Last year proved to be MERJE’s most successful yet, with our Compliance, Credit Risk & Analytics, Customer Contact, Finance & Audit, Financial Crime & Fraud, Procurement and Risk Management teams continuing to provide our Clients and Candidates with an outstanding service.
In January, we co-hosted a networking event with the Call Centre Management Association (CCMA) in Manchester. The event had a focus on ‘Attracting & Retaining Top Contact Centre Talent’ and included a presentation on effective volume recruitment in Contact Centres from MERJE Front-Line Talent’s Sally Cordwell.
Sally Cordwell presenting on effective volume recruitment
The first quarter of 2019 also saw us exhibit at the Utility Week Consumer Debt Conference and the Call & Contact Centre Expo, as well as sponsor the Credit Summit in London.
The opening of the in-office bar in Manchester in February has led to regular Friday afternoon beers and gin and tonics to kick start the weekend, with Front-Line Talent’s Pete Smith often stepping in as barman.
The bar opens in the Manchester office
Our financial figures for 2018 were announced with a yearly annual turnover of £8.62million, our highest yet. Our Financial Crime & Fraud team contributed significantly towards this, with a year-on-year increase of 111% in permanent placements and 211% in contract placements.
Our Contract recruitment services continued to grow in 2019, and we shared our Contractor market insight by looking at the challenges currently being faced, including changing regulation and the potential impact of Brexit. We also looked at how MERJE can provide the benefits of an Executive Search service but at a more competitive price and at a quicker timescale than an Executive Search firm.
In April and May, we were involved in a number of events, highlights included a Risk Management networking event in London, co-hosted with the Institute of Operational Risk, and the sponsorship of both the CCMA UK National Contact Centre Awards and the Credit Awards, in which we were nominated as Recruitment Partner of the Year.
At the start of summer, we celebrated the growth of Team MERJE as new Consultants and Resourcers joined our Risk Management, Compliance, Credit Risk & Analytics and Procurement teams.
Team MERJE were then treated to an incredible trip to Barcelona to recognise the amazing work that took place throughout 2018 and the first half of 2019. The trip included a catamaran party, food, drink, dancing and sunshine! Take a look at our Instagram page to see more of the fun that we get up to here at MERJE.
Team MERJE head to Barcelona
Summer saw a change in Office Manager for the London team, as Anna bid us farewell and substituted the sights of Fleet Street for an adventure in Italy. In her place we welcomed Rosie Tooze-East - the latest superstar member of our Support team and a brilliant addition to the team.
We partnered with Fintech North to host a seminar on FraudTech & Financial Crime in September, followed by our sponsorship of the Fintech North Newcastle Conference at the end of the month. We also sponsored the AMLP Forum’s Anti-Bribery & Corruption (ABC) Forum and the CCMA European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards (ECCCSAs) in the final quarter of 2019.
MERJE's Customer Contact team at the ECCCSAs
Before the year came to an end we used our market insight to produce a number of articles about current trends and future challenges, including gender balance in Credit Risk & Analytics, understanding IR35 and the Data Protection landscape 18-months after the launch of GDPR.
As we reached Christmas we asked our LinkedIn followers the important question: which of our offices had the best tree? And with over 1,500 votes cast, our Manchester office was crowned the winner.
The year ended with a big party and a night out in Manchester full of food, drink, dancing and darts. There was also the first (and possibly last) MERJE Awards ceremony, where the team were celebrated for their individual achievements, and in some cases their more unusual quirks…
Celebrating the end of an amazing year
Last year was another great year for MERJE and we hope you saw the same level of success that we did. We have already had a very busy start to 2020 and we look forward to working closely with our existing Clients and Candidates in the year ahead, as well as building relationships with new ones too.
To discuss your recruitment needs, or for assistance with your job search, get in touch today!
