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UP Company History

We think the following just about sums up our story to date:

  • 16 years old
  • 2 Offices in Aberdeen and Manchester
  • 9 core service areas; Human Resources Consultancy, Training and Development, elearning, Coaching and Mentoring, Recruitment and Selection, Psychometric Testing, Assessment and Development Centres, Outplacement and Outsourcing
  • 20 millionth pound invoiced in 2010
  • 5 Investors in People awards
  • 1 Northern Star Award for best Small Business (SME) in Grampian
  • 1 Grampian Business Award for Employer of the Year
  • 6 UP Weddings
  • 16 UP Babies born in "captivity"!

 

Some of the key highlights are as follows:

The Nineties...

1995 - UP established on 18th of September offering HR and Recruitment Services.
1996 - Team grows to 8 people. First website launched.
1997 - Established Training as a new service. Turnover reaches £500,000.
1998 - Team Grows to 12 people. Turnover goes past £1,000,000.
1999 - Introduced Outplacement as a core service.

The Noughties...

2000 - Steady growth sees sales rise past £1,300,000.
2001 - Psychometric Testing and Assesment centres added to the service portfolio.
2002 - Rebranding of the company and relaunched www.upwebsite.com
2003 - Established links with Belbin Associates - Dr Meredith Belbin runs seminar for us in Aberdeen.
2004 - Sales break through the £1,500,000 barrier.
2005 - Launch of our innovative No Fee Recruitment service. Team grows to 21 staff. Launch of our third version of the website. Company rebrands image again. Sales reach £1,900,000.
2006 - Implementation of new web based systems - recruitment database and learning directory / training admin system.
2006 - Pioneering recruitment event developed and delivered in Glasgow, attracting 2500 people, helping to address skills gap in Oil & Gas Industry
2006 - Invited to speak at bi-annual Belbin Associates conference on the implementation of Belbin Work Roles and several additional members of the team became Belbin accredited.
2006 - Sales pass £2.5 million per annum
2006 - Development Centres added to the service offering
2007 - Team grows to 25 people
2007 - New associate company, cushydoos, established to develop and run HR related events. Receives a commendation in the Enterprise Trust North East Business Awards as a new start up company. Year 1 turnover c£300,000
2007 - cushydoos Oil and Gas Recruitment events attract over 5000 people in Newcastle and and 3000 in Manchester
2007 - UP are winners of the best small company in the Northern Star Awards
2007 - Second office opens in Manchester
2008 - Team grows to 27 people
2008 - Combinded group sales exceed £3,000,000
2008 - Achieved Investors in People recognition for the 4th time
2008 - Five figure Investment in new intranet system
2009 - Launch of www.upelearning.com along with launch of first e-learning product on "Delivering Excellent Presentations". First elearning sales including sale of licences in several overseas locations
2009 - Launch of innovative "bite sized" training workshops called WOW! Thats What I Call Development
2009 - Launch of second elearning product on Managing Absence Effectively
2009 - Launch of third elearning product on Managing Poor Performance
2009 - Awarded 3 year, six figure contract in Manchester to deliver a Business Mentoring Programme on behalf of the North West Development Agency
2009 - Set up our company twitter account - @uplimited

The Twenty Ten's...

2010 - Awarded seven figure, long term contract with major Oil and Gas organisation Total E&P for a range of recruitment related services
2010 - Launch of HR Supportal - the innovative new HR service for small businesss - details at www.hrsupportal.com 
2010 - Deliver work in our 12th overseas country and 4th continent. Thankfully not much call for HR Consultancy in the Arctic Circle or Antarctica. :)
2010 - Set up our company Facebook and Linkedin pages.
2011 - launch of our 4th elearning product on Managing Discipline and Grievance
2011 - We win the 'Employer of the Year Award' at The Grampian Business Awards.
2011 - Launch of new, social media friendly 4th Generation UP Website which you are reading now...
2012 and beyond is still a work in progress, please come back later for an update. :)