By rehiring a former employee for our new Senior Account Manager role, we knew that we were going a little against the grain. Read on to find out why this was the best move for us and why you should consider it too.
At IGNIFI, like many other small-to-medium sized businesses, we place a lot of importance on forward thinking. By listening to our customers, adapting to industry changes and refining the way we work in line with our business goals, we have evolved to become a very different company to what we were ten years ago. However, we’ve also learned that at times you need to pause and reflect on what worked well in the past, before moving ahead to the future. Our latest addition to the team is the perfect example.
In response to our growing client base, towards the end of the summer, we began to search for a new Senior Account Manager to support our existing team. The vacancy attracted substantial interest, attracting over 160 applicants. However, one of the CVs in the pile was familiar, belonging to former employee Mark Brown.
Mark had previously worked for IGNIFI (or NB as we were known at the time) for 18+ years in senior account management roles, with a particular focus on health and our active lifestyle sector clients. During this time, he gained a wealth of experience in the creative, design, print and digital sides of our work. In 2013, Mark left NB to set up his own business in a different industry, which he ran successfully for 5 years.
Mark then returned to advertising in 2018, with a senior account management role for another healthcare communications agency. In this position, he gained further experience in the human health sector through working on a broad range of healthcare and pharmaceutical brands. He left this role with an ABPI certificate, VEEVA accredited and with 2 years’ experience using PAPRIKA, the same management information system as IGNIFI.
We could have felt pressured into thinking that while familiar to the company, hiring Mark would be a step backwards, and we would be missing out on someone with new perspectives. Fortunately, when we explored the opportunity more thoroughly, we learned Mark had upgraded his skills and knowledge to the point where he was the ideal candidate for the role.
Our goal was to appoint an experienced account manager who could ‘hit the ground running’ in support of the existing Client Services team. In Mark we found a candidate with vast experience and knowledge aligned to our requirements. And our prior experience of Mark’s positive, professional and dedicated personality meant that we knew he would fit in with our team both in a professional and personal capacity.
“I have no doubt that Mark will again prove to be a valuable member of the team and enable us to continue to give exceptional customer service to new and future clients”
Our advice to small business managers is not to let the culture of wanting the next new thing close your mind to the idea of rehiring a previous employee. Redundancies and business closures as a result of the pandemic are going to lead to the number of highly qualified jobhunters increasing. This is an option that could become more common.
Consider the interview a fresh start and keep an open mind. You might find they provide a unique selling point that a totally new employee may not offer.
Are you looking for a new challenge in the fast-paced healthcare marketing industry? Whether it be digital, design, account management or beyond, visit our careers page to submit a CV or see our current vacancies.
Posted by John Horn
Managing Director
