What a year. I don’t really know what to say. Actually, I do. I hope that anyone reading this is fit, healthy and untouched by any tragedy that the last two years has left us all open to. That’s all that really matters. Because amidst the challenges of remote working, furlough, redundancies and businesses closing, people have been dying. And we should never lose sight of that. People will go back to work, people will find other jobs and new businesses will be launched. The world will right itself. But we’ll never get back the people we’ve lost. And we’ve been very lucky. And we’re very thankful.
We’re thankful for our little gang
We weren’t immune from the downturn in activity and did have to reduce the hours of some of the gang. Thankfully, it didn’t last too long, and we were able to go back to ‘full time’ pretty quickly. But they were very gracious in reducing their hours and helping manage our costs. And when we were back to full speed, everyone worked especially hard to ensure that every piece of work that went out the door was as good as it possibly could be. I can assure you, our clients noticed. Thank you, gang.
We’re thankful for our clients
We are very lucky. We work with some great businesses. Businesses who during the various lockdowns, directions to work from home and workforce challenges, pulled together to deliver some ambitious projects. We helped businesses define their employer proposition, develop their employer brand, deliver their careers website and so much more in between. They kept us busy. They helped us return quickly to full speed. They understood that we could really help each other come out of this challenging time stronger and fitter than we went in. Thank you, friends.
We’re thankful to be busy
And we are. Busier than we’ve ever been before. We get around two new business enquiries every week. And we’re continuously surprised by the size of the businesses and profile of the brands that would like to work with us. Current clients have moved from one business to another and taken us with them. We’ve been recommended by friends within the industry and new clients have come our way. And some have arrived just by Googling ‘employer brand agency’ and finding us. Three of our biggest clients have come this way. I knew that SEO would be worth it. Thank you, Google.
We’re thankful to see the back of bad, old practices
This month we’ve been invited to three competitive pitches. But in each case, even before we saw the brief, the client gave us a call and talked through the potential project. In the first case we didn’t even see the brief, because the call quickly established that we weren’t the right agency for them. In the second, we quickly established a conflict of interest. We were both gutted. But the third we got very excited about. By the time the brief arrived in my inbox, we were already emotionally engaged in the project, loved the project team and were passionate about winning the project. Actually, we didn’t win it, but we did pitch with passion. Bye, bye beauty parade. Thank you, but don’t come back.
We’re thankful for new friends
This year we welcomed some fantastic new clients to the agency. And judging by the Christmas cards we’ve received this year; they’re already enjoying the experience. In 2021, we said hello to Anchor Hanover Trust, Berenberg, Futaba Manufacturing, Miele, Reward Gateway and Travis Perkins. All of which have kept us busy this year and will again next year. But as well as working with new clients, new contacts within existing clients are looking to refresh, renew and revitalise their employer brands or careers websites. It’s always exciting working with new people. It’s amazing how a new point of view can breathe life into a project. The enthusiasm is always infectious. Thank you for your passion. All of you.
We’re thankful for the recognition
This year saw the return of the in-person awards ceremony. And we’re very pleased and proud to have been able to pick up awards for our work with Derbyshire Constabulary, NFU Mutual, The Telegraph and Toolstation. We only really do employer branding and careers website projects, so loved picking up those gongs at the NORAS, Recruitment Marketing Awards and Recruiter Awards. And there is still the RADs to go. Fingers crossed. Thank you to our clients for being so bold and brave. Faint heart never won fair lady. Apparently.
We’re thankful for small mercies
Sadly, we had to cancel our Christmas party this year. Three of the gang had COVID. While they’re probably thankful that they didn’t have to sit through a gushing speech, they did miss out on me telling them just how brilliant they all are. How they’re the cornerstones on which this little agency is built. That their passion, drive and talent is what makes me get up in the morning and be excited to start the day. That our clients are truly grateful for all their efforts and love working with them. But they won’t miss out. We’ll regroup in the New Year when people are fit and healthy again. I’ll say thank you then. Again.
I think we’ll call it a ‘thanksgiving’.
So, what now?
Who knows what’s around the corner? This year we’re not making any definite plans. We’ll continue supporting companies in better telling their employer story, we’ll deliver more high-quality (hopefully award-winning) projects and we’ll keep being told by our clients that they think we’re brilliant. And that’ll do for me. For now. Maybe things will change in 2022. Or maybe not. We’ll see.
