The story of Toast Recruitment
My name is Katie Hemmings and I started my career in recruitment, working for two big national brands and one boutique agency. I moved from recruitment into market research, firstly working for Verdict Retail and subsequently Informa UK, a FTSE 100 company.
In 2011 I joined HIM (now Lumina Intelligence) as an Account Manager and in 2014 I became Commercial Director. HIM was a shopper research agency which specialised in the convenience and wholesale markets. I did a lot of recruiting while in this role and understood what it felt like to be on the other side of the recruitment process!
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Through all these roles I managed the senior relationships with many FMCG companies and UK retailers. These were blue chip companies such as Unilever, Heineken, BP & Tesco, but I also enjoyed working with many start-ups and SMEs.
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I now have two children and decided that I wanted to combine all my experience and skills gained in work and life to launch Toast Recruitment. I called the company Toast because a lot of my clients would be operating the food and drink sector and I wanted a memorable name that wasn't boring or easy to forget!
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I offer my clients the same level of service that I would expect. I understand the markets that they operate in and I add value by screening thoroughly and managing the candidate journey in the right way. I am always transparent which I believe in turn breeds trust and respect. I feel that feedback managed well can be really valuable and beneficial for both clients and candidates (and me).
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I am a huge advocate of flexible working and this was one of the main reasons I set up my own business. Since Covid I have seen a huge change in the approach of most companies which is great but still think there is more some can to do to support employees who need a hybrid or flexible approach.
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I look forward to working with you, please get in touch to have a conversation on +44 (0)7307 610 778
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Katie Hemmings, Managing Director, Toast Recruitment