If I Ran The World
It isn’t about the work.
It isn’t about awards.
It’s about feeling like you’re growing into a fuller, richer person.
That you’re learning something every day.
That you’re teaching something every day.
That when you leave, you will be a better human being than when you started.
I’m talking about culture.
We talk a lot about culture in Adland. It’s sometimes one of the things that makes us jump out of bed in the morning full of energy, and yet, it is often the thing that stops us sleeping. Keeps us locked in our heads. Terrifies us. Makes us question everything and in some cases, makes us lack the will to live.
Culture can set us free and culture can kill us.
In my experience, what we tend to call ‘good culture’ in Adland, tends to revolve around the more hedonistic aspects of our working practices. We think back to the nights out with colleagues, the times we worked late and got the beers in. But it was ok, because we were together. We enjoyed each others company. We got through it as a team.
These notions are troubling to me. They paint a picture of an industry that relies on peoples commitment to delivering the work whatever the cost. That putting the hours in is worth it if there’s free booze, or you’re allowed to get the pizzas in after dark. It relies on the shared ideal that if we push harder, work later, then we will be rewarded. Not with better compensation, but with plaudits. With the applause of other people in our industry stuck in the same mechanisms. All cogs in the machine, churning out passable work for shiny objects that don’t have our names on them.
This doesn’t seem healthy to me. At all.
Over the last few years, culture in society as a whole has shifted. We talk more about mental health than we’ve ever done before. More of us meditate. More of us do yoga. More of us are comfortable showing our vulnerabilities. We can tell people we aren’t coping, and most of the time, that’s ok.
This change in our own lives somehow now feels out of sync with our professional lives. Our concept of what good looks like in the context of work, doesn’t align anymore. Covid has accelerated this conversation further, as we now don’t have to rely on our shared working spaces. We don’t need to be visible at our desks. We don’t need to turn the lights off when we leave.
So what does this mean for agency culture as a whole?
Culture is obviously about people. But more specifically, it’s about people spending time together. Getting to know each other and sharing their ideals.
How will that be possible in a world where you can’t sense what’s happening to your colleagues?
Clearly, we are on the precipice of a more monumental shift in culture. And we need to decide what good is, once again.
If I were running an agency now, I would be thinking back to the fundamentals and what makes great leaders. I would be focusing as much on this, as I am on new business. Without these voices shaping the development of staff, its likely the better aspects of culture in our industry will wither away.
Here are a few thoughts on the principles I think agency leaders should be adopting and acting on.
The office is now just a shared space, so use it for sharing.
A lot of agencies will be shifting towards campuses or shared working spaces, instead of shop frontage. The financial benefits of this are clear. Desks are at premium. Space will be smaller. These spaces should become hubs for sharing the craft, for inspiration. A place to learn and experiment, to hack and collaborate.
They are no longer a place to be visible or present. They need to become places of learning. More like galleries or schools, than factory floors.
In essence, you need to give people a reason to come in now. Make them feel like by being there, they will grow. If you build it, they will come.
Personal development is more important than ever.
We don’t spend as much time together as we used to. And we won’t moving forward. The reality is, most of us don’t go on training courses. We don’t get taught about the standards that are expected of us by industry bodies. We learn on the job. We learn from our peers and from our bosses. This means that in a world where we will be working more independently from others, there will be less of a feedback loop. There will be less day-to-day chats occurring.
In this context, line managers need to actively set out specific learning and development programmes and stick to them. This does happen now, but often it is an ad-hoc request from HR around appraisals, and rarely revisited throughout the year. This has to change. Personal development should be a core part of day-to-day work moving forward.
Mental health is more important than output.
Everyone is struggling. This is shared trauma. We are living through something monumental and there is no escaping its impact on our lives. We have to address this and ensure our people are properly cared for. This is a shared responsibility. It is up to line managers to ensure they are regularly checking in, but it’s also up to all colleagues to maintain open and caring channels of communication. Organisations like NABS are great, however we can’t rely on outsourcing our pain to be fixed elsewhere. We have to create a culture where it is ok to feel mentally unwell, and to allow space for people to properly recover. Let people rest. Give them space and support. Remove work from their workload when there are red flags, and take the same amount of responsibility for their health, as you do for their output.
Make more time to talk.
We are all alone at home, for the most part. Our cats and dogs are great company, but we miss the sound of friendly voices. The chattering of meeting rooms, and yes, the occasional raised voice. It shows us we are part of something bigger. It communicates we are collectively a whole. It’s good to talk (little nod to the BT team there). Sometimes it’s better to pick up the phone than do a Zoom or Teams call. Video calls carry their own tensions. They often feel unnatural. Seeing your own face is disturbing. Let people relax and call them on the telephone. I find I imagine them better and in a more authentic way over the phone, than by staring into their blank, stressed out eyes over Zoom. But that’s just me. Make time for more authentic connections.
There is no such thing as office hours anymore.
We are contracted to standard working hours, and that is tied up in legal precedents. But in reality, we aren’t working normal hours anymore. People with young children will attest to working in specific blocks of time at different times of the day. Others will tell you that certain times of the day are a real struggle for them in terms of productivity or their mental health. Create a climate where any time is fine to work. Let people set their own working hours within the agreed legal limit as stated in your employment contract. Judge people on their output, not their time on Slack, or online status.
I think it is clear, that in this new world there will be challenges to employment law. There will be a debate over what working hours even are and how they can be measured, or how employees can be protected from abuses. We need to be proactive on this. Get ahead of this conversation now and shape a culture around flexibility. Let people choose what’s right for them and their families. I suspect you’ll find that their outputs will improve overall when they’re not faced with the stresses of being ‘on time’.
I don’t run an agency. Perhaps, I will in the future. Who knows?
However, if I did, I would set out to build one shaped around the culture I’ve outlined above.
I would emphasise personal growth.
Create spaces for sharing.
Judge people on their outputs, not their flag waving or commitment to time.
It would be ok to be sick.
It would be ok to fail.
It would be a safer place for people to voice their views.
And yes, there would still be free beer.
Maybe one day.
