New way of working Archives

27th September 2024

Applications for Free Social & Local CIC Communications Training Now Open

Social & Local is proud to be a Community Interest Company (CIC). This special type of Ltd. company exists to benefit the community, and for us that means working exclusively on projects that offer social value and local impact.

However, we are always on the look out for new ways we can add value to our networks and clients…

New committment to free training for a charity or not-for-profit

This year, our new leadership team has refreshed our CIC offer, and we are delighted to announce that we are offering free-of-charge communications training to a smaller charity or not-for-profit.

Our goal is to share our communications experience and skills more widely with the sector.

This is a pilot for 2024, and initially we are looking for one charity or not-for-profit to work with to deliver our first series of training.

What’s in it for you?

Our virtual training sessions will be provided by our best-in-class team including award-winning strategists, media relations experts and evaluation gurus.

A virtual kick-off meeting will allow us to discuss your needs, and select and develop your training sessions to directly support the work of you and your team.

How to apply for free Social & Local CIC training

Application is easy. Just visit our secure online application form and answer a few questions about your work and needs, and we’ll aim to get back to all who apply by the end of October.

We will meet with the successful organisation to discuss needs in November and plan to deliver virtual training sessions in December – March.

Depending on demand, we hope to reopen the offer again after the initial pilot and will reach back out to all those who applied in the first phase.

Spread the word

If you like the sound of our project, but it’s not quite right for you, please do share the application form with your wider network.

Thank you for your support!

Get in touch

To keep in touch with all our updates, you can follow Social & Local CIC on LinkedIn.

Or get in touch to catch up. We’re always avaiable for coffee: hello@socialandlocal.co.uk

8th May 20248th May 2024

A New Direction for Social & Local CIC

After twelve years of ground-breaking projects and award-winning campaigns, Social & Local CIC Co-Founder and Female Frontier honouree Steph Drakes is stepping back this spring and handing over to new Managing Director Holly Greenland. Steph will be on hand in the short term to bring consistency as the agency transitions.

Strategic Director at Social & Local since 2019, Holly and her team will continue the agency’s focus on offering the first-class senior consultancy and delivery you have come to expect from SoLo for your market insight, communications and content needs.

Of the upcoming changes, Steph says: “The opportunity afforded by this new leadership offers so much scope for Social & Local to build on its core offer of quality with purpose and I look forward eagerly to seeing the company go from strength to strength”.

What’s next for Social & Local?

Exciting changes are planned in the coming year for Social & Local CIC that will include new projects, new offers and new team members.

Holly Greenland New Direction — Holly Greenland, incoming MD

Holly says of the upcoming developments: “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to take Social & Local on the next stage of our journey. One central area of growth longer term is building our Learning Campaigns & Content offer to support clients with the broadest range of options to communicate, educate and change behaviour. These will be exciting times for SoLo and I can’t wait to get stuck in!”

Social & Local set to continue as a Community Interest Company

Social & Local proudly remains a Community Interest Company (CIC) working exclusively on projects offering social value and local impact.

For the coming year, this will include providing pro-bono training to a smaller charity or not-for-profit to share communications knowledge with the sector. More information on this new programme will be coming soon. You can find out more about Social & Local’s CIC status here: Social & Local Community Interest Company Status.

Get in touch

Follow us on LinkedIn for updates in the coming weeks. In the meantime, if you’d like to hear more about the future plans for Social & Local CIC, or just fancy a catch up over a coffee, please get in touch with Holly: holly@socialandlocal.co.uk

7th July 2020

Let’s talk about flex

Image by Joshua Miranda from Pixabay

As a seasoned home worker (10 years plus!), it won’t surprise you to hear that my ears pricked up at a Radio 4 Programme last week week (Positive Thinking) which considered whether or not working from home might catch on in a post-coronavirus world.

While enforced remote working in a pandemic is not flexible working (for many it is more about simple survival, at home, during a crisis, while trying to work!) but it has started some big conversations.

