Preston recruitment firm tackles Covid downturn and returns to growth with Boost support

The owner of a growing Preston-headquartered business supplying staff to the care and education sectors has said the support his team received from Boost before the pandemic helped it to survive lockdown.

KTG Recruitment Ltd was established in 2007 and operates a team of around 105 field-based staff. Company director Godwin Anthony is a business performance coach for Boost’s Bespoke programme and decided to seek help for his own business through the programme to improve performance in a range of areas including marketing and finance.

The company has now returned to growth following the pandemic and is looking to develop a number of additional services to continue its expansion. Godwin said: “Covid affected us because, as a recruitment business that supplies to the care sector, it became much more difficult for us to go into care services. That was a huge challenge and recruiting was also difficult because we were partly working from home.

The industry had to work around the restrictions. “Working with Boost’s coaches Peter Dickinson and Hayley Caine improved our structure and processes and gave greater accountability within the business. We also looked at what pieces needed to be added to the business for us to grow. “The things we put in place during this period helped to sustain KTG and start us on the road to recovery.”

Boost is Lancashire's Business Growth Hub and is led by Lancashire County Council and the Lancashire LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership). It is supported by funding from Lancashire County Council, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. As a funded business support service, Boost helps Lancashire business owners and leaders navigate the local, regional and national public and private sector business support landscape, to find the right support for their business.

Boost also delivers a number of funded programmes for start-up, established and fast-growing businesses. Boost Bespoke is a targeted scaleup programme for Lancashire businesses who have been trading more than three years and employing more than 10 staff. The programme helps the leaders of these businesses develop an effective leadership team, grow in new and existing markets and be more resilient to the changing economy. During the pandemic, KTG’s management team at its Preston base reduced from 14 members of staff to 5 but the company is now growing again. It is currently employing 11 people and is looking to add more office staff in addition to its field-based staff.

The business is continuing to receive advice through the Boost Bespoke programme, including from Boost Bespoke business adviser Sue Denver (pictured). Sue introduced Godwin to the Boost Bespoke programme and identified his business issues and challenges and developed the Bespoke coaching packages to meet his needs.

Godwin is also looking to grow the business in areas including driving and is hoping to appoint a full-time operations manager to allow him to take a back step from day-to-day operations and spend more time helping other business leaders as a business performance consultant. He added: “One of the best ways to improve your business is to work with someone who can look from the outside in. Sometimes, we can be apprehensive about doing that, but I would say to business owners - you don’t know until you try.” “The experts at Boost will not judge your business, it’s very much a partnership.”

Want to explore your business growth options? Start your growth conversation today by calling Boost on 0800 488 0057 or completing our contact form.