Jonathan Taylor

Director (The Boss!)

Described in three words: Print – Market – Mad

Jonathan is the boss man, so we will keep it tame when it comes to the jokes, as we would like to keep our jobs. But, the state of his desk is in no way a reflection on his knowledge of the Print & Packaging market (trust me). Jonathan created Taylor Higson in 2012, as a one-man band. He built up the company name through growing his Client and Candidate network and believed that the business was able to be grow naturally to its true potential. This is exactly what Jonathan achieved and now he heads our team of experts here at Taylor Higson.

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Yasmine Lavin

Senior Recruitment Consultant

Described in three words: Honest, Hilarious and Straight to the Point

Yas is not only a fantastic baker (honestly, we love it when there’s a birthday here), but she has over 10 years of experience specializing in Print, Packaging & Direct Mail sectors. She has experience covering all aspects of Print and Packaging and it doesn’t go unnoticed. Yas is a very personable asset to our team here at Taylor Higson and maintains her Client and Candidate relationships very well. As the Queen of the Packaging sector of our business, she knows all the ins and outs of Packaging in the current market. She works very closely with her Clients across the UK and Europe and builds a trusted relationship with them in order to deliver the very best talent to their door. From a Candidate’s perspective, she’ll get to know the real you, find out your best qualities and your career goals to ensure you are matched with the best opportunities and clients.

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Laura Spencer

Senior Consultant

Described in three words: Absolute-Clean-Freak

Laura is a Senior Consultant working across all sectors of Print and Packaging here at Taylor Higson. We could also class Laura as our part-time cleaner as she has an obsession with clean desks (which is pretty unlucky for Jonathan). Although she covers EVERYTHING when it comes to the Print and Packaging industry, Laura does specialise in Technical and Production. She has over 6 years of experience working in recruitment, which involved quite a diverse recruitment background. Now, Laura is an amazing recruiter – we can all vouch for that but what she does lack in, is her hot drink skills (Laura thinks because she doesn’t take milk in her coffee that, that means she doesn’t have to make us one. Wrong). Apart from that, we are thrilled to have Laura working with us at Taylor Higson – she’s a real asset to our team.

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Sales & Client Services:

As I’m sure you all know, Sales & Client Services teams are a fundamental part of any business – and that’s exactly what our Sales & Client Services team are. Our team of professionals help to bring in new talent to your business, they look after and develop your day-to-day Client requirements and can be the ultimate difference in turning a one-off interview into a long-lasting legacy member of the team. Our team here at Taylor Higson have worked across the Print and Packaging sector for over 10 years, so we know what a good Business Development or Account Manager looks like.

Studio, Technical & Production:

As we call them – The Creators. Our Studio, Technical & Production team work very closely with Sales & Client Services in order to help make the Client’s expectations a reality. We at Taylor Higson listen to your brief and successfully design, produce and deliver your vision. We know the level of calibre that is needed to succeed within your Operational team.

Executive Search & Board Level:

One word – Understanding. From an Executive & Board Level perspective, that is what it’s all about. With our in-depth knowledge of Print & Packaging, the current supply chain, your internal teams (managing a sales function and creative function is hard work – you’ve got to be diplomatic). Within our team here, we have a successful background and proven experience of introducing talent up to Board Level. Our Consultants have built their own individual niches across direct mail, print management, packaging, POS, store fit out, transactional mail, large format print & graphics and recruit from entry through to C-Level.

Back Office:

Also known as the Unsung Heroes. To us, not one of our Client’s would exist without their back-office functions. What do we cover when it comes to this? Well, HR, Finance, Procurement, Marketing & Support (trust me, the list goes on). We have Consultants here who have spent over 6 years building a network of Clients and Candidates within ‘back office’. We know all there is to know when it comes to back office functions and how they implement your business into running smoothly and efficiently. That’s why we only find the best of the best when it comes to Candidates that can help do just that

Jonathan Taylor

Director (The Boss!)

Described in three words: Print – Market – Mad

Jonathan is the boss man, so we will keep it tame when it comes to the jokes, as we would like to keep our jobs. But, the state of his desk is in no way a reflection on his knowledge of the Print & Packaging market (trust me). Jonathan created Taylor Higson in 2012, as a one-man band. He built up the company name through growing his Client and Candidate network and believed that the business was able to be grow naturally to its true potential. This is exactly what Jonathan achieved and now he heads our team of experts here at Taylor Higson.

Linkedin-in Envelope

Yasmine Lavin

Senior Recruitment Consultant

Described in three words: Honest, Hilarious and Straight to the Point

Yas is not only a fantastic baker (honestly, we love it when there’s a birthday here), but she has over 10 years of experience specializing in Print, Packaging & Direct Mail sectors. She has experience covering all aspects of Print and Packaging and it doesn’t go unnoticed. Yas is a very personable asset to our team here at Taylor Higson and maintains her Client and Candidate relationships very well. As the Queen of the Packaging sector of our business, she knows all the ins and outs of Packaging in the current market. She works very closely with her Clients across the UK and Europe and builds a trusted relationship with them in order to deliver the very best talent to their door. From a Candidate’s perspective, she’ll get to know the real you, find out your best qualities and your career goals to ensure you are matched with the best opportunities and clients.

