2021 – a review of our year

December 21, 2021

Between COVID, lockdown, freedom day and Omicron, 2021 was a bit topsy-turvy. Despite this, the financial services sector has performed well, and we have been very busy. We’ve also had a number of exciting developments internally. Here is a round-up of our year.

First of all, we wanted to wish all our lovely clients and candidates a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful start to 2022! It feels like the situation is changing fast at the moment, and who knows where we will be this time next week, but we are all used to adapting now, and we are feeling very positive for 2022. Here's a round up of how 2021 was for us:

On the recruitment front

We have had a very busy year, and especially so in the last few months. Financial services has on the whole coped very well with COVID, and between growth and 'great resignation', we expect activity levels to remain high next year.

Our strategy of focusing on the mid-market is continuing to work well. We focus on placing professionals into permanent jobs from experienced hires through to the marzipan layer in our key functional areas of front office/investments, sales & marketing, finance, legal & compliance, and operations. That said we have also continued to make a number of C-suite appointments, utilising our executive search capabilities to the full.

Fram's fill rate is nearly three times the industry average

Outperforming the industry

We have always been very proud of fabulous team, who continue to give our clients exceptional service. Fram’s fill rate was nearly twice the industry rate pre pandemic, and we are proud to say that we now perform at nearly three times the industry average. We continue to place candidates and clients at the core of everything we do, have a highly consultative approach, and high levels of customer service.

Fram in the news

Fram Search regularly contributes quotes and insights to articles and features online and in print. This year's features include the Metro, the Daily Mail, HR Today, ICAEW & Management Today, to name a few.

You can explore our media coverage here.

ESG, diversity & charity work

Fram Search offsets carbon emissions

Fram Search is proud to be offsetting our carbon emissions through myclimate. Working towards a sustainable future is hugely important to us, and we work hard to reduce emissions where possible, and contributing towards a greener world through offsetting where it’s not.

Diversity & Inclusion

Each and every member at Fram has undertaken unconscious bias training, and we employ more women than we do men. We are also regular contributors and authors on the subject of diversity and inclusion.

Teenage Cancer Trust

From Jan 22, we will be making a donation to Teenage Cancer Trust for every placement we make. This is a cause that's close to our founders' hearts, and we are delighted to be able to contribute towards specialised nursing care and support for young people with cancer.

Fram is growing!

2021 also saw us welcoming Bailey, Fiona and Gayle to the team.

Bailey Ransom joined Fram as an Associate in our Infrastructure practice, supporting our clients on key hires within finance, risk, operations & compliance. Bailey is also continuing to pursue his career in rugby - you can watch him play for the Bedford Blues in the Green King IPA Championship.

Fiona Wallace is our new Office Manager, whilst Gayle Waller joined us as a Researcher. Read more about our team here.

New office, new working world

Flexible working is fast becoming the norm, and we are embracing this for our staff too, and are excited about the improved work-life balance this brings.

However, just as we are spending less time in the office, we feel it is all the more important to have a nice office environment that motivates and excites our staff. Hence, we moved to larger and better premises this summer, though of course staying in our beautiful surroundings at Wrest Park.

Here's a peek!