SENIOR LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW SERIES 2020: SPOTLIGHT ON DAVID YOUNG, CEO AT THE BRADFORDS GROUP
Senior Leadership Interview Series 2020: David Young on Managing in Time of Crisis
Could you give us an overview of your career within the industry?
I started my career in merchanting with Wolseley UK, completing their graduate Sales/Management Programme. I was fortunate enough to run my first branch while still half-way through the course. From there I held several area and regional roles in sales and operations, eventually moving to Trading Director for the southwest for Build Center. I then moved to Drain Center and ran this brand nationally for a few years. I left Wolseley after 19 years and joined Bradfords Building Supplies as Business Development Director, becoming MD a year later and then CEO in May 2019.
What are the most important values you demonstrate as a leader?
Always a difficult one to answer yourself, as I suppose it is how I am perceived that is more relevant. In terms of values that I feel are important; I am who I am and I don’t try to be anyone different. I don’t believe in politics at work – I am direct, straightforward and respectful. I care about the business and everyone associated with it. I am committed to ensuring the business delivers long term. I trust everyone to do their job, and work hard to create the space for them to perform. I suppose good leadership is ultimately about making promises and sticking to them. Anyone can promise the world, but it is all about delivery.
How has your business adapted to the new working ways since COVID-19?
Prior to the first lockdown we had worked hard on a new operating model, minimising personal contact. When lockdown was announced we were well placed, however we continued to tweak the model. The key was clarity of communication. We were very clear and used basic and consistent messaging and constant reinforcement. The team have adapted well especially in the early stages – others were closing around us and the team quickly aligned and believed in what we were doing and the way we were doing it. We continue to evolve the operating model using technology as a key driver.
How have you managed and motivated your teams during this uncertain time?
The key has been regular contact with all levels of the organisation. Daily updates from me to all staff, regular conference calls and MS Teams meetings with the branch management estate and daily calls with the senior management team and Group Board.
We recognised that our employees were representative of the UK population as a whole. Understandably their initial reaction to the pandemic and lockdown, was one of fear, and we had to balance the prerogative to stay open from a commercial perspective with the understanding that we were dealing with a workforce ranging from terrified to fully engaged.
The crucial element was consistent reinforcement of the key messages around hygiene, social distancing and latterly face coverings, and ensuring that we gave our staff the tools, procedures, equipment and support to be able to work as safely as possible. The business quickly understood the rationale for staying open, supporting the local self-employed customer and key public sector projects.
The Builders Merchant Federation have been superb and the letter from Alok Sharma at the end of March really helped settle the nerves of the workforce. Crucially this pandemic has bolstered local team spirit that is such an ingrained part of Bradfords culture. We know that all our teams feel more cohesive now than they did back in March. We have also seen an extension to this regarding their relationships with the local building community.
How do you lead through change and difficult times?
With clarity! I tried to be as visible as I could, ensuring I witnessed first-hand what the business was going through. I kept close to a few branches and customers and this really helped me get a good understanding of the challenges we were facing. The Senior Management Team have been superb and our daily meetings ensured we were aligned and informed with the most up to date information. This allowed us to make some very good decisions. Inevitable we made mistakes but reacted quickly to address them.
How much has COVID-19 impacted your talent acquisition plans?
We were very fortunate as we had spent 2018 and 2019 building a management team – this was the first year of a full team. So, in terms of talent acquisition at a senior level, the timing was perfect. What is clear is that we have a well-rounded team, each bringing their own skill set and specialism. However, the pandemic has provided opportunities for growth and we are bolstering the team in supply chain, logistics and eCommerce.
We have recruited during the pandemic, increasing our workforce by 10%, however one area that has been impacted is our Fast track programme – developing new managers of the future. Due to the pandemic constraints this programme has been delayed until 2021. The apprenticeship programme has also been impacted due to the lack of face to face training. Remote training is all well and good but the ability to deliver the volume of training programmes has been affected.
Tell us about Bradfords’ future plans?
We are very excited about the future. The pandemic has been a roller coaster and has taught us so much. In management terms I feel we have been through 5 years of decisions in 6 months – so for all of us at Bradfords it has been an unbelievable learning experience. There are plenty of opportunities for the business – the way people buy is changing and I think we are well placed to maximise every channel in the future. Supply chain has never been so important – not only with the pandemic but also with Brexit and other Global challenges. Having a robust supply chain is essential and the pandemic has shown us that ours is fragile. Some supply partners have been superb, but others have struggled to adapt to the fast pace of change.
