always a great feeling when this happens.
What do you get up to outside of work?
Sport pretty much takes over outside of work however my girlfriend, Maisie and I are expecting a baby later in year which we are very pleased and excited about! At the moment, I play rugby at Wilmslow Wolves and try my hand at golf occasionally! Mike and I play tennis together too which can get quite competitive but I usually win!
CONTACT ADAM IF YOU ARE HIRING IN 2021 OR WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS FINDING A NEW ROLE.
e: adam.hewitt@gcsassociates.com
t: 0161 660 2548
Sitemark & GCS Associates
GCS Supply Key Sales Hires to Accelerate Business Growth
Sitemark are a Facilities Management Consultancy undertaking benchmarking across all industries including health, local government and private sector organisations. They offer independent best practice benchmarking processes to support the facilities management services.
Sitemark needed to expand their sales capacity and recruit a Senior Sales role into their existing team to promote the growth of the business. Whilst based in Worcestershire, Sitemark have employees working on a flexible basis across the whole country and therefore wanted to search across the whole of the UK to find the best talent.
GCS Associates managed the whole process for Sitemark. Sourcing the candidates, arranging time slots for interview and most importantly, providing Sitemark with quality, rather than ‘quantity’ applicants. GCS were thorough, swift, and supported Sitemark – advising through every stage of the recruitment process.
Mike Boxhall, Managing Director, Sitemark commented;
“Our experience of working with GCS was excellent. We would have no hesitation in working with GCS Associates again in the future – they were thoroughly professional in every way.”
From the shortlist GCS Associates provided, Sitemark decided to hire 2 candidates. Here’s what the successful candidates had to say:
“GCS took a genuine, supportive and knowledgeable approach throughout the process. GCS guided me through the interviews and were very helpful and professional. I am incredibly grateful to GCS for helping me secure a new role with a great company. Highly recommended”
“GCS were very friendly and professional and kept frequent contact during the interview stage. Thank you for finding me such a great job! It’s probably the best experience I’ve had working with a recruiter”.
Michael Parry, Managing Director, GCS Associates commented;
“It was our first foray into the world of Facilities Management and Sitemark were a new client, so we had to make sure we understood the culture of the business and what type of person would be a fit for the role and their organization. In addition to this we had to have a crash course on the world of FM.
There was a great deal of interest in the role and the hardest element was deciding on the final shortlist. Ultimately, two great people were employed by Sitemark and we established a new relationship with a fantastic business that has an exceptional product and service offering.”
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.
GCS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE PLEDGE TO HELP SECTOR GET BACK TO WORK AFTER COVID-19
During COVID-19 many of our friends, colleagues and peers within the Construction & Building Supply sectors have been affected by redundancies. As specialist recruiters in these areas, GCS acted by pledging their recruitment services, free of charge, to help as many people as possible back into employment. GCS completed the pledge recently by getting 21 people back into employment for 2021.
Michael Parry, GCS Managing Director explained; “The reasons we decided to launch the initiative were two-fold: Firstly, we were inundated with calls from great people in our sector, not used to finding themselves out of work, who found themselves in quite serious dire straits. Secondly, last year there was a very real sense of coming together within society, and this was equally prevalent within our sector.
A lot of our clients were making very generous charitable contributions and we wanted to do our bit. We were in a unique position where we could really help some of those suffering due to Covid related redundancies. If we were able to get a few people back into employment whilst helping fill critical roles for our clients free of charge, we were happy – we wanted to give back to our sector!”
Many businesses took part or supported the GCS Pledge – Travis Perkins, Huws Gray, GAP Group, Sunbelt Rentals, The Bradfords Group, Encon to name just a few. The Builders Merchant Federation also kindly supported GCS in spreading the message and whilst also helping run a similar scheme in the CLC’s Construction Industry Talent Retention scheme.
One of the final few pledge placements were made with Huws Gray, a leading independent builders merchants in North Wales & the North West. Huws Gray employed 2 people as part of the initiative and Terry Owen, Huws Gray Managing Director said;
“GCS reached out to us about their pledge to get people made redundant due to the pandemic back into employment. To offer up their time and resources without charge I found highly commendable, and we were happy to support this worthwhile initiative. I am pleased to say we have our GCS Pledge candidates working for us and we’re really happy with these new hires.”
Michael Parry, Managing Director, GCS
Having recently completed the pledge GCS want to thank everyone who supported the initiative. Michael Parry commented;
“We are pleased we’ve contributed to help our sectors recover from the impact of COVID. 21 people isn’t a huge number, but we know it meant a huge amount to those few. I would like to say a big thank you to the BMF for endorsing the pledge, thank you to all those businesses that supported the initiative and of course, a big congratulations to those people who have successfully embarked on their new career via the GCS Pledge of 21”
IF YOU ARE HIRING IN 2021 OR WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON OUR RECRUITMENT SERVICES CONTACT MICHAEL PARRY.
e: michael.parry@gcsassociates.com
t: 0161 660 2548