Leeds head-quartered employer branding specialist Chatter Communications is opening up in London after the agency enjoyed its most successful year since its 2011 launch.
Kelly Simpson has been appointed as client partner, heading up the London office as the company looks to expand its business in the capital at a time when demand for its services continues to grow.
Simpson has a strong background in recruitment, head hunting, employee engagement, talent attraction and employer branding. She has held positions with Stafford Long, LinkedIn and, most recently, TMP Worldwide UK as client relationship director. She has worked with clients including King’s College NHS, Marriott International, Westminster City Council, Southampton University, Sainsbury’s, KPMG and Transport for London, winning multiple industry awards for projects she spearheaded.
Chatter saw an increase of £1.7 million in year-on-year revenue in its most recent financial year and onboarded more than 20 new clients, working with companies including WH Smiths, Burger King and The NHS. The agency cites ongoing recruitment difficulties, including ‘The Great Resignation’ and ‘quiet-quitting,’ as drivers for some of its success, as businesses put employer branding to the forefront in an attempt to retain staff.
Simpson said: “[Chatter] deliver exceptional client service, along with beautiful, bold creative and digital projects and they’re a bunch of delightfully straight talking people. That’s the kind of company I want to be part of and I’m so happy to have been chosen to help build the agency in London.”
Paul Ainley, Chatter’s managing director, added: “With lots of our clients already based in and around London, it’s great to have Kelly onboard to lead a new team permanently located in the capital.
“We see demand for our services continuing at pace as companies realise that if they’re not actively managing their employer brand someone else is doing it for them – be that disgruntled employees, unimpressed interviewees or customers receiving sub-standard service. Can any business afford to take those risks?”
The head office of Chatter, which launched in 2011, is based at Castleton Mill in Leeds.
