Initiative has launched a national employee experience program (EEP) to create a strong connection with staff across three cities, helping to cement retention and build career paths.
The media agency's employee-led EEP details the staff journey -- from recruitment, to how the agency grows an individual's career and how the agency says goodbye.
Carolyn Maloney, Initiative head of people and culture, told AdNews: “As we grew across Australia and went from predominantly working at home to then getting people back into the office, we had to ask ourselves what do we want our employee experience to look like?
“And how can we make it consistent across Melbourne, Perth and Sydney?”
The national induction of the EEP involved agency teams from the three markets coming together over five days and learning how to enforce the program. Breakout sessions were designed to inspire and excite team members about the wealth of opportunities ahead.
Initiative staff can access the program, practical tools and best practices through a centrally assessed portal online at any time to support their journeys.
Elyse Foley, Initiative national head of employee experience, told AdNews: “The EEP project wasn't so much about recreating something or starting fresh because we were already doing so much for our employees in terms of onboarding, incentives, training etc.
“Instead the focus was to package up our agency’s offerings into a concise layout so we can communicate what Initiative is like from the very first time a person hears of us to when they head off on their next adventure.
“We wanted to make sure every employee - current and future - can make the most of all the great programs we have on offer.
“Employee experience is obviously for the employees, but also the benefits for clients are triple fold.
“I don't know of any other agency that is putting this much of a focus on employee experience. That really speaks to how much we value and want to empower our people to do their best work within a career and to also enjoy a work-life balance.
“You hear all agencies say they put their ‘people first’, but through our succinct program showing all the good things we do at Initiative, it's just so evident that everybody here really gets behind that idea.”
And while each market is slightly different to the next - with Melbourne retail-focused, Perth with government accounts and Sydney at another life stage - but the EEP overall is very consistent.
However, smaller things such as team sizes, different roles and responsibilities might cause the EEP to be slightly tweaked to ensure everyone has the same agency experience.
Elyse Foley and Carolyn Maloney
Megan Davey, client partner at Initiative Melbourne, said: “The content is fantastic and has clearly been developed with a people-first approach which is Initiative’s mantra.
“A national rollout encourages collaboration and cohesion between our offices, as a team leader I am excited about what the program means for my team and ultimately our clients, it is the best approach I have seen at any agency in Australia”.
Both Maloney and Foley are actively engaging with working groups in each of the markets to ensure the program continues to be owned by every employee in the business.
At a minimum of every two months, leadership communicates with the working groups to identify emerging trends, new ideas and keep track of feedback to guarantee the EEP is continuously supporting everyone or needs to be adapted accordingly.
Maloney said: “Employee experience is an evolution, you need to keep it fresh.
"So we'll probably do a refresh in maybe careers week, which will be mid-next year or even before that.”
A focus on onboarding
With so much movement in, out and around the industry, onboarding is the most critical aspect to ensure longevity of new agency hires.
Maloney said: “Everyone is busy. So it's essential to create enough time and efficient processes for hiring managers to implement onboarding properly, particularly in those first 90 to 180 days.
“If you don't get that right up front, new hires can fall out very quickly.
"Particularly if employees are being boarded remotely or they're not working in the office five days with their managers, it's easy for people to fall out because they're not connected.
“At the end of the day, the managers are the ones going to be driving this program.”
Therefore, the EEP equips managers with the tools and processes to help them lead and inspire their teams, and at the same time accelerate their career development via programs such as “Emily in Paris”, an international short-term work exchange program.
Thomas Clapham, partnerships director at Initiative Melbourne, said: “As a relative newcomer to Initiative’s team, I have experienced first-hand the lengths the agency goes to ensure a smooth, informative and welcoming onboarding process.
“I felt valued immediately and was seamlessly integrated into my team and the agency at large; through the EEP I can be confident new starters will have a similar onboarding experience.
“As a manager, I now have the tools in place to ensure every single employee experiences a world-class approach to their career development with a customised Career Velocity plan in place developed with their progression in mind.”
Tiaan Van Jaarsveldt, client director at Initiative (INI) Perth, said: “Being new to the country my first couple of months was all about utilising my limited network to get a better understanding of the advertising and media landscape in Perth.
“Initiative’s EEP was instrumental in exposing me to INI’s leadership who in turn cemented my belief that INI was the place for me. Now just over a month at INI, I can truly say I am surrounded by some of the smartest, talented and caring bunch of media professionals the industry has to offer.
“The care, the culture, the craft, the processes, the training, the employee programmes, the commitment to each INI family member shines through from day one and something that will continue to be nurtured as we build from strength to strength.
“Truly looking forward to becoming part of the furniture here.”
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