Name: Tom Lidstone
Was: Group head of resourcing, Britvic Soft Drinks
Now: Group recruitment director, Care UK
Years in grocery: Four-and-a-half

Career background: I worked at Transport for London from 2005 to 2007, before joining Britvic as head of resourcing. I joined Care UK last year.

Why did you leave grocery? Quite simply, I wanted a new challenge. When I heard about Care UK’s growth plans I realised there was tremendous potential to have a positive impact on the service it delivers and the bottom line.

How different is Care UK to grocery? The big difference is one of brand awareness. Britvic is a heritage brand that people recognise and understand. There is often confusion over what services Care UK offers and that can be a hindrance when it comes to recruitment.

What were your biggest achievements in grocery? At Britvic, I recruited and developed an outstanding team - without those people, we could never have achieved the amazing results that we did. We more than halved the cost of recruiting, doubled productivity, and increased satisfaction of recruitment with the business and candidates. I suppose my other, related achievement was the introduction and implementation of resource planning.

Do you miss grocery? With such tangible products that are household names, I’m never far away from reminders of my time at Britvic. And I really miss the people there. However, I really like what Care UK stands for and it has been a remarkably easy company to become part of, so no regrets.

Would you come back? It’s in my nature to keep looking forwards, and I can see that Care UK will keep me fully occupied for a long time to come. Having said that - who knows what might happen in the future?

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