Kaizen – 8 years

kaizen
kʌɪˈzɛn/
noun

The Japanese word for "change for better".

I founded Kaizen Talent Solutions in November 2015 with the aim of building a business that improves on and beyond what is accepted as the norm for recruitment. Kaizen aims to simply be the best knowledge-based search and selection consultancy specialising in the placement of senior managers and leaders within companies supporting change initiatives and the drive towards continuous improvement.

Respect and the ability to build enduring relationships is a value central to our business and something I have personally lived by for nearly 13 years as a recruitment consultant – effective, two-way engagement where ideas and skills are shared in the pursuit of a mutual objective. ‘Listen, think, do’ summarises my approach, resulting in practical, real-world advice and guidance. People that know me, know they can always rely on me to say it as it is. 

Since starting Kaizen we have had success (and fun) partnering with niche candidates and clients. We have had a flying start, being engaged in a number of retained search assignments and successfully recruiting the likes of:

• Aerospace – Operations Director, Operations Manager, Head of Supply Chain, Quality Manager and Interim Quality consultant
• Professional Services – Director of Business Improvement, 2 x Lean Practitioners
• Medical Devices – Operations Director
• Automotive – Manufacturing Engineering Manager, Purchasing Director
• Packaging – Managing Director

Since November I have found that Change and Lean thinking continue to prosper in all manufacturing and supply chain environments. The practice also continues to spread to other non-manufacturing service related environments. This is a candidate-short and rapidly growing sector with areas such as financial services investing in Change 15 years or so ago and more recently public sector, utilities and the insurance and legal professions.

The broader manufacturing and supply chain market continues to play a major part in the UK’s economy, especially as the recovery carries on. The automotive industry continues to drive this and doesn’t show any signs in the short term of slowing. The West Midlands especially has been a beneficiary of this market up-trend with the likes of Jaguar Landrover and its huge supply chain in the region. The consumer market continues to be a strong market thanks to consistent customer demand. Also of particular note is the aerospace industry. It is well recognized now that the commercial aerospace sector is a growing market, with airlines expecting the number of passengers to grow 4.1% annually, reaching a total of 7.3 billion potential customers by 2034. As a result, Aircraft OEM order books are filling-up for current models available on the market, and requests for new planes equipped with more efficient and more demanding technology to better serve future customers’ needs are on the rise as well. Competition is increasing along with market growth, forcing aircraft manufacturers to become more innovative, on the look for emerging markets, while improving production capabilities to keep up with demand. Supply Chain is directly impacted by such challenges. Indeed, Kaizen has found aerospace clients are already rethinking their supply chain management. Engineering and Manufacturing, and Procurement and Supply Chain professionals continue to be short in supply. In fact, Engineering UK, states that the UK does not have either the current capacity or the growth rate needed to meet the forecasted demand in the next seven years.

It has been a challenging first few months as an entrepreneur and owner of a small business, after being a director in a global FTSE recruitment organization (and all of the support and infrastructure that comes with it) for 12 years. However, it has been fun and very rewarding and I am proud of the progress the business has made in terms of results delivered, Kaizen’s brand and market presence, and the relationships it has developed. I am looking forward to the rest of the year and continuing to grow the business to be a true talent partner to more candidates and clients alike.