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New Board Appointments for 2024! The STR Group, crowned ‘Employer of the Year’ by the News Business Excellence Awards and ‘Best Company to Work For’ by the REC last year, is pleased to introduce their new Board appointments, as they look to a more diverse future. Emma Rees has joined the company’s Shareholder Advisory Board as Company Secretary to oversee matters such as business structure, risk strategy, compliance and insurance, while Jo Smith takes her place on the Operations Board to develop STR’s people strategy, and oversee all Group activities relating to HR, Talent Acquisition and Learning & Development. The business is delighted to be welcoming Emma and Jo to its highest levels, where their different perspectives and many years of experience in their chosen fields will help to broaden the company’s outlook and understanding, as it continues its drive to foster inclusivity for staff, clients, candidates and the wider community. “Being appointed to the board, as a female, for me signifies not only personal achievement but also a broader shift toward inclusivity and diversity in decision making at STR,” confirms Jo, who has been with the STR Group for the last 5 years. “It’s about breaking down barriers, re-shaping the future and ensuring that all voices are heard at the table. STR is a truly remarkable workplace for a number of reasons; primarily, its unwavering commitment to fostering a culture of inclusivity and diversity ensures that everyone’s opinion is valued.”
STR: Your Award-Winning Recruiter! The REC Awards night is widely acknowledged as the most prestigious in the industry, with the glitterati of recruitment to be found out in force. Again, we invited 10 of our highest performing colleagues to represent STR, putting them up in London just down the road from the event at the elegant Royal Lancaster in Hyde Park. As you may have guessed or seen from our blog and numerous celebratory social posts (sorry, we couldn’t resist), we scooped the big one! Being crowned ‘Best Company to Work For’. To top and tail 2023 with these awards means everything to us, from Board level to the newest graduate. In the words of Clive Hutchings, our Executive Director and Founder: “I, and the rest of the Board, feel a huge amount of pride and satisfaction that the work and commitment of our team here at STR has been recognised at the highest level, by our trade body and the judges who are themselves recruitment industry leaders. We really value our people at STR and this proves it! A big ‘thank you’ to everyone who made this possible.” We can’t wait to find out what next year will bring, but one thing we can promise: we won’t rest on our laurels and we take nothing for granted.
Getting Motiv8ed – STR Gears up for another year of fundraising with the welsh 3000s This year, a number of our STR colleagues will be truly challenging themselves in taking on our latest fundraising event to raise money for our charity partner, Motiv8. The Welsh 3000s involves climbing all mountains in Wales over 3,000 feet, within a 24-hour period and covers 3 mountain ranges in the Snowdon region –Yr Wyddfa/Snowdon Massif, the Glyderau and the Carneddau. It consists of 15 peaks and a climb of more than 2,500 metres! The team, comprised of Clive Hutchings, James Gigg, Tom Fitzmaurice, Joe Page, James Rolfe and Emma Rees, has a comprehensive training schedule planned, to ensure they tackle the challenge as safely as possible. The rigorous regime will ensure this is a healthy physical and mental challenge for them to take on. The team is aiming to raise £2,500 for Motiv8, so if you would like to donate, they’ll be incredibly grateful for any amount you can spare. Click the link below to find out more and support our colleagues in this incredibly challenging endeavour! Keep an eye out for our updates on social media, and like and share to help us reach our fundraising goal!
STR Group’s Flipping Awesome Pancake Day 2024 We all know the only way to celebrate Shrove Tuesday is by feasting on lots of pancakes. So, on Tuesday 13th February, that’s exactly what we did! The ultimate pancake feast kicked off at 12pm, when the STR team were let loose in the kitchen. As you can see from the photos, they were met by a delicious spread of mouth-watering toppings and pancake mix. They had the option of choosing classic toppings like maple syrup and berries, to unique combos like Nutella and bananas or even marshmallows, chocolate chips and cream. However, before the team could get their hands on the toppings, they had to make their own pancake first. We couldn’t have made pancakes without testing the teams flipping skills and everyone had fun giving it a go. We had small flips, half flips, huge flips and even flops on the floor. A great afternoon was had by all! We already can’t wait next year. Great effort STR!
Following a review of our operating brands and their growth strategies during 2023, the business undertook a decision to refocus activity back onto well-established markets. Unfortunately, this led to us having to make a small reduction in headcount within both our Operations and Shared Services divisions. The change in strategy has proven positive for the brands and, several months later, many are now in a position to hire staff onto fully mapped desks. As with any headcount reduction programme, it is never a pleasant activity for either party, but we strive to ensure that any new team member is set up to succeed and has the opportunity to fulfil their ambitions with STR. We’d like to take this opportunity to wish all our former employees all the best in their future endeavours. Darren Day, Chief Operating Officer November 2023
