Today we are celebrating a year in business and what a crazy year it’s been. I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us along the way, I couldn’t of done this without you and have relied on friends and family to keep me motivated… and sane!
2016/17 Overview
2016 was definitely the year of learning. After working for a large Corporate Firm where you have the luxury of various divisions and team supports’, it came as quite a shock when I suddenly had to take on payroll, referencing and everything else that comes with running a start-up. Most of March 2016 was spent building our website. We still have a lot to add to it but I would like to think that it brings across the personalised and professional service that we offer. Evangeline Marsh joined us in March 2016 as a Candidate Manager in between her studies and helped us get policies and procedures up and running quickly. She has since been helping with bi-monthly blog posting where she shares helpful tips and hints for both candidates and clients.
We invested heavily in marketing in the first year and this is something that we will continue to do. Hatters Promotional Merchandise helped us source corporate gifts that we could give to our clients and candidates and the feedback from these was fantastic. Besides, who can say no to a tin of shortbread?!
We made some great placements with prestigious clients in London and look forward to growing the brand in Manchester too.
Candidates
We have a number of candidates temping for us at the moment and have now introduced a WhatsApp messenger service. This enables candidates to reach us for any timesheet or pay queries and means that we are available around the clock. We have also placed several candidates into permanent positions and regularly catch up with them.
Clients
We have had a number of referrals from clients who have recommended their friends or ex-colleagues to get in touch with which I really appreciate. We introduced a referral scheme so this incentive of Selfridges vouchers is obviously working. We have had an 84% conversion rate with the jobs that we have taken on from clients and hope to improve on this even more so going forward.
What to expect from Lily Shippen in the next year
2016/17 was a fantastic first year but 2017/18 is going to be even bigger and better. We are looking to hire a new Graduate Consultant around May/June in Manchester and with that will come the increased need for support staff. Whilst I will still focus on the London market and working with our established clients, I am keen to grow the Manchester business and will be hiring a consultant to focus on both the Private and Business PA market in Cheshire and Central Manchester.
We are looking to engage with a charity this year and those plans will be announced in the coming months. We will also be attending and hosting various events in both London and Manchester with a real focus on getting out and meeting our clients and candidates.
Lily