Against the advice of many, I set up SoLo eleven years ago to offer a fully remote and flexible working environment. I’ve seen first-hand the benefits of a remote model and called for smart businesses to join the flexible working revolution many times.

But I was interested to hear on the programme than a study has been done that proves what I know anecdotally to be true: that working from home increases productivity.

Thank you, Nick Bloom, Professor of Economics at Stanford University, California. Nick published a study of a Chinese travel company, Ctrip, that looked at the benefits of its working from home policies. The study found that a random sample of 1,000 employees were 13% more productive working from home than they were in an office – 9% of this was from working more minutes per shift (fewer breaks and sick days) and 4% from more calls per minute (a quieter and more convenient working environment). After the 9 month trial, over half of the home-working employees opted to return to the office – having fallen foul to the 3 great enemies: fridge, bed and TV – while the others continued working from home: this led to the gains from WFH almost doubling to 22%.

If there is one silver lining of the COVID pandemic, I desperately hope that employers reconsider the benefits of working from home – not just to the employee, but also for their business. Through productivity, staff retention and the ability to recruit some of the best talent going (much of which happens not to be able to commit to the 9-5 grind for whatever reason – parenthood, caring responsibilities, anxiety, age…), the benefits of home workers are clear. Indeed, they are assets.

Sure, working from home does not suit all sectors, all jobs, or all people. In our business, for example, while planners and strategist can work from home just fine, things get trickier with collaborative disciplines like creative.

There is also wellbeing to consider. As the mother of two 30-something advertising boys, I noted that for the “family” version, lockdown has delivered benefits (and challenges!), but for the DINKy it has been hard socially. Isolation and loneliness have been a theme for many during this enforced period of working from home, and many will be desperate to get back to an office.

But the conversation has started to be had, and for that – if nothing else – I am grateful to COVID. Let us keep up the dialogue about work being about what you do, not where you do it; about working to live, not living to work; and about putting people and their lives at the heart of what business does.

9th March 202019th March 2020

SoLo’s Guide to effective remote working

SoLo’s virtual office in action

Are you working from home for the first time? At Social & Local, we’re seasoned remote workers (nearly 9 years now and counting!) Here are five things we have found make home-working work best.

Create a dedicated workspace: Find somewhere to work that’s free from the interruptions of home life. There’s nothing more distracting than an unmade bed in the corner of your eye or a washing machine bleeping for attention. Even if you don’t have the luxury of a home study, a pop-up desk in a corner of a room can work better than the kitchen table or sofa because it demarks a space that’s solely about work. This helps you to focus on work during worktime and then escape it when you’re done.
Connect (digitally) with colleagues: Make time to connect with colleagues – at SoLo we have a virtual Skype “office” – a daily Skype meeting which we log into for the day to connect with colleagues, foster teamwork and keep loneliness at bay. Regular, scheduled catch-ups over the phone or in the Virtual Office provide opportunities to exchange information informally and regularly, keeping work efficient and focused and ensuring the team is working seamlessly together.
Take regular desk breaks: Create some structure and routine for your day. 8 hours alone at your desk can be a daunting prospect. Research shows that we’re better working in short, intense bursts. That’s why you’ll often find Steph on an 11 o’clock dog walk and Jess making her lunch to the backdrop of the World At 1. Give yourself a structure which includes short regular breaks and schedule a brisk walk if you can. You’ll probably sit more than usual and may need to make time to move. Remote meetings are usually shorter too – another bonus of home-working!
Dress for the day: Though some might relish the chance to stay in PJs all day, we find it helps to get your head into ‘work mode’ by dressing appropriately… Not necessarily in a power suit, but somewhere in between. Being dressed ‘for work’ can help create the distinction between work and home, when there isn’t a commute to do that for you.
Meal plan: Fill your fridge with goodies so that you can make yourself a nutritious lunch. Without the joys of Pret or Itsu on the office doorstep, a few tasty ingredients can quickly be fashioned into a healthy lunch to refuel for the afternoon ahead. Smashed avocado and poached eggs on toast is a team favourite, as well as a selection of weird and wonderful salads.

