This year, 2018, has been been a year of significant change for Agency Iceberg, #LeadingLadies and myself. We’ve moved offices to Prahran, I’ve hired a new star recruiter, and welcomed three new people into my PR & marketing team. I’ve also been honoured with industry awards and spoken at various events as the keynote or a panelist.
We’ve celebrated wins and shared disappointments, and I’m truly proud of how the team has grown and developed over the past year. We couldn’t have done it without the support of our growing network (hello 160,000 LinkedIn followers!), friends, family and of course, our valued clients and Talent.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our #LeadingLadies series, reached out to myself for a job, and to all of our loyal clients for giving us excellent jobs to fill. We wouldn’t be here without you!
Here’s my wrap up of 2018 including highlights, learning curves and three things to look forward to.
Three to celebrate
#LeadingLadies Workplace Wellness Event: I was blown away by the incredible response to our #LeadingLadies event this year, hosted at Greenfields Albert Park. In collaboration with Emma and Bree from Twosix Wellness and Sage from Golden Grind, it was amazing to see over 70 individuals come together to hear us speak on incorporating wellness into our working lives and participate in a mindful pilates session!
Threepeat: This year I was named a LinkedIn Top Voice for the third year in a row, an incredible honour to be recognised as an influencer on this important platform. The award is a demonstration of how powerful the #LeadingLadies series and Agency Iceberg content is, and reinforces the great work that we do to raise awareness about current workplace issues and success stories.
Team growth: Building a successful team has also been a highlight of 2018. I was proud to welcome my PR and Marketing Manager Katie, my digital marketing coordinator Nina and hard working intern Ellen. The collaborative, open and supportive culture we have is something I’m truly proud of. It has taken four years of hiring and learning to get here.
Three to learn from
Work life balance: Expanding Agency Iceberg and #LeadingLadies and trying to find downtime for myself has been a major challenge this year. Being a Founder and MD brings a lot of opportunity coupled with responsibility and stress. It can be hard to switch off at night. I’m slowly learning to prioritise ‘me’ time, by unplugging from digital during weekends and walking my sausage dog Wiggies! This helped me to be more productive during work hours. Balance is definitely a high priority for 2019.
The right fit: A major challenge we have as recruitment specialists is finding the right Talent to fill the gaps in our clients’ companies. With the ever evolving landscape, new specialists or generalists are in demand each week. I will continue to ask myself in 2019: what’s the latest trend, where can we find the best Talent, how can we attract and retain them from our competitors?
Maximising your partnerships: Sometimes having a fresh pair of eyes look over existing work is exactly what the doctor ordered. Are you paying for a service that’s not delivering what it used to? Are you unsure of where your dollars are going? If so, it’s important to review, have open conversations, and either work out a solution or part ways.
We have also learnt to focus on the partnerships that grow with us. We prioritise clients that offer repeat business or work with us in a retainer style structure, and show loyalty and respect. Our retained clients receive a guaranteed placement, a quick search process and blue-ribbon service.
Three to look forward to
#LeadingLadies growth: we have some exciting #LeadingLadies already in the pipeline for 2019, more event planning underway to ensure our community have access to our talented network of women, and are gearing up to celebrate our third birthday. Watch this space!
Negotiate Your Worth series comeback: I’m truly passionate about empowering individuals to negotiate their worth and giving employees the tools to do so. We are going to continue to produce our PR and digital salary surveys and guides next year, and I’ll be holding another event on the topic next year.
More collaborations to look forward to: In 2018 Agency Iceberg and #LeadingLadies collaborated with General Assembly, One Roof Women, Servcorp, Twosix Wellness, Golden Grind and more. In 2019, we look forward to building on our existing relationships, and collaborating with new brands and partners. We have some exciting events and collabs on the horizon with major organisations which we can’t wait to share with you all!
On behalf of #TeamIceberg and #LeadingLadies, we wish everyone a happy holiday season! Thank you to all those who have supported and worked with us this year. We will be back in action on the 7th of January, 2019.
Anna
