When I look back over 2021, it genuinely feels as if the year has flown by. This is obviously not a case of ‘time flying by when you’re having fun’ – nobody would ever call 2021 a fun year, but it certainly was an incredibly busy one for everyone at LEAP!
A real sense of pace and energy built up during the first half of the year, accelerating as we came out of lockdown; and over the closing months of 2021, we have seen client demand and activity levels become supercharged across many areas of the business.
Our client revenues from the US tripled; in Europe they doubled, and on the domestic front we added new client contracts in each and every month of 2021, as well as experiencing increased volumes from every area of our highly valued long-term client base.
I have always maintained that LEAP’s greatest attribute, is our ability to pull together as a team when the demands placed upon us are at their most challenging. Never has this been tested more than during 2021, and never have we responded better. I count myself very fortunate to lead a team who truly are operating at the top of their game.
We showed amazing dedication, agility and work ethic, continuing to leverage the benefits of flexible resourcing deployed to counter the challenges of Covid, whilst rebuilding the energies and connectivity of working together once more within a safe office environment.
But beyond the obvious achievement of delivering record volumes of work, there is so much more that I am proud of in 2021.
- Our long-term journey to carbon net zero was recognised by leading ratings agency EcoVadis, who placed our sustainability credentials in the world’s top 5% of advertising and marketing companies.
- Our creative communication teams developed groundbreaking work championing issues such as STEM, mental wellbeing in the workplace and early years education.
- We collaborated internationally with a global social media client to support International Women’s Day and our specialist employee engagement teams worked on a broad range of Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace programmes for clients in both the US and the UK.
With this in mind, our own D&I commitment was redoubled in 2021. I was delighted to welcome more female colleagues to senior leadership roles at LEAP than ever before, ensuring we move forward into 2022 with a diverse, multi-talented and inclusive management team.
Speaking of 2022, there naturally remains much uncertainty in the wider world. However, this year has shown us that success can come if we all remain bold, continue to take brave decisions and be confident.
It is with this confidence that LEAP is actively recruiting more staff than ever before to meet the demands for our services. It is with this confidence that I plan to double our real estate investment in 2022, creating a more energised and collaborative environment to work in – a place where our staff and our clients will be able to come together once more – to meet, to plan, to create and deliver great work.
That’s all to come. Until then, I would simply like to take this opportunity on behalf of everyone in the leadership team here at LEAP, to wish you all a peaceful and enjoyable Christmas and a very happy and healthy New Year.
Thank you – and see you in 2022!
Sincerely,
Steve
