Pros
Centaur is a business in the middle of an exciting transformation from a legacy publishing business to a high-value information, events and marketing services provider. This transformation started 4 years ago and has not been without its challenges, but what gave everyone the confidence to deliver this change was a suite of market leading brands such as Marketing Week, The Lawyer, Money Marketing and Creative Review from which to build. With very loyal audiences, we knew we engaged large enough audiences to turn them from users into customers. We haven’t finished yet and we are actively investing, particularly in our digital and events products as well as seeking strategic, bolt-on acquisitions. At the heart of this transformation is a group of talented, innovative and focused people who are determined to succeed. Keeping everyone happy isn’t always easy, though, particularly with the pace of change we find ourselves in, but Centaur, through a tight, but well informed HR and management team extend some great employee benefits with a duty of care to its staff that many businesses would aspire to. Drawing on personal experience, I found myself in hospital at the beginning of the year with a 12-month recovery period that I am currently navigating. To say that Centaur offered me first class support is an understatement, providing independent medical advice to discern my phased return to work as well as other support such as counselling for me and my family. This has cemented my view that Centaur is committed to staff well-being and overall health.
Cons
Being a relatively small PLC, securing investments to grow can be tricky, but on that front, senior management have invested more in the last 2 years than any other time in my 15+ years at the business. Also, we should aim to run more social events at the business, particularly between the many businesses that could collaborate more. It will only drive creative thinking and good collaboration.