Remote working can be a little lonely at times. If you are ever looking for a bit of company you’re always welcome to pop into our virtual office (we’ll send a link!) for a cuppa and a chat.

25th February 2020

Steph honoured in Timewise Power 50 Awards in hat trick of awards success for SoLo

Steph has been named in the 2020 Power 50 awards: a roll call of 50 powerful executives in the UK – who all happen to work part-time or flexibly.

The award completes a hat trick of awards success for Social & Local, with Stephanie recently named as one of 50 Female Frontier honourees by industry-leading brand, Campaign magazine; and Social & Local being shortlisted in two categories in the 6th Annual Better Society Awards.

The 2020 Timewise Power 50 Awards have been compiled by Timewise, a flexible working consultancy, following a nationwide search. Co-founders Karen Mattison MBE and Emma Stewart MBE publish a fresh list annually, in order to prove ‘what’s possible’ when you work part time or flexibly.

Steph says:

“What an honour to be recongised for this award, thank you Timewise.

“I set up Social & Local following redundancy from an advertising firm in 2011. At 55 and female I knew there was no future for me in the advertising world. I started to build a vision for the first social advertising business. Witnessing the poor treatment of people in the industry – from terribly-paid, over worked managers to discriminated-against pregnant women, I wanted to do things differently.

“Social & Local was designed to put people at its heart. The idea didn’t float with everybody at the time, but this award just goes to show that the world is finally changing – in favour or more flexible, humane working practices. I hope what I have shown in my own small way is that doing the right thing by your people goes hand in hand with business success.”

Flexible hiring and working practices are integral to SoLo. The entire team works flexibly and remotely to suit their lifestyles. A ‘virtual’ Skype office and good communication between colleagues about when and where they are working ensures that deadlines are hit, and client needs met.

For Steph, this means starting early (6am) with a morning break to walk her dog and visit her husband in his Nursing Home. Others work around the school run and into the evening, maximising time with their children. The result is fulfilled, creative, diligent, professional staff and happy, retained clients.

Timewise co-founder and judge Karen Mattison MBE, who led the initiative from the start says:

“Success doesn’t come in one shape or size. With 9 in 10 people wanting or needing flexibility in their next job – it is vital we find and showcase modern day role models to aspire to. Stephanie is blazing a trail – all whilst working part-time or flexibly. Achieving serious success, in less days. Not only proving that it can be done – but how. The Timewise Power 50 exists to award innovation like this. Every person who tells their story openly, helps to make change happen.”

10th October 201915th October 2019

Welcome Jessica, new Business Director – External Communications

We’re delighted to welcome ex-Kindred Client Service Director, Jessica Duncanson, as Business Director, External Communications.

Jessica brings 14 years of experience leading campaigns for public, private and third sector clients, from £1 million fee income Government clients to consumer campaigns for BabyCentre and the British Cheese Board.

Jessica will help strengthen our external communications offer, to complement our other award-winning services.

She says:

“I am beyond delighted to be joining Social & Local. I’ve long admired the team’s work from afar and couldn’t be happier to be coming on board. The flexible, remote model means I can get my teeth into some brain-stretching work with a great team of people and clients, whilst juggling life as a mum of three.

“Knowing that the work we do is also benefiting the community through the 50% of profit that goes to charity, is a substantially sized cherry on the top.

“SoLo is a remarkable creation and I’m honoured that, Steph and Nats, are entrusting me to help them grow their external comms function.”

Managing Partner Steph says:

“Many of our clients have modest budgets. Rather than appoint multiple agencies they are increasingly asking us to go ‘beyond the strategy and core creative’ into elements of implementation. We already have a strong activation team in place for Partnerships and Internal Comms, but recognised gaps in our PR & Social disciplines. We searched hard to find somebody with the experience and skills to build our offer at the highest level matched with a passion for driving forward our social business model and shared beliefs.”

Find out what our new team member does with her lunchtimes, why she loves the Park Run and about her brush with national TV fame here.

#SocialLife #socialbusiness #social&local #externalcomms

Social & Local™

Category: New way of working