Public relations agency Muckle Media hailed the success of its Women Returners to Communications (WRC) programme as it unveiled an expanded team.
The company has seen its team double in size, thanks to hires across the board – from account director to trainee level.
Muckle, which has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and London, has also gone through a brand refresh as it continues to expand its offering.
We recently hired our first Aberdeen-based employee and will continue to consider remote and hybrid workers as we add further to the team in the coming 12 months.”
Nathalie Agnew, Muckle Media managing director
WRC is aimed at helping women who have had a career break return to the PR, marketing and communications industry.
The scheme has been been at the heart of a string of recent appointments as Muckle grows its way out of the pandemic.
Managing director Nathalie Agnew said “We have definitely been seeing increased confidence in the market over the past six months, which in turn has supported us to create new jobs.
“Overnight in March 2020, like so many other businesses across the country, we saw many clients and projects either put on hold or cancelled completely without notice and this was very challenging.
Gamble
“We took a chance at that point and used the capacity in our team for good, from offering free training to communications professionals and our Muckle Helps Covid communications fund, through to the launch of the Women Returners to Communications programme.”
Ms Agnew added: “That gamble paid off as we’ve been able to maintain our profile and won more business, allowing the agency to grow.
“The tourism sector is starting to bounce back and we’ve really benefited from being multi-sector, as our work with public and third sector organisations alongside professional services and food and drink has continued throughout the pandemic.
“Looking forward, we have a very healthy new business pipeline across multiple sectors from oil and gas and professional services to fashion, sport and consumer goods.”
Staff welfare remains a challenge as the team continues to work from home, Ms Agnew said, adding: “We are adapting to home-based learning and ensuring a flexible approach to make sure everyone’s needs are met – and that the team are able to deliver fantastic work without any undue stress.
“A shift towards hybrid office and remote working means we can be much more geographically diverse, so we recently hired our first Aberdeen-based employee and will continue to consider remote and hybrid workers as we add further to the team in the coming 12 months.
“The returners programme has also allowed us to access a fresh talent pool of experienced returners who have taken career breaks.
Proud
“We are extremely proud of how we have navigated through the last year, and as we see the agency continue to grow we will always invest in bringing the best talent into the agency.
This year has been particularly difficult for those looking to start their career, so we want to do all we can to show our support as well as offer a training programme to give our trainees the skills needed to succeed.”