Angela Hampton, Michelle Hampton and David Kennedy.
An ice-cream fridge, accumulated additional annual leave days and a monthly "rewired" sessions is one way to retain employees in an constantly changing market.
This is a small list in what independent digital and creative marketing agency WiredCo. provides in an "employee-first" environment.
According to WiredCo. founder and CEO Angela Hampton, supporting employees starts at the induction program.
The WiredCo. way, known as the Wiredopedia, consists of 100 slides providing information ranging from job roles, values, seating arrangements, leave, down to the WiredCo. font.
“When we were talking about why our team consistently say it's the best induction they've ever had, it came down to not just the detail, but sharing the detail directly with them,” Hampton told AdNews.
“It’s enough for the team to think they have found their place. That we care about them.
“90% of our handbook is all about our people, culture and all the rewards that we have.”
Hampton founded the agency after spending a year working as a nurse.
She had passion for looking after people but couldn’t “switch off” the way she believed a nurse should.
After going back to university to study health marketing, she worked for a cancer charity.
“I was trying to find a place where I felt like I can do something for the greater good or lift people up around me,” Angela Hampton said.
“I was very lucky to be managing teams quite early on in my career, which I loved. But there was no budget for culture.
“Trying to get pay rises for my team members was like begging, almost trying to get any acknowledgement for the team at a business level was hard.”
Hampton noticed that brands and clients weren’t putting digital performance to the forefront, and decided one day it was time for her to do it.
“I wanted to do performance marketing, but more importantly, I wanted to do it in a way where an entire business is structured around the idea that you can create an environment that actually grows people's confidence, that helps them thrive, improves their mental health and wellbeing.
“It was a goal that I had 11 years ago and it's important that I tell this story, because I haven't created a business for money. I created it for people. Our forecast is structured for people. The way that we handle and choose what clients we want to work with is all structured for people.”
Hampton’s twin sister and WiredCo. managing director, Michelle Hampton, invested in the business while working at Magnum & Co.
She contributed to the PR and earned media sector.
“It’s rare for twins to be so complementary in their skill set and actually get along. It's a family business with two humans that couldn't get closer,” Michelle Hampton said.
WiredCo. managing director & partner David Kennedy-Cosgrove joined not long after to support the creative side of the business.
He said that the team have a real force and connection unlike anywhere else.
“Michelle and Angela are very different people. They work and present in very different ways. I knew I was buying into a family business, but I feel like I am also part of the family,” he said.
WiredCo. was AdNews 2024 ‘Employer of the Year’ and have been nominated again for this year’s Agency of the Year awards.
These nominations come from a background of staff remit that has maintained and motivated staff throughout the last 11 years.
As part of its remit to its staff, WiredCo. host rewired, a chance for the team to do an activity outside of work. Previous years have included skydiving, beach picnics, pub lunches, paddle boarding and more.
WiredCo. also provides unlimited counselling for staff and mental health training with the Black Dog Institute.
“We are really big on mental health, but we also want to remove that financial burden that can sometimes happen when you're going through therapy,” Angela Hampton said.
'Rewind for Growth' supports the team in growing their professional career. This includes your professional development and training program.
‘School of Wired’, which happens fortnightly, has someone in the business put together a 45 minute session on something they're passionate about.
Hybrid working conditions, mental health leave, parental leave, birthday leave, two extra days leave In July, Wiredo of the month and public holiday leave adjustments based on religious and ethnic background are part of the staff remit at WiredCo.
WiredCo also provides Wired Rewards: cumulative annual leave and rewards.
“Our parental leave is inclusive for all forms of parenting, whether it's foster care, adoption, surrogacy or similar," Angela Hampton said.
"We support every type, including IVF leave. We've even got dinner lady meal vouchers for new parents, so that they don't need to cook.”
“It’s a lot of leave. But we build all of these things around productivity and the impact that this flexibility and support would have on productivity. We have not noticed a drop in productivity whatsoever based on this flexibility.”
“Our intention, long term, is to move to a four-day working week. Because we trust our team.”
Mass redundancies and AI integration has fore fronted the industry this year, leading to discussions around job opportunities for entry level roles and seniors.
The average tenure in this industry is 15 months, according to WiredCo.
“We’ve obviously been having discussions about AI, and we're working with some tech developers in India to come up with our own bespoke platform,” Michelle Hampton said.
“But we have also had the discussion around efficiencies. Do we invest in more AI tech, and how will that impact the team?
“We will never replace our junior team members, and that's a commercial decision for us.
“While some agencies are really diving into the efficiency side of AI, we respect it and understand it, but it's never going to replace our people the way that other agencies are seeing it.”
Angela Hampton said it’s an “industry responsibility" to be on top of AI and supporting human workers amidst it.
“If we remove those junior roles to AI, what is our industry going to look like in 10 years if we don't have new, fresh talent coming into our market?” she said.
“AI will never replace the fact that our clients want quality service and want to talk to people.
"AI can't pick up phone and have a good conversation with someone.”
Angela Hampton said that their 2026 plan is to continue to invest in people, the best talents and the best clients.
“It's important that we keep it diverse and keep being flexible and open minded,” she said.
“Of course, we will focus on AI like every agency, but our focus is staying true to our values and making sure that we're still bringing talent into the industry.
“It's much more about efficiencies and supporting what we're doing, rather than taking over what we're doing.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.