Last Wednesday saw myself (Leon), Simon and Gareth venture down to London for the 2011 Mara (Marketing & Advertising Recruitment) Awards, which were held at the stunning Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel on the banks of the Thames. The gala awards promised to be a memorable affair after the success of the inaugural ceremony where we as a business proudly won the Regional Agency of the Year award. This year, we were shortlisted as Finalists for half a dozen of the awards but were well aware of the increased competition borne out of the number of well established & renowned London based recruiters who were also competing for these.

The awards were well attended and there were several leading figures from the Marketing & Advertising arenas. The keynote speaker and host for our evening was Ann Swain, CEO of APSCo. She delivered an exceptionally inspiring and galvanising speech about the future of the recruitment marketplace and the integral role that we as recruiters play in unearthing the future talent in the marketplace.  She is a great believer of the associated value that recruitment partners can add to clients. This struck a chord with me in terms of how we go about our business and constantly strive to replicate these continued high standards.

Unfortunately, we didn't win any of the awards we were shortlisted for however we were acknowledged & commended across the board.  The magnitude of the event has sharpened our focus and desire to compete at our very highest of standards so when November arrives next year, we will yet again be the proud recruiters on the podium brandishing an award.