For me, Christmas has always been a time for reflection. As we continue to grow and develop, it’s important to look back on how far we’ve come in the past 12 months since our recap of 2017. A lot has changed since then, and I can’t believe it’s only been a year since we wrote that – it feels like about five. At the start of this year we had two specific goals in mind: to grow the Huddle team and to really refine and develop the way we provide service to clients.
We took on our first permanent hire
Probably the biggest news of the year is the growth of our team. At the start of the year we took on two interns, one of whom has been promoted to our first permanent hire. 
This was a great experience for us, to bring some fresh faces and new ideas into the company, and provide a learning environment while we worked.
Client satisfaction increased year on year
We’re committed to providing an excellent level of client service, and this year have invested heavily in the way we work with clients. From the introduction of a 4-week work cycle across all retainers and a secure platform for sharing login details, to the decision for our first permanent hire to be in a client support role. We’re so proud of our client service that we’ve published the results of our client satisfaction surveys since Huddle began in 2015. We’re proud to say our overall client satisfaction score has only improved year on year, and we look forward to updating that article with our 2018 score (hint: it’s increased again).
We’ve done some great work
This year we’ve launched a record number of new projects, introduced several new clients, and continued our ongoing partnerships with our valued core clients. Here’s a roundup of all of our new case studies from 2018:
- HAN Communications
- MS Law
- Riskbox
- Colour the Clouds
- Cameras 4 Cars
- Scottish Debt Help
- Glencroft Countrywear
And a few more we haven’t gotten around to posting on the website yet – watch this space!
We’ve made time for play, too!
While we’re only starting out on our journey of building our company team and culture, it’s something that is crucial to us for long term success. For this reason, a huge focus for us this year was making Huddle Digital a supportive and exciting place to work, which will continue into 2019. 
We’ve developed a professional growth process and quarterly appraisal system, and we’ve introduced team perks and private medical insurance for Huddle team members as standard. We’ve been on various team outings including indoor climbing, games days, volunteering, and a road trip to a food exhibition to name a few. At the end of the year we of course upheld our Christmas meal tradition encompassing the wider Huddle team with our remote freelancers and consultants. 
We’ve been recognised for our work and company growth
This year we’ve had various bits of recognition for our good work and positive growth. We’ve been shortlisted for two awards including Best B2B Project at a regional awards, and Small Agency of the Year at a national awards. We’ve also been featured on a list of 100 most innovative businesses in Greater Manchester, and we won places on two separate business support programmes: WeWork and MSP Tech Incubator. 
We’ve published some great content
We’ve been much more active on the blog this year, investing time in content for our clients and partners. Here are some of our top picks you might have missed:
- How do I save time updating my website?
- How to increase user engagement on a budget
- For national stress awareness week: Top 3 mindfulness apps to beat the stress
- For national coding week: Learn how Huddle started coding
- The story behind our core drivers: People, Profit and Purpose
Looking ahead
While these are all of our highlights, we’ve naturally had our ups and downs this year – such is the life of a small business. Next year will undoubtedly bring its own challenges, but undoubtedly its own achievements and success stories as well. We’ve already got some things to look forward to heading into the new year.
- After impressing us with her ongoing support and service to our valued clients, Emily will be joining us full time from January to continue her great work and grow her position in the company.
- We’ve got a few projects that are almost finished and will be launching in the weeks after Christmas, then some additional projects in the pipeline that we’re excited to start.
- We’ll be launching a brand new entrepreneur retainer programme, kicking off with 2 new clients in January. We’ll be posting more about this on the blog in due course!
- We’re also toying with the idea of a whole new Huddle website next year, which we’re excited to get stuck into.
Merry Christmas!
Finally we just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all of our clients, partners and friends and we hope everybody has a restful and enjoyable break! 