Company work-life is changing. The struggle to attract and retain top talent has seen many of our clients put more thought, planning and effort into creating a “great place to work”. We are seeing some Agencies take great strides in this area – thinking beyond the benefits of free food, games rooms and Friday night drinks, to initiatives that really manifest company values and encourage staff to strive for greatness. There’s more consideration around how benefits and perks can take care of their people and remove barriers that hinder growth. We wanted to explore some of the most interesting initiatives we’ve seen recently in the market.

Aligning benefits to core values 

Over recent years we have seen more Agencies get clear about their culture and how they can align company benefits to their core values. A successful Melbourne boutique digital agency that has a values policy around environment and sustainability have moulded a team that really shares values on these issues. The benefits provided by this agency all centre around sustainability and “giving back” from the carbon neutral office, re-cycled paper, wind power energy, and emphasis on riding bikes or catching public transport to the office to the additional mental health and flexibility to be the best in your role. These values have helped the agency form a very cohesive team and an attractive proposition for potential candidates (and clients). 

Another Sydney based independent agency puts “curiosity” at the forefront of their values and hiring policy – imploring their staff to continually question and learn. This extends to a unique benefit called “Library Hour” – where each staff member is given one hour per week for personal development. These values and benefits are included in all recruitment briefs so candidates are clear on the cultural measures through the hiring process. 

On a larger scale, Dentsu Aegis Network has created Innovation Champions – a program to enable all employees to become more innovative by using design thinking methodologies in an 8-week online “problem solving” training platform. The concept is designed to help all employees work with an agile approach and create amazing ideas and solutions together. 

Wellbeing – Mental Health

One of the big trends in company culture has been a focus on staff wellbeing, particularly around staff mental health. With 1 in 5 working Australian’s suffering a mental health issue it is no longer a fringe issues for businesses and many are taking action. A leading Melbourne media agency offers all staff Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training to empower all staff to be aware and take action on Mental Health. Another large independent is aiming to look at root causes of mental health concerns amongst staff. For instance, they have identified that a leading cause of stress amongst younger staff is management on personal finances – so they are offering specialised training to help support them in their personal lives. WPP has implemented an agency wide Wellbeing Ambassador program with 1-2 employees getting centralised training and resources to roll out wellbeing initiatives across themes such as stress, fitness, environment and sleep. 

Flexibility



Flexibility is another area where Agencies are starting to challenge traditional ways of working. The battle to stem the flow of talent to client-side roles offering more manageable conditions around working hours, have seen some agencies make bold moves in this area. Digital agency Versa have gained a lot of press over the last year for its decision to implement a 4-day working week for all staff. After struggling with a variety of flexible working options, they moved to a standardised approach for the entire business where everyone takes Wednesday’s off (so long as workload is managed). The results have seen the business improve revenue and profit quite dramatically as well as staff retention and higher quality of candidates applying for roles. According to Versa, they have noticed that people are interested in more than just money and the impact that additional time makes to their lifestyle. Staff use the Wednesdays for personal errands, exercise, spending time with children and come back to work energised. 

Versa is part of small but growing group of businesses looking at innovative ways to allow for more flexibility in the workplace. A successful agency in the fundraising sector, Flat Earth Direct, has a unique remote-working model with a network of account service and creative staff who collaborate through technology across different locations in Australia, allowing staff to work in regional areas. 

Whilst not all agencies are taking such dramatic steps, across the board we are seeing more companies addressing flexibility to attract better talent – from additional days of personal leave such as Birthday Leave, Doona Days and Mental Health Days, reduced working hours through Summer months and more options to work from home. Continual innovation around how best to support employees to be their best in the workplace and attract the best talent is slowly changing the environments we work in and helping businesses position themselves to talent in the market.