Celebrating Growth: Meet the Head of Our New Highland Division - By Karen Stewart
Nine Twenty Engineering & Manufacturing, the next part of our chapter...
I am lucky enough to have built a close-knit network across the manufacturing & Engineering sectors spanning over many years and some of you will have followed my journey from the start (thank you for that!). From starting as a rookie and pestering the life out of so many people to work with me, to engaging me to work with you and your businesses to becoming strategic partners. Watching my journey into managing, building a team, becoming a Mum and then latterly joining Nine Twenty in 2015.
At the time, Nine Twenty was on a growth journey and I wanted to know more about their style of recruitment. No KPI’s and aggressive sales and products and services I knew nothing about. At first, I struggled with the change in culture from a sales driven high street agency to a softer relationship driven approach where solutions selling was key but in time, it clicked and my journey with Nine Twenty started to really begin. In 2017, I was offered the opportunity to franchise my business area, and it just seemed to make sense. I had thought about going off on my own to continue to conquer the engineering & manufacturing markets but realised that the STEM led teams that we were building complimented each other and being part of a group of supportive peers may be the better option.
Many of you will know I have worked super hard to build the manufacturing & engineering business within Nine Twenty and have loved every minute of it. From winning some amazing accounts, to creating initiatives to address the skills gaps, to joining some boards and most of all, building my teams and seeing people flourish. This is what brings me onto the next part of our chapter…
Caroline Strachan joined the Nine Twenty business as admin support 8 years ago and immediately made a difference to our teams. Her friendly and approachable nature, her reliable style meant that she could turn her hand to almost anything (very quickly) and help us recruiters do our jobs even better. She told me one day that she wanted more for her life and was willing to put in the effort to make that happen and I could see that she would. So, when a position came up in my team for a trainee recruiter, I encouraged Caroline to apply and of course she joined my team. It was hard at first to get her head around the actual day to day of recruitment but once the penny dropped there was no stopping, Caroline. Her background in admin and support meant she was a whizz on our systems and great with following processes, her confidence grew, and she started managing clients and accounts and then into managing people in our teams. Her passion for the Manufacturing & Engineering sector grew and she continued to win promotions, always being developed and open to learning and always happy to get involved in anything she was asked.
It has been an absolute pleasure to watch Caroline progress and now it is time for her to build her own piece of legacy within the business and that it to build a Highland Division for my business area. We already have a brilliant presence and a great start, and I believe that with her knowledge, network to date and that openness to continue to learn along with our support will mean she has the chance to do something special.
So, it is a pleasure to announce the birth of our new division, headed up by someone who I have no doubts will be a breath of fresh air to the area. We have some great plans around some solutions and events for our Highlands network and are excited to bring them to you.
To Caroline, I cannot praise your efforts enough and am excited to watch you grow and thrive in your next chapter too. Go get em…….
We are looking for people to come and join our teams so if you are interested in applying then reach out to me.
Karen Stewart: kstewart@weareninetwenty.com | 0785 449 039