Recruitment specialist Thorn Baker Group has strengthened its senior team with the appointment of Iain Brown.
Iain will become head of people services, a newly created role that will help Thorn Baker deliver on its People Strategy and its intentions of improving learning and development opportunities for staff across the business so it can nurture, train and develop its own talent.
Iain has over 20 years’ experience within the recruitment industry and has created and led People Strategies, improving learning and development, employee engagement, onboarding and staff retention, at other leading recruitment firms.
Iain joins Thorn Baker from The Best Connection Employment Group, where he enjoyed a 15 year career as head of people services supporting over 1,000 members of staff in their professional development and career progression.
At Thorn Baker, through his newly created role Iain will align the People Strategy and HR function of the business with the firm’s overall strategic plan. This will ensure that staff benefit from having industry leading learning and development opportunities and effective onboarding and employment engagement policies and are supported through a person focussed HR policy.
The formation of a ‘head of people services’ role and Iain’s appointment is part of the continuing evolution of Thorn Baker. The company has grown consistently over recent years, including throughout the pandemic, and is experiencing strong demand for staff from its clients in the construction, industrial and estates and facilities maintenance sectors.
Thorn Baker is on course to achieve close to a £40 million turnover in this financial year, a landmark for the company that was founded in 1988.
By creating the head of people services role, Thorn Baker is aiming to become one of the leading employers within the recruitment industry so that it can attract the best talent and achieve excellent staff retention and productivity.
Paul Jackman, Thorn Baker Group CEO, says: “I am very proud that we are continuing to grow as a business and are able to support our clients with the people they need to help their companies thrive.
“As we grow, we want to ensure that we are continuing to invest in our people, supporting, training and nurturing their talent, so that we have outstanding teams across the UK. I am a firm believer that if you put your people first, then everything else will follow.
“I am delighted that Iain has joined Thorn Baker and I’m sure his complementary skillset will be a valuable addition to our senior team. Through Iain joining us as ‘head of people services’ it sets our intention as a business and shows that we are taking staff welfare and their learning and development seriously.
“Upon joining the business, we want our staff to know there is a career pathway for them and to ensure they are supported with the effective onboarding, engagement and learning and development opportunities. For our clients, they benefit from working with highly trained recruitment specialists who will be on top of issues effecting their businesses, such as compliance and Modern Slavery.”
Iain Brown says: “I am hugely excited about my new role with Thorn Baker and I am looking forward to working with the senior team and staff at all levels to help shape the People Strategy for the business.
“The Thorn Baker board and I share the same view that looking after our staff and becoming a leading employer must be at the heart of the business, especially if we are to continue to grow successfully. I have been impressed by how the company responded to the pandemic, the culture and ethos and how it has supported its staff, and this played a large part in my decision to join the business.
“I love supporting people to enable them to progress in their careers. This role will help me reconnect with that purpose and the part of my role that energises me the most, working with people at all levels of the business to help them progress and become excellent at what they do.”
