Our People The Heart of a Great Workplace

Many workplaces say that they value their people. At Taylors we treat everyone who works with us like they are part of our family. Here are just a few of the fantastic people we are proud to have as members of our Taylors whānau talking in their own words about the work they do.

John Brunsden Forestry Bulldozer Operator

You will find John Brunsden enjoying an active retirement in the forests of Tasman Bay in the seat of Taylors’ newest bulldozer – the John Deere 850L.

John Brunsden came to work for Taylors Contracting in 2007 while on holiday in Nelson with his wife Carol in their newly acquired “retirement motorhome”. Having just sold his own North Island contracting business BRN Contracting after 47 years, John’s intention was just to help out on some forestry skid sites for a month before Christmas on his favourite machine – the bulldozer. Fifteen years later and John is still moving earth for Taylors. Asked what he likes about working for Taylors John says that Taylors is a great employer that offers good support, good gear, and is one of the few companies he is aware of that offer time-and-a-half after 40 hours and carry out an annual wage review.

Although at times it is a little challenging being an employee after having been an owner/operator himself, John enjoys conversations with the Taylor brothers about what kind of gear they should invest in and is always pleased when he sees his ideas turning up on the back of a transporter!

John’s most memorable and enjoyable job for Taylors was at D’Urville Island. While constructing a road on private land on the island the team got to enjoy plenty of blue cod caught straight off the beach. Carol came down for the duration of the job to cook for John and the small crew.

John reckons the only thing that will make him give up the bulldozer is a boat! ■

Corina Warren Accounts Administrator

After more than 11 years with Taylors, Corina Warren loves that she is still being challenged to learn and grow in her role as Accounts Administrator.

Corina is an example of Taylors’ flexible approach paying dividends. She saw her role advertised in a local school newsletter and initially just worked mornings to fit around her school and kindy-aged children. When her youngest child started school she increased her hours to 9am-3pm and now works fulltime.

Many of Taylors’ suppliers have contact with Corina as she is responsible for accounts payable and processes invoices for subcontractors. She also looks after stock levels and invoicing for the Quarry department and payment claims for some contracts, such as the Rivers department’s contract with the Tasman District Council. “I love the variety I’ve got in my job now. Every day I’m doing different things.”

If you visit Taylors’ Brightwater office you’ll often see Corina’s warm smile as you sign in at reception. It’s clear that she enjoys her job.

“There are a really good bunch of people throughout the business. I really appreciate that we are so well looked after. There is genuine care for everyone who works here. I feel really lucky because you don’t always get that.” Corina particularly values the focus on people’s wellbeing within the business.

“That old stereotype that men don’t really talk about their feelings much, that’s not necessarily true. There are lots of men here that are very comfortable talking about how they’re feeling and making use of whatever assistance we have available to us. That focus is huge in our company and it’s taken really seriously.”

She also gets to see first-hand the importance that’s placed on empowering everyone to speak up about health and safety.

“Operators determine if they’re comfortable doing something. They have the power to say ‘we have to find another way’ if they don’t think it’s safe. That’s really good. The most important thing is that everyone is safe.” ■

Ollie Bradley Engineering Apprentice

When 17-year old Ollie Bradley was contemplating his future career prospects he did his research. He checked out businesses where he might be able to do an engineering apprenticeship and when an opportunity came up at Taylors he jumped at the chance.

“It sounded appealing because it involved a range of stuff. I’d done a mechanical engineering course at Te Pukenga (previously NMIT) and applied for the job here when I got my Level 2.”

Ollie says he’s loving his experience at Taylors. “I’m doing fabrication and welding. At the moment I’m helping to make stuff for our new digger that’s just come in. I get to fix things, like the odd bucket for a piece of equipment. I help out. It’s all hands-on stuff. I love learning new things, especially about machinery.”

When Ollie was still at school he was able to spend Fridays at Te Pukenga. This was a good opportunity for him to see if he enjoyed the kind of work he’d be doing as an engineer.

He’s been made to feel very welcome at Taylors and says the people are the aspect of the job he enjoys the most. “Everyone’s really nice, funny and friendly. They are good people to work with. We have good bosses.”

He sees himself working at Taylors once he has completed his apprenticeship. One of the main factors that will keep him at Taylors is the surprising range of work that the company does. There’s plenty to keep him interested, he says.

“I knew Taylors did a wide range of stuff but I didn’t know they did so much, like roading and all that.”

Ollie has had some challenging work to do so far, including working on the Challies Island Bridge project, which has been his favourite job to date, in part because of the problem-solving involved.

He sees plenty of opportunities for learning and a good career ahead. ■