2024 marks Penna’s 50th year. Five successful decades of delivering creative recruitment solutions to our clients. But that’s not all we’re celebrating. We’re also kicking off the new year with a new Managing Director: Kathryn Kempster. Keep reading to learn all about Kathryn’s journey and what’s next for Penna & Stafford long.
“My first job was as a Graduate trainee for Barkers Response & Assessment – the CVs came in huge sacks every day, we sifted them and held Graduate Assessment Centres, I loved it! I then went to work for a recruitment advertising agency in the Midlands, doing both client service and copywriting – I loved visiting clients, understanding their organisation and then devising strategies to help them recruit. That was it, I was hooked!
“Being part of The Adecco Group means we have fantastic resources at our fingertips.”
Since then, I’ve enjoyed working with a wide variety of both UK and global organisations, helping clients with their talent attraction strategies from early careers to experienced hires. For me, it’s always been about building meaningful and sustainable relationships with clients and optimising candidate experience.
And I wanted to use my experience of driving relationships with complex commercial clients operating in a global talent market to influence all parts of the candidate journey. That’s what brought me to Penna & Stafford Long. Here, we do the full lifecycle – attraction, assessment and retention solutions – and we have a wide range of unique clients in the public and private sector. Plus, being part of The Adecco Group means we have fantastic resources at our fingertips.
“It’s really rewarding seeing the amazing work our talented teams do for our clients come to life.”
I joined Penna & Stafford Long as Director of Attraction & Communications in 2020, responsible for the strategic direction for our clients, ensuring we deliver leading-edge thinking and high-value service. It was certainly challenging starting a new role in the middle of the pandemic but luckily, even virtually, the personality of the team shone through from day one, making it so much easier to settle in. And it’s been my colleagues that have continued to make my experience here so fulfilling. It’s really rewarding seeing the amazing work our talented teams do for clients come to life.
“Our curiosity means we’re constantly evolving as a business, and as individuals.”
What I love most is the curious mindset we all share at Penna & Stafford Long. Our curiosity means we’re constantly evolving as a business, and as individuals. We also promote a culture where everybody has a voice and every opinion matters. So that means we’re always learning from each other. That, and being part of one of the largest recruitment organisations in the world is what differentiates us and has kept the organisation thriving for so long. The industry has changed so much, and there’s always been that appetite to keep moving and growing. We don’t just accept the status quo, we challenge it and if something isn’t working, we change it. Not only do we continue to adapt, but we also constantly strive to stay ahead of the curve.
“2024 is going to be a year of celebration, but also ambition.”
I’m thrilled to be taking on the role as Managing Director. I’ve got big shoes to fill, and I’m honoured to be stepping into them. As well as working closely with the Directors to plan for 2024, I’ve had a busy few weeks preparing, spending time with different colleagues across the business and coordinating with our sister company, Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH), on future collaboration.
2024 is going to be a year of celebration, but also ambition. I’m excited about how evolving technology, such as AI, will support our continued focus to drive further growth and change within our business, and the industry. And my aim is to make sure we continue to deliver innovative solutions to our clients, a great service to candidates, and an exceptional experience for our colleagues.”
Kathryn Kempster,
Managing Director