Developing our people has always been key but the pandemic has taught us the need to have a flexible, more rounded workforce. We have redesigned our plans for effective people development and these launch in Q1 2021.
Our communication channels have also been stretched in the last 6 months. A radical review sees the development of a communication hub, bringing all communication into one place, easily accessed by all. This will be key to ensuring better, clearer, more detailed and consistent communication in the future.
Our IT systems have been an enabler to growth during the pandemic and further investment here will help us offer a better and more efficient service to all our customers. Investment in eCommerce will continue at pace to ensure we are offering all customers an easy route into Bradfords to browse, design, shop or manage their account effectively.
We have been fortunate enough to invest during the pandemic – the workforce has grown by 10% and our service proposition is expanding. The future for Bradfords is a bright one. We have had the backs of our customers for 250 years – and we are not going to stop now.
FOR ADVICE ON YOUR FUTURE GROWTH OR RETENTION STRATEGIES PLEASE CONTACT MICHAEL PARRY.
e: michael.parry@gcsassociates.com
t: 0161 660 2548
PROVIDING A PLATFORM FOR OUR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES TO GET BACK TO WORK AFTER COVID-19
GCS Associates launches The GCS PLEDGE, with the aim to help as many people as possible, who were made redundant during COVID-19, to get back into work.
During COVID-19 many of our friends, colleagues and peers within the Construction, Building Supply & Hire sectors have been affected by redundancies. At GCS, we have spoken to so many talented individuals who are now actively looking for new roles, and we’re committed to supporting them by providing our recruitment services for free.
As recruitment specialists within these sectors, we are making a pledge to help, at least, 21 people who have lost their jobs due to COVID, back into employment.
We’re counting on you to help us.
If you have a vacancy within your business please get in touch to see how you can get involved.
We guarantee we can find the right talent for you
GCS Associates have 15 years experience recruiting withing the Construction, Building Supply and Hire sectors.
You will be supporting the many people who have lost their jobs
Its an unprecedented number.
We wont charge anything for our recruitment services
We’ll act as your recruitment partner; shortlist CV’s and present the best possible candidates for your business.
“The BMF is pleased to endorse GCS’s initiative ‘The GCS Pledge’ – 21 for 2021′. Its a great initiative which runs in parallel with the CLC’s Construction Industry Talent Retention scheme, of which the BMF are a founder member company. We all know people are our most important asset and I encourage all of our members and associates to get behind these initiatives”
John Newcomb, CEO, BMF
Lets stay COVID resilient together.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE GCS PLEDGE
CONTACT MICHAEL PARRY.
e: michael.parry@gcsassociates.com
t: 0161 660 2548
GCS MANAGING DIRECTOR EXPLORES IMPACT OF COVID ON THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
As part of our 'Leaders in Construction' interview series, Michael Parry shares his thoughts on the changes COVID has had on our industry and the huge impact on recruitment.
Tell us about your career in recruitment for the Construction and Building Supply sectors?
In 2007, I decided to take the plunge and set up a recruitment business focusing on Construction & Building Supplies. We had one overriding aim: to provide a genuine, informed & consultative service, building long-term working relationships based on trust.
A lot has changed over the years. But what remains a constant are the people. It is a great industry in which to work. I have made some great friends over the years and it has been great to see their career development during my time working in construction sector.
This year has definitely been the greatest learning curve for me personally and I think the sector is definitely going to be stronger for it as well. I’ve have a lot of aspirations for GCS moving forward and I am looking forward to seeing what 2021 brings.
Since COVID-19 how have you seen the hiring market change?
Pre- Covid, we were in a ‘candidate’s market’ in my opinion. Since Covid, there is certainly an argument for there being a shift to an ‘employer’s market’ as despite the furlough scheme, unemployment went through the roof in those early months of lockdown.
Clearly, some sectors continue to remain devastated by the actions taken to combat Covid-19 but the construction and construction supplies sector have bounced back extremely well. Once back open, trading reports have been incredibly positive. So as quickly as jobs disappeared, they reappeared.
Although we don’t really know what the future looks like, things are back where they were. There is still a large amount of people victim to Covid-19 redundancies – these are people we genuinely want to help if we can – so watch out for our initiative – The GCS Pledge.
