Why do you want to work here?
It’s the end of my second week here at Havas London and the brevity of my time here is starting to sink in. Two weeks down. Two weeks left to go. To my surprise, I can now walk up to people and call them by name. We can all admit, the whole “Hey there…guy” routine gets old quick. Progress.
Yesterday, alongside a few other new hires, we had our creative induction meeting. If you’re unfamiliar with the term induction as I was, think of it as a orientation. Led by the ECD of the office, Mark Fairbanks, the focus was on letting everyone know what the vision for the office was, or more so, what the creative vision is.
Mark has been at the London office for almost two years, and he has big aspirations for the London office. Having spent the last 10 years at AMV BBDO, one of the finest creative shops in London, Mark’s on a mission to build up the creative reputation of the shop even further. However, he believes all that starts with the culture of the agency.
Culture is a funny thing. You always hear leaders talks about how important it is, how famous great places have them, but nobody really seems to have the formula for making it actually happen. And I think it’s because it tends to be another buzzword that is tossed around but never actually practiced.
Mark has an interesting take on it: he wants the people in the agency to own it. “This is a chance for all of you to make this place whatever you want it to be,” Mark tells us. The policy here is that they’re truly open: open to ideas, to initiatives, to change, to anything really. Mark invites and encourages everyone to talk to him and share whatever ideas they want to happen in the office, how they want things to be, how process can be better, how to make everyone closer.
It’s a bold statement, and probably one you’ve heard before, but the difference is that here it actually happens. Mark’s frustration at the moment is that in the year that he’s been giving his little speech and extending the invite, only three people have come forth. To make things a bit more tricky, the office has undergone some heavy changes in the last 3 months. Work Club, a digital agency, and One Green Bean, a PR company, moved into the building so now you have different company cultures clashing and beginning to mix together as well. Regardless, with the people who’ve been here a while and the fresh influx of new hires, I have no doubt Mark will pull it off.
It’s also an interesting thing to me because I feel we’re in a similar spot in the New York office. We recently reshuffled the agency floors about 6 months ago and there was a period of disorientation that soon followed. The creative department has banded together well on it’s own, and we’ve definitely done a few things outside the agency as a department as well. And all of this helps to bring each other closer, to feel like we’re in it together. Although it sounds a bit corny, I think the statement of “co-workers who drink together, stay together” holds some truth.
In an effort to keep establishing culture, the 4th floor of the New York office where creative and design sit, is soon going to be remodeled. What’s interesting is that although a few people have been working on the ideas and look of it, it’s been open to the team to chime in and give their opinions.
It’s this same philosophy that Mark shares of incorporating people into the decision making that I think will help foster that culture that we’re all looking for.
At the end of the day, I think it also really comes down to the people who work there. We all remember those fun, interesting people from our previous lives that brought joy and energy into our every day, and it’s not always easy to hire those people. But if they have the permission to be fostered and feel like themselves in the workplace, then there’s a chance those people will help bring the energy that really creates a culture others want to be a part of.
On a side note, it’s not often one gets to meet one of their “heroes.” After looking at the heavy awards shelf Mark has in the office, I couldn’t help but notice many were for The Economist. After some googling, low and behold, I find out Mark is responsible for some of my all-time favorite pieces of advertising.
