Our Fifth Birthday – Strange Days Indeed
An unusual happy birthday to Curtis Recruitment
Today, the 31st of July 2020, we celebrate our 5th birthday, and obviously, for those who know us well, there is homemade cake!
July is the month when we reflect upon the previous year being the anniversary of the company’s formation. Apart from writing the obligatory blog to celebrate our birthday, it is a time when we can review the figures, successes and failures, to see how we have performed overall and where improvements can be made.
However, this year things are quite different! Who would have thought that the entire world would be turned upside down and our lives would change so dramatically with the appearance of Covid-19 and the country going into lockdown in March? Like most other businesses, this has seriously impacted upon us so the evaluation we make on this anniversary is like no other year.
How has our business coped?
In short, we are delighted to say that we have survived, and quietly confident that we will ride out this devastating wave that has swept across the planet. This optimism is due to our business being in good shape before the virus hit but also because of our loyal client base, candidates, and excellent reputation we have gained to date. Without all these elements, we could not have achieved all we have, so thank you one and all.
Before lockdown we had over fifty live vacancies and this fell to virtually zero overnight as our clients, quite understandably, put recruitment on hold. However, we are now seeing recruitment slowly starting again as our clients gain confidence, so much so, we have recently successfully placed five candidates to everyone’s delight.
Since the renewed confidence for a number of our clients, we have been working from home on a part time basis and by happy coincidence, the start of our sixth year will see us (spikes and further restrictions permitting) returning to our office in Burnham. With both directors (a husband and wife team) being on the extremely clinically vulnerable list and required to shield at home, returning to the office will be a surreal experience.
Apart from short walks, we haven’t been out and have barely seen a soul for the last four months so we will be like moles emerging from the subterranean darkness into the sunlight, which is a little worrying, but it can’t come too soon. So, if you see us out and about say hello, at and acceptable distance of course!
Who could have predicted the past four months?
This pandemic and its impact has been unprecedented in our lifetime, and many businesses have been forced to rethink the way in which they operate with home working being a necessity for many of us and this may shape the workplace in the coming years. That said, working from home does not suit everyone for a whole range of reasons and isn’t necessarily the best thing for our business, so we’ll have to see how that pans out in the coming months.
With Curtis Recruitment’s early years being in a home-based office, moving into our office in Burnham gave us a massive boost and was the natural progression as we grew, and we are looking forward to returning to our offices.
Working in the makeshift office at home, as many of us are, is fine for now, but after four months plus of looking out of the bay window out onto the street, which does not have the feel of our offices, we are looking forward to returning to something resembling normal as soon as the circumstances allow.
Onwards and Upwards
As of 1st August, we will be in our sixth year and we are determined to build upon the success of previous years, despite the setbacks, the new challenges, and difficulties that the virus will undoubtedly present to us. On our return to the office, we will be working with a renewed vigour for our clients and candidates and embrace any changes in working practices to ensure that we celebrate our sixth anniversary, with cake and a blog, of course.
We plan to work with our clients and candidates over the coming months to assist with their needs and also planning our postponed stand at Accountex, now being held in May 2021 at Excel in London, something to look forward to.
On the plus side, every cloud has a silver lining they say, we have been doing much needed renovation on our old Victorian house, doing lots of gardening, for such a small garden, and growing our own fruit and vegetables too. Therefore, all is not doom and gloom thankfully. We have our fresh cream, homemade birthday cake using our home grown, homemade strawberry jam for the filling and raspberries on top!