Linkedin-in Envelope

Laura Spencer

Senior Consultant

Described in three words: Absolute-Clean-Freak

Laura is a Senior Consultant working across all sectors of Print and Packaging here at Taylor Higson. We could also class Laura as our part-time cleaner as she has an obsession with clean desks (which is pretty unlucky for Jonathan). Although she covers EVERYTHING when it comes to the Print and Packaging industry, Laura does specialise in Technical and Production. She has over 6 years of experience working in recruitment, which involved quite a diverse recruitment background. Now, Laura is an amazing recruiter – we can all vouch for that but what she does lack in, is her hot drink skills (Laura thinks because she doesn’t take milk in her coffee that, that means she doesn’t have to make us one. Wrong). Apart from that, we are thrilled to have Laura working with us at Taylor Higson – she’s a real asset to our team.

• The Client

Digital marketing is transforming management roles in the print point of sale industry, and finding talented people willing to take on this challenging new environment takes a combination of strong client relationships and being frank about the challenges and opportunities in equal measure.

When a globally renowned print POS manufacturer with a turnover of £80m, faced this intersection between their traditional business model and their drive towards becoming a full service multi-channel provider, they knew they needed a very particular set of skills in their new hire.

The Challenge

The company had gone through their own internal recruitment process, then moved on and engaged their preferred recruitment specialists, but hadn’t found a candidate who matched their exacting brief.

When working on a high-profile assignment alongside an Internal Recruitment team and a proven string of recruiters on a well-established PSL, you must think and act a little differently. You must stand out from the crowd.

The brief for the vacancy was to find somebody that could change the mentality and thought process of internal and external stakeholders. Somebody that was talented and vastly experienced in Procurement and Supply Chain. A professional who had strong commerciality but also an understanding of the operational side of a business.

This may seem like an impossible wish list, or even a Unicorn.

The Solution

Taylor Higson’s Matthew Hanley knows his market, so after seeing this position do the rounds through the run of the mill routes (industry news, LinkedIn status, etc) for a couple of weeks, he knew it was a tough assignment to complete.

Matthew says “I was aware the business was going through a period of change. I had seen this position become vacant. It was a senior role and I knew they had a set recruitment process they had to follow. When I saw the vacancy again a couple of weeks later, I knew there was an opportunity to help”.

Seizing the initiative, he made contact through the correct channels. He was told to call back a couple of weeks later. Good to his word, he respected the company’s wishes and waited two weeks before calling back.

His polite persistence paid off. The company decided to give him the chance to work on the brief. “This was it. It was my time to shine! An opportunity to work on a strategic hire for one of the biggest names in my industry.” Matthew said.

Matthew’s first conversation with the client was unorthodox. Matthew explained to the hiring manager why he felt the clients chosen candidate attraction route had failed initially. Tackling the points head on, advising and consulting on where he thought the right candidate could add value, he gained the trust of the client by his open and frank assessment, not the usual sales spiel they encountered from other recruiters.

“The client was a little taken aback, I think. They quickly realised that I wasn’t afraid to point out the challenges to them or my candidates. I think they quickly realised my approach is to listen of course, but to fully consult and advise.”

But, as Matthew says, finding the successful hire didn’t come from purely following recruitment processes. “They needed someone willing to listen to the challenging parts of the brief, someone brave enough to change the culture of a business, a culture that had been ingrained for 30 years.”

Match Making

Matthew knew the key to finding the right person wasn’t just about going through competencies and behavioural interview techniques. He forged a strong relationship with the company to fully understand what they needed from their new hire. This gave him the insight to engage potential candidates in frank conversations to ensure that they were up to the challenge of communicating the company’s new direction from the ground up.

With so many aspects of the role, and as broad as it was, Matthew very diligently broke down the expectations into reality. What was essential and what was a nice to have.

Such conversations enabled a complex brief to be broken and transformed into one that was to everyone’s expectations and now a lot clearer.

Taylor Higson conducted the Market Map, they sought referrals, they did all the things a client would hope an experienced recruitment consultancy. What Matt did that others didn’t do though was to ask those challenging questions. Challenging questions that were welcomed and competently answered through appreciation for the task in hand.

The Result

The candidate hired is now revolutionising processes and procedures within the company. He had the background in working up from the production floor, and has been able to provide clear and concise communication within the business. He has successfully promoted the board level vision throughout the business and the supply chain that this is no longer just a print business, but a full marketing services agency.

Finding the right talent for this company has been instrumental in moving the business forward, and has strengthened their relationship with Taylor Higson, who have gone on to be awarded many other vacancies

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