As fall approaches, planning and budgeting season are right around the corner. It seems like the perfect season to tell the story of Marcomm’s thriving relationship with Pearson. Since sending our first on-site marketing contractor to Pearson nearly fourteen years ago, Marcomm has become a trusted, time-tested marketing partner for the world’s leading learning company.
Just as Pearson has improved and adapted its educational products to serve changing markets, Marcomm has renewed its approach to connecting companies with marketing talent. Consider how Marcomm’s Marketing Staffing and Contract-to-Hire services are changing the marketing landscape, or how our innovative Fractional Marketing Teams are delivering financial benefits to Marcomm clients. In fact, Marcomm currently supports clients with four pillars of service: Contract staffing services, fractional support teams, marketing projects and contract-to-hire and permanent placement solutions.
Since 2008, Marcomm has consistently worked with Pearson on a number of contract roles in areas ranging from creative services to marketing project management. With more than 20,000 employees in 200 countries, Pearson enables tens of millions of learners per year to maximize their success. It is also the parent company of Pearson VUE, the global leader in computer-based testing solutions for academic, government, and professional testing programs such as skills tests, IT certifications, and real estate licenses. Marcomm’s lasting partnership with Pearson began with a singular mission that eventually sprouted into multiple opportunities.
Seeds of a successful collaboration
In October 2008, Marcomm Founder & CEO Joe Foley was recruiting for a Marketing Communications Project Manager contract role at Pearson. He came across a great-fit candidate who was exploring full-time contract opportunities. “Her experience was right on target,” said Foley. “But even more so, I believed she would be a culture fit and make a difference long term.” After their first meeting, Joe determined that the candidate’s broad marketing background—and her ability to execute projects with many moving parts—would put her on Marcomm’s short list to present to Pearson.
“My instincts told me that she was right for the project,” recalls Foley. “Pearson agreed, and that first contract role has led to a long and successful collaboration.”
In fact, when that same Marcomm recruit was later given the opportunity to join Pearson as a full-time employee, Foley and his team were very supportive and did everything possible to ensure a smooth transition. It’s the desire to ensure the best outcome for the client and employee that make Marcomm unique in the marketing staffing and services arena.
Growing into leadership
Over the years, the Marcomm team has enjoyed seeing a variety of marketing contractors flourish within Pearson’s organization—in areas such as catalog production, clinical assessments marketing and creative services. Marcomm has recruited project managers, copywriters and graphic designers, plus other talented marketing professionals whose creativity, technical abilities and soft skills have made them successful contributors at Pearson.
In any large marketing organization, it’s vital to hire people who can collaborate well across all channels. For nearly 15 years, Marcomm has placed marketing professionals at Pearson across various roles. It’s been a great team where Marcomm employees feel valued and empowered to do their best work. Marcomm has heard from current and former employees who say it’s easy to get plugged in, utilize their strengths and grow their skills within the growth-oriented culture at Pearson.
“There are a ton of opportunities for professional development at Pearson,” remarked one Marcomm team member who was later hired full-time at Pearson. “They have great benefits, and they really take care of their people.”
An ecosystem of collaboration
Marcomm celebrates the deep sense of partnership that it has cultivated with companies like Pearson. Making it a priority to understand their clients’ business and culture is one of the first steps in that process.
“This is such a unique story because we’ve worked with Pearson for a long time,” stated Priscilla Koeckeritz, Chief Marketing Officer at Marcomm. She believes Marcomm’s history with Pearson illustrates the value that a true collaboration can offer. “We work closely with our clients to find the best fit and the best solution,” Koeckeritz adds, “But a lot of that sense of partnership gets lost when companies go to vendor management systems, where people become a commodity.”
But since Marcomm has worked with Pearson for so long, there is an intuitive sense of what is needed—especially when recruiting for the marketing project management roles that Pearson is frequently in need of.
Go-to partners can create efficiencies for hiring managers
Whenever Pearson reaches out to Marcomm regarding a new contract or permanent staffing need, much of the groundwork has already been covered based on our history of finding solutions for Pearson over many years. Once a job description is provided—which helps clarify the unique skills or experience level that is desired for a particular role–Marcomm is able to get things moving quickly since we’re not starting from ground zero.
Typically, hiring managers are busy people who are juggling many other responsibilities. Marcomm thrives on being tasked with the recruiting and vetting details, leaving clients to simply interview the top candidates and make a selection. Marcomm has an efficient process of gathering and sharing the most compelling candidates with clients, and then helping the hiring manager walk through the pros and cons of each one presented. When Marcomm takes on a new recruiting task for Pearson, this process usually takes about a week from start to finish. It’s a nice contrast to the long-and-drawn-out staffing process that often plagues larger corporations.
Instead of having to review 50 resumes that may not be on target, Pearson can rely on Marcomm to quickly deliver a handful of top candidates who have the particular skills that the position or campaign requires. Marcomm’s goal is to make the hiring manager’s job easier.
Shared values: being human
Marcomm and Pearson both share a commitment to taking care of their people. This attention to being human tends to inspire loyalty down the road.
Case in point: One Pearson hiring manager told Marcomm that she was relieved to know that her Marcomm contractors were fully supported with medical coverage, sick time and other safety net benefits for the duration of their role.
In addition, Marcomm leaders regularly look for opportunities to match their talent network with roles that align with their strengths and career goals. “Whether they are full-time Marcomm employees, contract employees, contract-to-hire, or members of Marcomm’s Fractional Marketing Team,” Foley explained, ”we know that everyone involved in delivering Marcomm services is a better collaborator when they are doing work that they love.”
Jamie Simpson, Director of Business Operations for Marcomm couldn’t agree more. “From all my years in the staffing business, as things continue to change, the humanity is getting lost,” she observed. “But in both the ability to build connections with companies, and in caring for employees, Marcomm is great at cultivating that human side of things.”
Trust is key to nurturing successful partnerships
In summary, Marcomm is focused on connecting each client’s unique needs and culture with the best-fit marketing talent for the job. By excelling at the human side of marketing staffing—and repeatedly coming through for long-term clients such as 3M, Pearson and others—Marcomm shows that trust is the key to nurturing thriving, mutually-successful client partnerships.
Are you ready to experience the Marcomm difference—either as a company seeking marketing talent, or as a job seeker? Contact us today to start a conversation.
About MARCOMM
Marcomm believes people searching for their next career opportunity deserve to be treated with value, and that companies don’t have to settle for talent that doesn’t fit both culture and skill expectations. Founded in 1996, Marcomm is proud of our history connecting marketing talent with some of the best Twin Cities companies. Our mission is to rebuild the value of relationships as the cornerstone to delivering staffing, contract and support services to companies large and small. The human experience is central to our purpose and by connecting people to deliver great marketing efforts we fulfill both the needs of job seekers and our corporate clientele. For more information, visit: https://www.marcommdept.com.
