Our first Manchester hires reach five years at our Built Environment brand
To mark their anniversaries, we caught up with our very own Manchester pioneers; Lorna Yale and Matt Thomas, who were the first people to join our Manchester office. Recently they celebrated their five-year milestone with LHi Group and our Built Environment brand; Harper Harrison.
Looking back over their five-year journey, they have been part of many memorable achievements. So, there are no better people to share their LHi journey so far and talk about the start of the Built Environment brand; Harper Harrison, than the people who were there at the beginning of it all for Harper Harrison, Manchester. Both Matt and Lorna joined us as recent graduates back in 2017. Rewind five years prior, Lorna had just finished her Food Marketing degree with her only plan being to head into a sales role, and with Matt aspiring to be an opening batsman and part-time off-spinner, so it’s safe to say that neither set out to work in recruitment.
With five years of their LHi story now written, we asked them to reflect on their time so far and asked what they both love most about working here? Matt commented that the key part for him is the “collaborative nature of the business and the celebration of each other’s success”, with Lorna adding that for her it is “the fact that we reward our employees, we are a people-first business with great humans, and lots of opportunities for career progression”. So it’s fair to say that her gut instinct 5 years ago, of LHi being a place for growth and Del Connolly; Global Brand Director, being a great leader seems to have been exactly right.
Something that Matt and Lorna have really embraced at LHi is the ‘Younger You’ philosophy, which allows them to carve the way for new people coming through in the Manchester office, ultimately making the journey for those just starting out easier than it was for them. Our Manchester team is a prime example of this, with Matt sharing “my manager, Del, has given me more of his time than he had to in my time here” and Lorna also sharing her own experience of our ‘Younger You’ philosophy, saying “I started in a brand-new office with no experience, no industry contacts, or candidates, however, as the office has grown and our candidates/client network has expanded, it has meant that I can give new hires more of an easier introduction to recruitment than I had”.
The opportunities that they have been presented with during their time at LHi has allowed them to venture further in their professional careers and their personal lives, to achieve some pretty big milestones. One recent achievement for Lorna, is having the opportunity to purchase her first house. The prospects of being part of LHi continue to grow and allow each LHi’er to make a difference. As for Lorna “helping candidates find the right opportunities and clients find the right people to join their businesses” is a key part of what makes her role great to her, and makes her feel as though she is making a difference.
A big congratulations to our first Manchester hires on reaching their five-year milestone with Harper Harrison and LHi, and we look forward to what is in store for you next and the opportunity to make plenty more memories with the group.
To be part of our LHi family and the exciting opportunities we offer, reach out to our People Team today:
UK & Europe People Team at recruitment@wearelhi.com
US People Team at recruitmentUSA@wearelhi.com