As ever, it’s been a busy few weeks at Yardstick. As well as winning a prestigious award, we’ve taken on lots of new clients and built and launched several new websites.

We’ve also hired five new team members, before welcoming them to Yardstick by locking them in a secret laboratory…

Here’s a rundown of what’s been happening at Yardstick this year so far.

Yardstick wins Best Website at 2020 Professional Adviser awards

When Phil set up the Yardstick Agency in 2017, one of his ambitions was to win the Best Website trophy at the annual Professional Adviser awards.

Well, this ambition was realised earlier this month when our work on the Red Circle Financial Planning website was rewarded at a ceremony in London.

The award is the only one of its kind in the UK and rewards financial planner websites that boast a winning combination of great design, simple and consumer-friendly navigation, excellent content and an all-round great user experience.

Thanks to Darren for letting us loose on his site, and we look forward to defending the title in 2021 with one of the many sites we’re working on!

Meet our five new Yardstick team members

Janay

With a BA in Fashion Buying & Marketing, Janay has worked in both fashion recruitment and sales and marketing for a wholesale clothing brand. Eager to challenge her skills in a new industry, Janay joined our content team as a Junior Marketing Assistant. When not uploading blogs or building newsletters, Janay enjoys travelling the world or trying out new recipes for her family.

Justin

Having worked in marketing since graduating from university in 2016, Justin has joined the team as a digital copywriter. When not writing digital copy for our clients, Justin can be found regularly cheering on Wayne Rooney’s Derby County or getting to as many gigs as possible. He lives in Derby with his girlfriend, and border collie Casper.

Imran

After graduating from Loughborough Uni, Imran has never ventured far from the online arena. His prior employment was with M Integrated Solutions based in west London. When disconnected from the world wide web, and if the weather is fair, Imran can be found out on his bike or involved with local community projects. He lives in Loughborough with his wife, two girls, and a pet cat.

Clare

Digital copywriter Clare has a background in writing for all sorts of sectors including education, health, and finance. Before that, she was a journalist and columnist for a parenting magazine. Clare has an MA in Creative Writing, which means she’s always on the lookout for a good story. When she’s not writing or doing mum things, you can find her dancing in a field at a festival, indulging her other great love – music.

Gareth

Having worked in financial services for 12 years, Gareth has recently joined the content team from T Bailey Fund Services. In his spare time, Gareth likes to write about real ale and the humble British pub, and he also finds time to make regular trips back to his native Gloucestershire. Gareth lives with his wife in Kegworth.

Yardstick duo launch fundraising campaign to support Australian wildlife rescue effort

If you’ve turned on the news over the past few weeks, it’s impossible not to be moved by the impact of the devastating wildfires that have ravaged Australia.

More than 1 billion animals have died as a result of these fires, with many species driven to the verge of extinction. From quokkas and koalas to the endangered Kangaroo Island dunnart, entire ecosystems have been destroyed in a matter of just a few months.

While we can’t bring back the animals that have perished in these fires, we can support the volunteers doing exceptional work to preserve Australia’s fragile wildlife.

This September, novice Yardstick runners Dan and Nick will tackle the Robin Hood half marathon in Nottingham. As anyone who has ever embarked on this distance knows, it’s a heck of a challenge with plenty of training required!

The pair will be raising money for WIRES, the largest wildlife rescue organisation in Australia. For more than 30 years WIRES has been rescuing and caring for wildlife, and thousands of volunteers are currently desperately in need of financial support to care for the country’s devastated ecosystems.

If you would be generous enough to make a donation and keep Dan and Nick motivated on their long nights of training ahead, please do so here. Thanks!

Yardstick tackle The Secret Lab in brain-baffling teambuilding exercise

To welcome our new team members to Yardstick, we organised a lunch and team-building exercise last Friday afternoon.

After tucking into a slap-up buffet lunch, teams of five headed into our three Yardstick HQ meeting rooms which, for the afternoon, had been transformed into a secret laboratory.

There, the teams tackled mind-numbing puzzles and challenges in an attempt to escape their fate (with a little help along the way). Congratulations to Emma, Louis, Justin, Imran and Rachel who were the first team to break free from their lab!