Fiftyfive5 Expands at a Rapid Rate

February 14 2022: 2022 has started with great momentum for The Research Society’s agency of the year. Fiftyfive5 has kicked off the year with a growth spurt, inclusive of 13 new graduates, new Partner promotions and capability extensions. The business has had 34 new starters join since November 2021 and is expecting to reach a headcount of 200 by April 2022.

“The demand we’re experiencing continues to increase, as our clients, more than ever, lean into insight – and the insight-led growth paths we create – to help drive strategic decision making. And our expanding capability and expertise – in performance monitoring, CX and analytics amongst others – means we’re equipped to support businesses even more broadly” Karen Phillips, Founding Partner.

The Melbourne office has more than doubled in size under Managing Partner Jenny Witham’s leadership delivering a full-service agency with a total team of 30 consultants. The portfolio of clients and categories has broadened under Witham’s leadership with retail as a stronghold, all commercial sectors growing, and a newly established social and government team, supported by advanced capabilities including in-house data scientists, cultural forecasting and senior qualitative researchers.

“I’m really proud of the strong offering that we are building in Melbourne, the momentum is exciting, and the team are geared up to deliver insight driven growth for our clients.” Witham

The Partnership led structure of the business has also grown to include 12 Partners, with Richard Hall promoted to Managing Partner in New Zealand, Corey Fisher to Partner in the Social and Community practice out of Canberra, and Amanda Sharp to Partner in Sydney.

With the volume of business the new position of Research Operations has been created and the business welcomes Kai Lufen to lead this function. Leading a team of technical specialists with core capabilities in data integration, automation, visualisation and data governance. His focus will be on further embedding quality as the foundation for all client data solutions, delivering faster access to insights and on integrated delivery for clients.

The 2022 Graduate cohort has joined across key geographies with 2 in Melbourne, 3 in Auckland and 8 in Sydney.

“The grad program is fundamental to the people strategy at Fiftyfive5. Not only do our grads bring fresh energy and ideas to the agency; but they support us all to up our game and deliver better work. We’re delighted to see how the business has got behind the program; with every team putting their hand up to receive one this year. This is a testament to how fantastic our previous cohorts have been. Following an intensive induction through our ‘Week Zero’ training, the grads join their teams to start supporting on client projects and will receive a year of training & mentorship from Australasia’s most experienced team of researchers.” Emma Hetherington Senior Consultant, Graduate program.

“From an idea sparked in the pub a few years ago, Fiftyfive5 has recruited 28 top graduates into the industry in the last 3 years – looking to raise the bar for talent in the industry – and open up a fascinating career path for new graduates.” Brandon Kelly Senior consultant, Graduate program