Emerald preparing for the future: a statement from CEO Vicky Williams

Emerald Publishing, like many other businesses, has been coming to terms with the impact of COVID-19 on our customers, our communities and our colleagues. 

We have always sought to do the right thing as a responsible business, but the turbulence and unpredictability of COVID is something that, unfortunately, will have a lasting impact for many years.  We have been looking at how we can work differently in light of the struggles facing us all, in order to provide sustainable value to our customers, and employment long into the future. 

We remain resolutely committed to our goal of helping research to have an impact; real impact that influences thinking, changes policies and practice, and positively makes a difference to lives beyond the walls of academia. To achieve this in the context of both accelerating our response to an open future within the HSS community, as well as responding to the changing needs of the research and educational environment, we have reviewed our plans so that we remain focused on what provides best value for our customers. This has led to some difficult decisions about what we need to do differently in order to prepare for the future.

Yesterday, we announced to the business that we are proposing some significant structural changes to our organisational design, which will mean that c.10% of positions across the company will be impacted. A consultation process will now follow. This has been one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make – Emerald is a relatively small and close community, which shares a strong and united culture. We will be working through our proposals with colleagues over the coming weeks.

We will always put the customer at the centre of our plans, offering ease, flexibility, choice and value. Our vision is to deliver real impact through an equitable, healthy and sustainable research ecosystem for all, and we are particularly focused on opportunities for diverse voices to be heard. How we do that is evolving, and we look forward to continual co-creation with our customers and colleagues.

Vicky

CEO, Emerald Publishing