If we could sum up the past year in one word, it would be ‘change’. We’ve seen shifts in candidate expectations, the rise of new trends and technologies, and changing workplace priorities. And we’ve had a busy year helping both clients and candidates navigate this uncertainty and embrace the new possibilities it offers. In this article, we'll reflect on the key moments of the year as well as some of our proudest moments here at Pure.

We strengthened our development programmes

We always want to help both candidates and clients grow and thrive. That’s why we offer exclusive training, development and leadership programmes that support long-term career growth, and help build inspiring and productive workplaces.

We had a packed agenda of programmes and events in 2024 . Here’s a round-up of just some of those.

A 'Disability Confident' webinar with the Papworth Trust

In this informative webinar, we shared practical advice and information on how employers can improve access to their workplaces for disabled people.

The People Leaders Lab

Our newest programme continued to go from strength to strength in 2024. Designed to bring HR professionals together to learn from each other, it focuses on a diverse variety of topics. Some of the most popular so far have included how organisations can embrace neurodiversity and ways to transform HR using agile approaches.

The Finance Leadership Programme

This year we’ve heard from several senior finance professionals who gave us exclusive advice and tips based on their extensive experience. The programme also offered a unique opportunity for attendees to network with colleagues from different organisations and levels.

The Women's Leadership Programme

This event helps women develop their leadership skills, take control of their careers and expand their networks. We celebrated an important milestone in 2024 with the programme’s ten-year anniversary. To mark the occasion, we invited alumni and sponsors to come together at a fantastic gala dinner.

A new era of Best Employers

Looking forward to 2025, we’re delighted to be running our flagship employee-engagement programme again, Best Employers Eastern Region. Based around a confidential survey, taking part gives businesses deep insights into their teams’ views on culture, values and leadership.

Find out more on the Best Employers’ website.

We started to prepare for the new Employment Rights bill

The Employment Rights Bill was introduced on 10 October 2024. It contains measures to modernise UK employment law and aims to balance fairness for workers with flexibility for employers. It’s also looking to enhance inclusivity, security and adaptability for both employees and businesses.

The new bill is going to mean some big changes for employers towards the end of 2025 and going in the 2026. We’ll be on hand to help our clients make sure they’re ready for these, and to overcome any challenges they might create.

You can read more about the bills in this Pure news article.

We sponsored a new award

This year we sponsored the Employer of the Year award at the inaugural Cambridge Independent Business Awards. The awards are designed to acknowledge businesses making outstanding contributions to both our region and its economy, to recognise their achievements and to showcase their successes.

As the creators of Best Employers, employee engagement is something we’re passionate about. That’s why we decided to sponsor this award – because we’re always looking for new ways to recognise and reward employers in our region going the extra mile for their people.

The winner was the Cambridge Building Society, with a commendation going to Domino Printing. 

We shared our expertise

We have over 30 recruitment specialists covering roles at all levels. We don’t want to keep all this knowledge and experience to ourselves though. So we’re always looking for new ways to pass on our expertise, something we did very successfully in 2024.

• In April, Claire Bush, one of our Managing Consultants, spoke to Radio Norfolk about why more than a fifth of adults aged between 16 and 64 in the UK aren’t actively looking for work. Find out what she had to say.
• In March, we championed temporary workers in a new campaign, highlighting the advantages to businesses of taking on this type of worker.
• In June, we produced our salary survey and guide. It helps employers make informed and knowledgeable decisions about pay and benefits, and benchmark their salaries against industry averages for roles in their location.  

We welcomed lots of new clients

We value each and every one of our clients, old and new, large and small. Some of our newest clients in 2024 included Holmes & Hills, Coracle, Anderson Group and Yagro. We're looking forward to continue contributing to their growth in 2025.

We pride ourselves on finding the right people for employers across our region, including for hard-to-fill positions. And we have lots of success stories to celebrate in 2024. These included:

• filling an unexpected finance position: Advance Wealth needed to fill a critical finance role in a tight timescale. Using our industry connections and a thorough understanding of the client’s needs, Victoria Lumley, Managing Consultant, was able to locate the ideal candidate in only two weeks
• inspiring a new HR partnership: Caroline Batchelor, our Director of HR recruitment, helped an ambitious HR Director find a company that shared her values and whose ambition was to be an employer of choice
• finding the right fit for a historic brand: Emily Colby, a Senior Consultant, found a Head of Own Brand for beloved family business Jarrolds. This new role was an important part of the company’s strategy to design and market products under their own brand name, and critical for long-term success and innovation 
• filling a Business Manager role for a charity: Managing Consultant, Claire Bush, helped Open Road charity find a new Business Manager to join their management team. This was a vital role that sat right at the heart of the organisation.

We gave back to our local communities

By fundraising and donating our time and resources, we raised just over £8,000 for charity in 2024. Some of the worthy causes we donated to included:

• Leeway, who help adults and young people break free from domestic abuse in Norfolk and Suffolk
• SARS, who provide specialist volunteer responders to help the East of England Ambulance Service at the scenes of serious medical emergencies or trauma
• Trust Links, who aim to improve mental health, wellbeing and the environment in Essex
• Woodgreen, who rehome unwanted, stray or injured pets.

You can find out more about our 2024 charity work in this article.

Pure in numbers

This year we helped:

• Over 740 businesses and organisations find the right people for their teams
• Over 960 people find jobs.

Since we started out in 2002, over 30,520 people have found new roles with our help. That means that we're getting ever closer to our goal of 35,000.

Here's to another fantastic year

In 2025, we plan to continue to be the leading recruiter in our region, matching talented people with the right organisations. If you’d like to join us, get in touch to find out what we can do for you.