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Culture

The top five culture killers in creative agencies

By Maren Elliott | chief operations officer

April 23, 2015 | 5 min read

Everyone talks about culture and how to build and foster one that is both authentic and inspiring to employees.

Maren Elliott

In 2015, we all know it is more than ping-pong tables, kombucha on tap and Friday morning yoga classes. Yes, those are great perks, but without an authentic culture they are just that… perks. You can’t build a culture on a fermented drink made from tea and a cat-cow.

Here are top five (with a bonus sixth) killers that may be eroding all of the hard work you’re doing to build a positive culture (in no particular order):

The ego has landed

The marketing and advertising industries are notorious for big egos, but ego doesn’t have to be synonymous with confidence. In a world where you have to receive feedback daily from clients and co-workers, an oversized ego can actually get in the way of good work.

Encourage your employees to be confident in their opinions, but recognize that a good idea can come from anywhere and create an environment that moves away from highlighting individual ‘genius’ and nurtures a fun team working environment.

You've got mail

Evening and weekend emails is the Freddy Kruger of cultural killers. There seems no escape from an advertising world that never stops and the notion of “working hours” often feels lost. While there are certainly times that warrant evening emails, using evening hours as a time to clean out your inbox means you're filling up someone else's. Inherently, if a manager emails their team at 11pm, people will feel compelled to respond regardless if that is the manager’s intent.

Spur your people on to use tools like Boomerang, which allows you to write emails and schedule the send time so they go out during typical working hours.

The box

Yes, open floor plans can be loud and potentially distracting, but everyone is accessible. Walls deter impromptu conversations (often the catalyst of great ideas) and prevent leadership from being more approachable. They hinder day-to-day office operations and interactions and if people get used to being out of touch, it’s a difficult and potentially damaging cruise liner to turnaround because it can create an environment of uncertainty and propagate rumors and gossip.

Steamy windows

Unclear growth opportunities are a big no-no. People are motivated by different drivers, but in my experience virtually all employees are motivated by clear growth opportunities even if that path isn’t linear.

Allotting professional development funds for managers to distribute amongst employees who’ve identified areas they’d like to grow in is a great motivator, as is bringing in outside consultants to provide all-staff training in areas like presentation skills.

Additionally, some employees express interest in growth opportunities outside of their specific position path and that exploration should be nurtured. Stretch assignments and constant conversations among the leadership team should ensure you’re able to keep high performers engaged and challenged.

What we've got here is a failure to communicate

When you are in the midst of a period of continued growth, it can become increasingly difficult for everyone to know everyone else in your agency.

A little preventative maintenance is the order of the day and you should look to have prioritized communication through several channels, in the run up to expansion.

Weekly staff meetings that cover a range of topics and include work sharing, policy updates and new staff member introductions need to take place. The goal of these meetings should be to keep staff informed on anything new and changing so they feel that they’re included and in the know.

To supplement this, why not prompt your managers to meet with employees one-on-one during a weekly check-in? This way you have an ongoing dialog of what’s working, what’s not and where there is scope for improvement.

Toto, we're home!

There is nothing more soul-sapping than a human-only office. Life would be so dull if you couldn’t take time out to watch your co-worker’s pit-bull having a fight with a stuffed chicken.

Not only do studies show that having dogs in the work place reduce owners’ stress levels, but they also give employees from different groups and departments an opportunity to interact when they might not have otherwise.

Plus, there are those awkward instances when you can always blame the dog.

Maren Elliott is chief operations officer at Swift

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