Jack Taylor was appointed as head of talent at digital delivery consultancy Axiologik last year.
The Leeds-based consultancy has a number of clients which include the NHS, which Axiologik assisted with digital delivery of the nationwide Covid vaccine programme.
Taylor previously worked at Leeds consultancy Aire Logic, where he helped to boost the growth of the company to 200 full-time staff as well as 200 contractors.
His role involves sourcing experienced talent across various specialisms such as product management and delivery management.
Taylor shared how a recent week in his life went…
Monday
I’d like to say I start my week off with a workout or something similar, however it’s usually the sound of my already snoozed alarm telling me to get out of bed. Once I’m up, I take the dog out for a walk and then get ready for the day ahead. I enjoy spending Mondays in the office, I feel it helps set me up for the week.
Once I get to the office, I make a strong cuppa and then get to work. Working in resourcing, things change hour by hour so it’s hard to plan your day. Despite this, I will make a list of to do tasks for the day, as well as adding in some larger tasks for the week. Being able to see my tasks helps me focus much better.
I tend to spend Monday mornings looking at what we have coming up role wise for the week and trying to prioritise which roles are the most urgent. (For any clients reading, you are always the most important). Then mapping our roles to what candidates we have in our pipeline.
Monday afternoons tend to be dedicated to catching up with candidates who are currently interviewing and our resourcing partners, before finishing around 5-5.30.
Tuesday
I start Tuesday by checking our live job adverts and going through applications. We currently have a wide range of roles we are recruiting for, so most of the time is spent checking over CVs. We get back to all candidates regardless of whether they are successful or not, even at the application stage.
This Tuesday is our first ‘Tasty Tuesday’ at Axiologik. Our amazing operations manager Catherine has organised lunch to be delivered to the office on Tuesdays for all staff who are in the office.
Tuesday afternoon is mainly spent trying to avoid a food coma and process writing (two things that do not go hand in hand). Although our current recruitment process works, I am working on future proofing the process so it can move with us as we scale in size. I try to get to the gym Tuesday evenings after work and the success rate varies!
Wednesday
Wednesday this week is full of meetings. I have a meeting with the team to discuss ‘recruitment and people marketing’ first, followed by a meeting with our Umbrella service provider. The afternoon is spent covering daily tasks off, before meeting with our leadership team to discuss our diversity and inclusion plan.
Axiologik are passionate about increasing the diversity within the business. We want to attract talent from different walks of life with different backgrounds. Kate Appleby is currently leading on pulling a plan together and is doing some amazing work around this.
I’ve recently started playing squash after work. I’m trying to find different sports to play to keep fit, especially indoor sports given the darker evenings. The pint I have after is definitely medicinal given all the aches and pains!
Thursday
Thursday mornings we have a catch up with our marketing provider where we go make sure that everything across the business is nicely aligned. Myself and Tony, our head of delivery, interviewed a candidate for a delivery manager position in the afternoon. Interviewing is one of my favourite parts of the job. It’s great to meet new people. My interview style has always been very laid back, it helps candidates relax and opens up more of a two way conversation.
A candidate should interview a company as much as a company should interview a candidate. Once a month on a Thursday we have a town hall where all of the businesses sit down (both in person and remote for those who can’t make it) . We have an agenda to discuss topics across the business as well as welcoming new starters and thanking individuals for going above and beyond over the past month.
This is followed by ‘Thirsty Thursday’. We are lucky enough to have a bar upstairs in our office! On Thursdays we invite people to come upstairs and join us for an alcoholic or non alcoholic drink. Thursday evenings are taken up by five a side. Being a long suffering Leeds United fan, it’s the only time I can actually enjoy football at the moment.
Friday
Friday’s I work from home. I save Friday mornings as admin time. I go through our current associate list and speak with the relevant people to discuss contract extensions. I also speak with our onboarding provider to see where we are with our checks for new starters. Friday afternoon I prep any new starters for the following week. I also screen candidates for some urgent contract roles we have coming up.
