IT started with a pint in the garden of St Mary’s pub, as all good ideas do. Sitting with a beer mat and pen, Lee Madden scribbled the first plan for a recruitment firm that aimed to connect Jersey’s construction industry with skilled workers abroad.
Seven years later, GR8 Recruitment works across sectors, including hospitality and retail, and is part of a growing international partnership to ease Jersey’s workforce shortages.
Now, at a time of growing pressure on businesses, GR8 chief executive Mr Madden has taken on a new role – as president of the Jersey Chamber of Commerce – where he hopes to drive change on an even bigger scale.
Mr Madden, who previously served as Chamber’s co-vice president with Daphne East, said it was an “honour” to take over from outgoing president Adam Budworth.
Founded in 1768, Jersey’s Chamber of Commerce is the oldest English-speaking Chamber in the world. It represents businesses across all sectors and acts as the primary and collective voice of industry.
“Chamber is the voice of industry,” Mr Madden explained. “Our job is to represent industry to government and lobby for better results and fairer working practices.”
His appointment comes as the organisation prepares to move from its modern base at Pier Road and return to 19 Royal Square – the very building where it held its first meeting more than 250 years ago.
While Mr Madden was clear that the “amazing” building was a reminder of the history that the Island’s most influential business organisation carries, he emphasised that Chamber is looking ahead firmly into the future by making sure that it is ready for the next generation.
“We need to leave Chamber of Commerce and the Island in the best possible place for the future leaders,” he said.
For Mr Madden, that means making it easier to do business in Jersey – by doing rather than talking, and coming up with solutions rather than problems – in summary, less “paralysis by over analysis.”
He explained: “Historically, we’ve been talking shops. We need action shops with firm deliverables and timelines. Let’s keep it simple. Let’s strip back to the regulation. Let’s make running a business in Jersey easier. Let’s get on with it. Let’s make a positive change for the Island.”
And for the new president in the historic building, the priorities are clear: tackle red tape, improve collaboration between government and business, and give the next generation the tools they need to lead.
Mr Madden also wants Chamber to lead by example.
“I will not go to government with a problem,” he said.
“I’m going to go with a situation and a solution. I will say: ‘This is what the problem is. This is the solution that we suggest. Is that viable? If not, what is the solution? And more as importantly, what’s the time frame for that?’
“And that’s something I’m going to be very strong in my approach for the next three years in the role… because otherwise, we’ll find things will get lost in smoke and mirrors.”
Mr Madden argues the need for results is being felt across sectors like construction, hospitality, and retail – where businesses are struggling with rising costs and staff shortages.
“You see lots of hospitality businesses at the moment closing back on the weekends because it’s just too expensive,” he said.
And the cost of living, he warns, remains one of the island’s most serious problems.
“The cost of living is a major issue that affects everybody in Jersey, from a CEO level down to a day one apprentice,” he said.
“We know the Island is too expensive. We need to find a way of bringing down the cost of living.”
Part of the solution to Jersey’s economic challenges, he believes, lies in smarter international partnerships.
Earlier this year, GR8 Recruitment signed an agreement with the Kenyan government to deepen the Channel Islands’ business links with the East African country.
The partnership, which officially made Mr Madden’s business a strategic partner for recruiting Kenyans into the Crown Dependencies, also involved Chamber and the Government of Jersey.
GR8 began working with partners in Kenya five years ago.
The recruitment firm began a close business relationship with Kenya Utalii College, which saw trained hospitality workers brought over to help support businesses in the Channel Islands struggling to recruit staff following Brexit.
Since then, GR8 has matched hundreds of skilled workers from the hospitality, construction, transport, early years education, and healthcare sectors into roles in Jersey and Guernsey – with the majority coming from Kenya.
“We’re looking at bringing in IT professionals, healthcare assistants, compliance officers, and potentially accountants,” said Mr Madden.
“One of the great things about working with Kenya is the familiarity between the UK and Kenya – English speaking, great education, the laws are similar, the worker practices are similar.”
He added that Jersey’s digital sector is also now exploring opportunities with Kenya’s “Silicon Savannah” – a hub of innovation and IT skills.
“Jersey has the potential of being a Silicon Island,” he said enthusiastically.
“We’ve got the book, we’ve got the investment, we’ve got the banks.”
He described Jersey as “a microcosm” where innovations can be tested quickly, using the principle of “fail fast”.
“The things we can try and do here in a safe environment and very great agility and speed” make Jersey ideal for tech experimentation, added Mr Madden.
To support new arrivals, GR8 has partnered with the “Just Good Work” mobile platform, which provides practical information for migrant workers on rights, accommodation, healthcare, and Island life.
It includes “every bit of information that workers could possibly want” when coming to Jersey, according to Mr Madden.
The platform was introduced in response to a 2023 review that found workers on permits didn’t have enough support or central information about life in Jersey.
But Mr Madden is clear that international recruitment should never replace local talent.
“Recruitment and jobs should be local first, wherever possible. Where it’s not possible, we’ve got to look outside,” he said.
“What we do need to do is job curation on the Island.”
He went on to say that only part of the solution is short-term recruitment. The other, he said, is building a stronger local pipeline.
Mr Madden is helping develop that through the “Future Leaders Jersey” programme, run in partnership with the Institute of Directors.
The scheme gives local Sixth Form students the chance to shadow senior professionals across Jersey’s business sectors.
But leadership doesn’t just mean business. For Mr Madden, one of Jersey’s biggest challenges is attracting the right people into politics.
He said: “My biggest fear is we haven’t got the future leadership and we are not going to have the right people sat in the State Assembly running this Island, because without good, strong, coherent, trusted leadership, we’re knackered.”
He believes one of the barriers is pay.
“Are we going to attract people from the private sector and pay them peanuts? Absolutely not,” he said.
“What about your kids? What about you? What about your partner, your husband, your wife? What about the house?
“Jersey is a business. And there is no business in this entire world where the leaders, the people at the top of that tree, are getting paid far less than the people that administer it.”
Mr Madden’s own background includes experience at both levels of that metaphorical tree.
Born in Jersey, Mr Madden moved to Blackpool as a child, joined the army, and later became a police officer.
Returning to Jersey, he launched several businesses – not all of which succeeded.
“I went through a real bad period in life, awful really,” he explained.
“I lost everything. Businesses crashed, massive debts. It was awful.”
But he added: “From all these things, you learn how not to do things.”
Mr Madden has also used difficult personal experiences to become an advocate for mental health support – particularly in construction, where suicide remains a leading cause of death among men.
After losing a close friend earlier this year, Mr Madden worked with local charities to roll out suicide awareness training across businesses.
Now, as he begins a three-year term as Chamber President, Mr Madden said he is focused on making real progress.
“We want to represent Chamber as more of a custodian and we’re getting ready to hand it over to the next generation,” he said.
