Leadership – Great Annual Savings Group HR director Judith Bennison with head of operations , Craig Shields , outside the firm ’ s impressive new HQ in Seaham . PICTURE BY TOM BANKS
Seaham group ramping up recruitment despite pandemic
2020 has meant something different to
everyone , but most would agree that it has been a year of moving goalposts .
From furlough schemes to temporary closures , businesses have had to demonstrate agility to navigate the changing tides .
Unfortunately for many , there are more challenges ahead before we emerge into a new permanent landscape .
For Great Annual Savings Group ( GAS ), the goalposts are moving in front of a backdrop that was already experiencing a seismic shift .
The group is nearing the end of an eightmonth transformation project , exceeding £ 3.5m of investment , which has continued to gain momentum throughout the pandemic .
This has presented challenges of an entirely new scale and nature for the leadership at the Seaham cost reduction specialist .
The new HQ
Craig Shields , head of operations at GAS , said : “ A common phrase we use with our colleagues and clients when it comes to cost reduction is to ‘ focus on what you can control ’.
“ Over the last eight months in our transformation , that is what we have done - despite that phrase seeming to cover less with every week .
“ Progressing from SME status to becoming one of the region ’ s larger employers meant we needed to increase the size of our premises .
“ We are coming to the end of the fit-out of our brand new Sea View HQ building on Spectrum Business Park . This began in the spring , meaning that we have had to pivot to ensure the project delivers a building fit for a socially distant world .
“ Obviously this came at extra cost , so we
Feet on the GAS
A CGI shows Great Annual Savings Group ’ s proposed new Performance and Development Hub .
had to get creative to ensure that we still delivered our vision of a world class facility while keeping our colleagues completely safe and Covid-compliant .
“ Make no mistake , it has given me plenty of sleepless nights , but the finished product is set to be something to behold .”
Creating opportunities for all
Victoria Walton , head of resourcing and talent at GAS , has an enviable but difficult role in leading the team tasked with filling the group ' s 300 vacancies .
On the surface , the figure represents impressive growth for a company planning to double its size . But a glance beyond the numbers reveals a pandemic-fuelled motivation to make the roles available to a wide range of people in the region .
“ We always wanted to make a proportion of the roles accessible to people looking to get into our industry , or simply to start their career ,” says Victoria .
“ Over the summer , the chief executive forged a new partnership with East Durham College with the purpose of making a larger proportion of those positions apprenticeships .”
“ There are going to be people out of work and education , in a shrinking jobs market , who are looking for an opportunity to train and open up new career options .
“ We have , therefore , created a Performance and Development Hub exclusively focused on providing support , training and routes into a range of professions within the group .
“ Brad [ Groves ] shared his vision of creating employment opportunities in a post-covid landscape .
“ Now the group is able to help people access traineeships and apprenticeships at a time when opportunities are at a premium , he feels it is our duty to do so . That includes guaranteeing permanent jobs for any person who completes the EDC / GAS apprenticeship .
“ We are still recruiting experienced sales professionals from our industry and other sectors , too , who can hit the ground running and set aspirational examples to those in the Performance and Development Hub .
“ We have set ambitious targets , but the market-leading opportunity GAS represents is more than enough to attract people at all stages of their career .”
Victoria ’ s comments are supported by the group being named joint second on the independent Glassdoor list of the best work-life balance companies in the UK in November .
GAS will be embarking on this latest phase of growth during December and roles will be made available for applications in December and January .
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