A Lesson in Employee Wellbeing By – Paul Corcoran CEO of Agent Marketing.

HPC have been fortunate enough to discuss with Agent Marketing how they have centred ‘Employee Engagement & Wellbeing‘ into their workplace culture.

We had the chance to speak with the MD of Agent Marketing, Paul Corcoran and talk with him on how important his employees engagement & wellbeing has been to the success of his business.

 

  1. How would you describe Agent’s culture?

 

Agent’s culture is very much centred around being people-first. Our team are at the heart of our business and so it’s incredibly important to us that everyone enjoys coming to work every day.

 

Agent is warm and welcoming and is a place that our clients enjoy visiting, where people work hard and are recognised and celebrated for their achievements and commitment.

 

  1.  Your business has grown significantly over recent years. How have you adapted to this change and ensured that you attract and retain talent?

 

It is important to me that we share ownership of change. As a result of our success, I’ve been able to give people across the team the opportunity to lead the organisation in different ways and share the responsibilities that come with growth.

 

So, having a strong director team, heads of department and consultancy team is really important and is key to our continued success. It’s about being an organisation that does the right thing, a place where people are treated as they’d like to be treated and are not micro-managed. We create a hard-working environment, but it’s also a lot of fun.

 

  1. How important is employee engagement to your business?

 

I believe that everything should be co-created and co-produced with your team. For me, employee engagement is not a thing that you should do but a thing you absolutely must do, in order to get positive results. I think that work space and workplace culture and should be created collectively. If it’s dictated by one person’s views, it simply doesn’t work.

 

  1. Can you share some of your experience and the initiatives implemented to further increase employee engagement?

 

For me, fun is not an initiative, it is a way of being. So, getting the team together for after work drinks, having team lunches or taking part in charity fundraising events are just some of the things we do that are not necessarily seen as initiatives, but part of our culture. We’re incredibly lucky to have a team that enjoys spending time with one another, not just during work hours.

 

I believe in implementing things that I know people will enjoy and will benefit the whole team, such as monthly massages and access to two shorter working days per week, which they have the freedom to choose. We also invest in mindfulness and have a new programme starting soon as we recognise how important it is to pay attention to and take time for mental health in the workplace.

 

In addition, we’re about to invest in a new Agent training programme which will look at confidence, capability, negotiation, presentation training and a whole range of other things, helping the team to progress in their roles.

  1. Have you had any positive results as a consequence?

 

We have an incredibly high retention level which I’m exceptionally proud of – people want to be here. We’ve grown as a business year on year and clients come to us from all over the country, which is a really good sign. That is all down to the people and the work that we create. We also have no absenteeism, which is hugely beneficial and important.

 

  1. For a company starting this journey from scratch, what advice would you give them?

 

Build a team – don’t have staff – and be part of that team. Do not by any means adopt an ‘us and them’ culture. Ultimately, a business can’t operate without people.

 

  1. What has been your favourite well-being initiative to date?

 

I love the massages, they’re really great. It’s nice to have something to look forward to as a monthly treat. Sometimes you forget that it’s massage day and then arrive into work to feel instantly lifted by the news! It’s a real pick-me-up.

 

  1.  Do you have any further exciting plans for the Agents in 2020?

 

There are loads of exciting plans! I’m keeping them secret for now, but please keep an eye out on our social media channels as they’ll be announced on there first. 2020 is set to be an exciting year!

 

If you would like any further information on how you could improve the workplace culture in your business, please contact the HPC team today.

 

Likewise visit Agent Marketing’s social media profiles to see what they have been up to!

 

Twitter – https://twitter.com/Agent_Marketing

Website – https://www.agentmarketing.co.uk/

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