Work life integration Archives

8th June 20218th June 2021

SoLo leads industry call to protect employees’ mental wellbeing and creativity

With our partners Crown Commercial Service, NABS, the IPA, the Alliance of Independent Agencies, the Advertising Association and ISBA we’re calling on the industry to pledge commitment to mental wellbeing and creativity by signing up to the Brilliant Creative Minds Code of Conduct.

We’ve launched the Code to stamp out behaviours that impact employee wellbeing and diminish creativity in our industry.

The Code was developed by SoLo and the Brilliant Creative Minds partnership through a robust process of intelligence gathering. This included in-depth interviews with senior leaders across the client, agency, and procurement worlds including Government Communications Service; Stephanie Parry, Marketing and Procurement Lead at Crown Commercial Service; Tom Knox, Executive Partner at MullenLowe Group; Adam Skinner, COO at OmniGOV Manning Gottlieb OMD; and, Jane Asscher, CEO at 23Red.

The aim is to protect creativity by eradicating practices in procurement, commissioning and agency cultures that compromise mental health and wellbeing, for example: long hours culture and fear of job loss in agencies; excessive tender requirements and procurement processes; and unrealistic client timescales and demands.

Social & Local initiated, funds and manages Brilliant Creative Minds and is urging all agencies, clients and procurement professionals to sign up to the Code and embed its principles into their workplace cultures.

Our Managing Partner, Stephanie Drakes, says:

“Poor mental wellbeing is the enemy of creativity in our industry and our goal is to eradicate practices that cause unnecessary and dangerous levels of stress in agency environments. To meet our aim, Brilliant Creative Minds uniquely brings together three interdependent parts of the industry to work as one: client, agency and procurement.

“We’d like the industry to sign up to it and commit to embedding its principles within organisations to create an industry where negative workplace stress is reduced, talent is retained and the UK protects its pole position in the world for creativity as clients, once again, get the best out of their agencies.”

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.

4th June 20204th June 2020

Boots, buttercups and being human (further reflections of a Mad Man in Furlough)

Image by Annette Meyer from Pixabay

Yesterday I pootled up to Nottingham’s University Park to take a walk around the beautiful Lake at its centre. I’ve been there numerous times but never fail to be awe struck by its natural and built beauty endowed by philanthropist, Jesse Boot (of Boots chemist), in the early part of the 20^th Century. (Once upon a time businessmen knew that whilst their purpose was to create profit this came with an equally important obligation to create employment and social improvement. You can of course rely on me to stick the boot in!)

Half way around the Lake I met (at a suitable distance) a local family – mum, dad, three young children. They admired my dog and the children played with her for a moment or two whilst their parents and I shared our lives in a nutshell. One of the children, a small girl of around four, headed towards me with a bunch of daisies and buttercups in her hand as a gift. I stepped aside but suggested she popped them on the grass where I could pick up safely and take a closer look and of course, check whether or not I liked butter (we agreed that I did). We smiled at each other, wished well, and went our separate ways with a memory of a shared moment and a simple kindness.

Half a Lake further and Molls (the dog) took a fancy to a middle aged man sitting on a bench with his bike propped beside him. He’d clearly done a few laps and was tucking into a container of cut fruit. He stopped to welcome Molly and to give me a smile. “Well done, Change4Life?” I remarked, which ignited a conversation about middle aged fitness regimes and a few laughs before he told me to keep safe as we walked on.

I travel these paths regularly, and have done for many years now, but right now it’s different. Deprived of simple day to day communication with others outside of our lockdown group, I am finding a particular pleasure in a face-to-face conversation with a fellow human being – just for the sake of it and just to wish each other well.

During London 2012 there was a mood of great excitement. Weird things happened, people started to chat to each other at random. It had never happened before on the London tube, and everyone was talking about a lasting legacy. Yet, how quickly we all stopped, reverted to familiar behaviours; folded back into ourselves once the Games were over. Everyone, but me, that is – I still smile and chatter to people on the tube, though I know that most consider this weird.

Let’s hope beyond Covid-19 we don’t lose ourselves in ourselves again. For my own part, I intend to pursue being weird. I hope others may do the same.

Action: Talk to someone you don’t know today and wish them good health.

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.”

Social & Local™

Category: Work life integration