2023 has definitely been an eventful year in the world of recruitment. There’s certainly been ups and downs, but as the year draws to a close it’s time to focus on the ups! Here’s some of VMA GROUP’s highlights of the year:
VMA GROUP becomes an Employee Ownership Trust
In October, we announced VMA GROUP’s transition from private ownership to an employee owned business under an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
Julia Meighan, VMA GROUP’s sole shareholder since 2008, made the decision to set up the Trust to ensure both current and future employees will be able to benefit from and share in the long-term ownership of the business.
This has been an exciting, momentous milestone in VMA GROUP’s 45 year history and we look forward to continuing to work with our clients and candidates as VMA GROUP, an employee-owned business.
Anniversaries & ‘Workiversaries’
This year has been one full of significant anniversaries at VMA GROUP. As a company we turned 45 years old! We understand that the recruitment market is a massive one and it can be hard to stand out and separate the good from the bad. We believe VMA GROUP’s heritage is a testament to the trusted relationships and teams we have built over these years. Thank you to those who have supported us in reaching this milestone!
VMA GROUP’s employees have also celebrated some momentous ‘workiversaries’ this year. July marked CEO Andrew Harvey’s 10 year anniversary working at VMA GROUP. For the past decade Andrew has been a driving force in VMA GROUP’s incredible growth and success, and acted as a excellent leader and role model to our employees, as reflected by his 100% CEO approval on Glassdoor!
Our Managing Director Lucy Cairncross also celebrated a significant ‘workiversary’ of 15 years at VMA GROUP. Lucy leads VMA GROUP’s executive search practice and is a trusted leader in finding our clients the best communications, marketing, digital and change talent to head up their organisations. And moreover, we think everyone would agree, a pleasure to work with!
VMA GROUP Launches Change Management Practice
For 45 years VMA GROUP has been a leader for recruitment and search in the communications, marketing and digital sectors. As a natural continuation of our existing business specialisms, and due to rising demand for transformation professionals, in August we introduced our Change Management practice.
This has been an exciting development for VMA GROUP and we are looking forward to helping others find the best talent to implement and navigate change smoothly in their organisation.
If you would like to read more about VMA GROUP’s Change Management practice, please click here.
International Growth
Though headquartered in London and with offices across the UK and Europe, VMA GROUP partners with clients and candidates on an international basis. This year we have continued to develop our international presence, particularly within our Marketing practice and have ventured into international territories including Canada and The United Arab Emirates. We’re eager to continue to expand and establish our international presence and grow our international network to become a trusted communications, marketing, digital and change recruitment partner for organisations across the globe.
Events & Networking
At VMA GROUP we love to put on events for professionals in the communications, marketing, digital, and change industries. This year we’ve put on over 30 events including advisory boards, roundtables, and networking sessions like Crystal Pearce’s Meet The Author series.
Also this year, Anna Newsome, our Internal Communications Recruitment Consultant, launched the NNC Network. This network, designed for non-native internal communications professionals, provides a means for this demographic to get together and connect over their shared experiences and also celebrate what multilinguists can bring to the market. With now over 100 members, we’re looking forward to meeting more of the network at the events in 2024.
Research & Insight
VMA GROUP has a heritage in conducting industry research and producing insight reports for the professions we support. In 2023 we published 3 research and insight reports: Changing Communications, Flexible Working Survey and The View!
Towards the end of the year we also launched the 10th instalment of our flagship survey, Inside Insight. This survey provides a comprehensive analysis of the UK internal communications market and acts an invaluable benchmarking resource for every communications practitioner. We’re looking forward to publishing the report and sharing results with you in 2024!
We will also be launching an exciting new marketing research survey in early 2024 – be sure to keep an eye out…
Thank you to all those who have supported us this year – we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Written by: Genevieve Schofield, Marketing Assistant
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VMA GROUP is a leading international interim, contract, temporary and permanent recruitment and executive search specialist. We are specifically focused on providing support to the communications, marketing, digital and change communities.
Our specialist practice areas cover: communications, corporate communications, internal communications, change communications, PR, media relations, financial communications, CSR, public affairs, investor relations, marketing, brand, digital marketing and agency services.
We have a reputation for providing expert consultancy services and advice, supported by in-depth knowledge of the professions we recruit for. Our thought leadership and benchmarking studies have become go-to resources for the communications, marketing, digital and change industries, supporting planning and decision-making for organisations of all shapes and sizes.
In the UK, VMA GROUP has offices in London, Bristol and Manchester and in Europe, VMA GROUP has offices in Amsterdam and Brussels, but we work with organisations and individuals on a global basis.
VMA GROUP is committed to equal opportunities and is an Inclusive+ Recruiter.