How has the second lockdown differed from the first in terms of hiring trends?
From our experience the hiring trends in the sector due to lockdown 2.0 have not been affected. We had a few fall outs and a few more requests for remote interviews but the message is clear from everyone – we are open for business!
What roles and skills are in-demand?
Within the Hire sector, engineering roles have always and remain highly in-demand. If there are any CAP’d Powered Access Engineers reading this, please get in touch!!
Succession planning is critical to any employer so attracting the right senior level talent for our clients is always going to be important.
How have you changed your business to adapt with the changing nature of hiring and recruitment since the pandemic hit?
Thankfully we have always embraced technology and video technology, especially when it comes to interviews and presenting our candidates to clients. So, there hasn’t been much change on this level. Investing in technology will also be high on our agenda and this is going to be more prevalent moving forward.
We aren’t one of the huge corporate agencies, so we are relatively agile which I feel is important in the current climate. Within reason we have been able to whether the storm relatively unscathed.
Corny as it may sound, during lockdown when recruitment was, shall we say, not a priority, we saw it as an opportunity to give a little back, get to better know our clients and the industry we work in. In was a good opportunity to develop those relationships and speak about non recruitment issues.
What I have personally taken from this is how important communication is; within our own team, and with our candidates and our clients.
We genuinely listened to our network, and now, in addition to recruitment we are now expanding our service offering with value-add services such as complete recruitment outsourcing, employer branding, executive search and training solutions.
How are you seeing your clients adapt their businesses to the new working world?
Firstly digitisation. The Builders Merchants sector and perhaps the wider Construction Supplies sector for a long time has rightly or wrongly been maligned as being slow to embrace change. The events of this year have meant businesses have almost been forced to embrace change and see it as an opportunity to modernism and improve their business. And from what I see this has been a great success.
Secondly operational change. Covid-secure operational practices are now in place and new habits are being formed – both in terms of working practices for our clients and new buying habits for their customers.
There were also supply chain issues which I understand may persist, so forecasting will certainly be something the suppliers and distributors will be looking at.
What advice can you give to organisations who are struggling to recruit talent at the moment
Give us a call.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR RECRUITMENT SERVICES OR IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A NEW ROLE PLEASE CONTACT MICHAEL PARRY.
e: michael.parry@gcsassociates.com
t: 0161 660 2548
GCS APPOINTS CHRIS WHITLOCK AS EXECUTIVE CONSULTANT AS PART OF 2021 GROWTH STRATEGY
Key appointment as GCS invests in new services and specialist recruitment technology...
GCS Associates, providers of specialist recruitment solutions to the building materials, construction, technical and engineering sectors, has today announced the appointment of Chris Whitlock in the newly created position of Executive Consultant. In this role, Chris is focused on developing GCS’s presence within the Builders’ Merchant marketplace, growing the GCS team, client base and service offering.
With over 36 years of experience within the merchant industry, Chris has held various Managing Director roles with a distinguished record of driving change towards improved profitability, compliance, and governance, and in building best-in-class teams.
Chris joins GCS during a period of growth and service diversification, with an increased focus and investment on Executive Search, in-house training, and Recruitment Technology.
On his appointment, Chris, commented:
“This is an exciting opportunity to take a great business to the next level. Throughout my career, it is always my aim to place a high value on a collaborative and innovative workplace from which a company can achieve its goals. GCS already has a great culture & reputation for first-class recruitment services, and I look forward to working with the talented team to expand GCS’ reach and service offering within the Builders’ Merchant industry”
GCS Managing Director, Michael Parry said:
“GCS has experienced great growth during uncertain times over the last year, driven by our commitment to high quality service levels as much as our specialist market focus. We are committed to continually supporting our clients by investing in new recruitment technologies and furthering our in-house training offering.
I am delighted to be welcoming Chris and know he brings the values, skills and experience to help GCS on our journey to become the go-to recruitment company in the build, construction and engineering sectors.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GCS’S NEW SERVICE OFFERING OR IF YOU’D LIKE A CONFIDENTIAL CONVERSATION AROUND YOUR FUTURE GROWTH OR RETENTION STRATEGIES PLEASE CONTACT MICHAEL PARRY.
e: michael.parry@gcsassociates.com
t: 0161 660 2548