RECRUITMENT
Thriving – Westray ’ s Kyle Jevons says he ’ s been blessed to work alongside some of the region ’ s biggest entrepreneurs and business owners .
WORDS : PHILIP TALLENTIRE PICTURE : TOM BANKS
A PERFECT MATCH
Kyle Jevons , manager of Westray Recruitment Group ’ s Stockton office , tells Tees Business the secret of his success and the thriving firm ’ s continual growth ...
How long have you been with Westray ? I ’ ve been with the firm for 18 months . My background wasn ’ t in recruitment , it was in food science and engineering , and I ’ d never considered recruitment as a potential career . However , I spoke to ( CEO ) Ashleigh Wright and the rest is history . Teesside is thriving at the moment and I am incredibly fortunate to be a part of its ongoing success .
What attracted you to the company ? I was initially brought in as a recruitment consultant and it was the whole 360-degree process of working in recruitment that appealed – the interview process , finding candidates , building relationships with the candidates and clients – the whole recruitment package . In terms of recruitment , I knew after a couple of weeks it was the perfect fit for me – it ’ s quick paced and no two days are ever the same . I personally have been blessed to be actively working alongside some of the region ’ s biggest entrepreneurs and business owners . I am always learning and expanding my knowledge of the businesses in our local area .
What is Westray like to work for ? When I joined the company , they made it clear that my ideas would be listened to and I would have autonomy to do what I considered best to grow the Stockton
142 | Tees Business office . But they also made it clear they would support me in terms of specific training and general guidance from day one . There are certain processes you must follow , but outside those parameters you have freedom to be your own person . You can deal with clients in the way you feel is best – essentially , you can be your own person .
Why is Westray so successful ? One of the main things is that our endto-end process is a lot more stringent and detailed than most other recruitment businesses . The relationships with our clients and our candidates are generally unique . There ’ s a proper relationship there . Nothing is simply a transaction . That ’ s the biggest thing in recruitment . Even if a candidate is unsuccessful , it ’ s about that candidate feeling appreciated . We as a team firmly believe in ourselves and the value we add to each of our clients . Our clients trust us and we trust them . That is the key . We want what is best for them and our candidates . When we place a candidate we keep in touch with them constantly , we don ’ t just forget about them .
Tell us about some of the firm ’ s major projects on Teesside ? Our office has been helpful in providing a significant number of personnel to help supervise the construction of the £ 450m SeAH Wind factory . We are working with lots of major clients within Teesside who are experiencing immense growth , and it ’ s been a privilege to have played a huge part in this . We provide multi-discipline temporary staff with clients we have had , and maintained , over a 20-year period , while also onboarding new temporary contracts . And we are providing permanent members of staff across various sectors and sub-sectors , including senior appointments in engineering , commercial , manufacturing , construction , renewables , chemicals and pharmaceutical .
What plans do you and Westray have for the Stockton branch in 2024 ? Westray has quietly been going about its business for years now and now we want to be more active in promoting ourselves . We want to shout about who we are , what we offer and what value we can add . We ’ re constantly growing , we ’ re working with more and more clients and building increased levels of trust with new clients . Westray has also invested heavily in tech and that ’ s given us some really useful tools . It ’ s going to be continual growth for us .
For more information visit westrayrecruitment . co . uk .