People still come first in Russell Taylor Group’s expansion programme

There’s a saying that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

This has certainly been the case for Russell Taylor Group as a year of change has seen the business become one of the UK’s biggest recruiting operations, dealing with all the new challenges facing such rapid growth.

Yet one thing has remained constant - the ideal set out at the company’s inception that it would become known as a force for good within the recruitment sector nationally and be a major influence on its Wirral home ground by its impact on the local economy and community.

Celebrating 12 years of trading, chairman Peter Russell, who has seen the business rise from a spare room set-up to today’s multi-million pound reality, said: “From day one there was always a specific vision for Russell Taylor. Our plans for a culture of employing a happy and fulfilled workforce to create a reputable business with unrivalled customer and candidate service have never wavered and, as a result, our turnover has reached a figure we could only dream of in those early days.

“But it’s our ideals centred on everything we believe in as a family-run business that really matter - that although we’re playing on a national and international stage, our commitment is to our local community where we can play a huge part in its prosperity.”

Peter and his son Ben originally set up the business in 2005, running it from Ben’s home with just three people. In the past year, the Russell Taylor Group workforce has increased by 40 per cent and turnover has gone from £15m to more than £25m.

With its headquarters firmly rooted in Bromborough, Russell Taylor Group is now part of the massively expanding Russell Taylor Holdings Ltd and, with Ben Russell as its chief executive, also runs Recruit Right, Assist Resourcing, Nexus People and NMS Recruit.

As a collective, the group of businesses’ turnover is in excess of £170m, operating from numerous branches and client sites across the UK. Sectors span engineering, construction, IT, industrial, commercial and transport and the whole organisation now employs 327 full-time staff.

Reflecting on the past 12 years, Ben said: “It’s been an incredible business journey, one where we have stuck to our principles of running a reputable business in an industry notorious for high staff turnover where, because people love to come to work, they can reach their full potential and contribute to the company’s success.

“It’s also vital in our industry that issues such as treating temporary staff in the same way as permanent staff are seen as important, that temps are ‘not just numbers’ for recruitment purposes. Even with our success at a major national level, customers still appreciate our non-corporate approach where we tailor all our solutions to individual needs.”

Vital to the Russell Taylor Group agenda is the part it plays in boosting the local and regional economy. As a patron of Wirral Chamber of Commerce, the company acts as an ambassador for the organisation, supporting the message that its member businesses are making a huge, positive difference to the regional economy.

Ben, who was earlier this year named as Business Person of the Year in the Wirral Business Awards, has also become a founder patron of The Hive Youth Zone in Birkenhead, investing heavily in a three-year programme to support the new £6m state-of-the-art facility for young people in an area which has second highest concentration of unemployment in disadvantaged communities in England. To help youngsters into employment, Russell Taylor Group is now working with The Hive’s Employability and Engagement Team to partner up in initiatives including coaching, mentoring and work experience.

Most important though is Russell Taylor Group’s commitment to its own workforce and their development. Its apprenticeship programme, where “home grown” talent has seen junior staff blossom into seasoned professionals across all areas of sales, finance and business services, has recruited more than 20 young apprentices in the past two years, most of whom are still working for the company today.

Ben said: “Our people are our most vital asset; we believe in a supportive environment where people come first.

“They are the backbone of our business but they also help to drive our programme of corporate social responsibility with the amazing work they do in their own time to raise money for local charities important to us. They’ve helped us to raise £10,000 to pay for a state-of-the-art bedroom at Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool, brought in more than £4,000 for Claire House children’s hospice by taking part in the recent Tough Mudder challenge and are involved in ongoing work for The Hive and the Cruse bereavement charity.”

And for the future of Russell Taylor Group?

Ben added: “We want to keep improving the company and continue developing our people. At the size were are now, we have a lot of work to do to ensure we keep doing the best we can for our brand, our economy and our local community.”