Christmas Spotlight: Andrew Firth

As we near the end of a landmark year, following the gradual return to ‘normality’ post-Covid, we grab 60 reflective seconds with Andrew Firth, MD at Ascensor Digital Agency in an exclusive for the published group of online newspapers…

1. After a difficult time for many businesses during the pandemic, what was your primary objective at the start of the year?

Our main objective was to attain ISO9001 to help embed processes for growth, which we completed earlier in the year.

2. Looking back on 2022, what have been the 3 biggest highlights for Ascensor?

The three biggest highlights have been acquiring the domain Ascensor.com (something we’d been trying to buy for 15 years), becoming re-accredited for ISO27001 for Information Security, and celebrating our 15th anniversary with a party in November.

3. And the most difficult challenge for your business?

The most difficult challenge has been around recruitment and retention. Salaries in digital have gone through the roof, we always focus on building a great culture, but if someone is prepared to pay upwards of 50% more then we’ve struggled to compete.

Fortunately we’ve enjoyed higher level client wins which has enabled us to review all salaries, and increase them to a level where recruitment has become easier.

4. If you had to sum up 2022 in one word, which would you use?

Advantage

5. What’s Ascensor’s key goal for next year?

We’ve launched our conversion proposition on Ascensor.com with a conversion strategy product called ‘Advantage’, the key goal is help more businesses to grow their conversions using Ascensor Advantage.

6. Name another northern firm that hope will have an outstanding year in 2023…

I hope that Crysp, the compliance SaaS solution will have an outstanding 2023. This is awesome technology that is helping support health and safety compliance across education, property and other industries.

7. How do you think the regional business climate will fare overall?

We’re 15yrs old so this is not our first recession, I think as long as we stay positive there are always opportunities during ‘economic downturns’, and Yorkshire is a very resilient region!

8. It’s perhaps the first opportunity to celebrate a ‘real’ Christmas post-Covid – what will it look like for you?

We’ll be having our usual office Christmas Party, we have outside catering to cook us Christmas dinner, DJ, and party games, you can never beat an Ascensor party!

9. What’s the worst Christmas gift you’ve ever been given?

Vodka truffles – alcohol and food should never be combined, vodka and chocolate on their own are fine!

10. Describe Christmas at your house, in three words

Family, festive, chill