2013 has gone by faster than one of Len Goodman’s quick steps. At the close of a year that saw Andy Murray finally conquer Wimbledon, the arrival of a future king and early signs of economic recovery, we may have cause to feel a fizz of optimism.

At Pure we also end the year on a positive note. We’ve taken on exciting challenges that have resulted in fantastic achievements. It’s also an opportunity to reflect on your year and give yourself a pat on the back!

So, join us, as we look back on our own top 10 hits of the year…

10.  New Pure recruits

As business continues to boom the Pure team has grown again! We’ve welcomed eight new staff members in our Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich and Norwich offices. And we’re already very excited about what further talent 2014 will bring us.

9.    Vacancies filled

This year we’ve made 2,000 placements. While many businesses continue to take a cautious approach, we’re thrilled that our clients continue to recruit for finance, professional office support,HR and executive roles across the East of England. We look forward to dealing with more vacancies in the New Year!

8.    National recognition

No year is complete without a glamorous award ceremony! In May, Pure was a close runner-up to a national recruitment business at the FDs’ Excellence Awards, which recognises finance directors and service providers that support Britain's finance community. The awards are based on an annual survey and we’re delighted that our senior-level clients in finance voted for Pure as Recruitment Firm of the Year. We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported us!

7.    We gave executives more

Our ‘Executive’ specialism saw an increase in senior professional placement into jobs by one third. Also, as part of our company’s ongoing development within the Executive division we enhanced content on our website and launched a new brochure especially tailored to meet the needs of executives around the region.

6.    People love us (it’s official)!

A 2013 Pure survey revealed that 95% of candidates would use us again to find a new role. Also, nine in ten of our clients rated our service as “excellent” and would recommend Pure above other agencies. And all clients said they’d use us again.

5.    And our candidates love their jobs!

Among the candidates we’d placed in permanents jobs in the first half of 2012, around 90% remain in the same the role 12 to 18 months later. Given that the national average staff turnover rate is around 15% we’re thrilled our candidates are happy at work. We take care to match the people with the skills and the organisation’s culture – it seems our approach works!

4.    ‘BEER’ festival

Part of our Best Employers, Eastern Region (BEER) initiative, we launched the BEER Festival in partnership with eras ltd in November 2013. The event was a magnet for chief executives, HR directors and managing directors, who came along to find out more about employee engagement, share knowledge with their peers and hear success stories from keynote speakers such as Dr Andy Wood, CEO of Adnams, and Dominic Lowe, Managing Director of Kettle Foods.

3.    Dealing with hot topics

In 2013 Pure offered a fantastic range of seminars that dealt with issues of the day. Working with partners such as Deloitte, Chase de Vere, Birkett Long and Business in the Community, professionals came along to discuss hot topics including employee wellbeing, public sector finance, women in leadership and pension auto-enrolment.

2.    Sponsoring and judging business awards

At the Eastern Daily Press Business Awards Pure sponsored and judged the new Best Employers category. Circle Housing Group claimed victory for their success in motivating, inspiring and rewarding employees, and creating a positive working environment.

We also sponsored the Cambridge Evening News Business Excellence Award for Employer of the Year, won by world-renowned Cambridge Consultants. The triumph helped the company attract high quality candidates for jobs and recruit 75 new employees!

1.    Charity champions

The Pure team has seen their fair share of cake bakes, marathon training and quiz nights. In 2013 we threw ourselves into yet more fundraising, taking our grand total for all charity support since 2002 to a whopping £70,000! The money has helped local organisations including East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, The J’s Hospice and STARS. We’ve set the bar very high for 2014, but, hey, we love a challenge.

That’s all for this year! Thanks very for reading our blog this year and watch this space for lots more great content next year. If you have any topics that you would like us to cover – please get in touch: Anna.hill@prs.uk.com.