How These Canadian Agencies Put Human Wellbeing First
Across the past few years, the discussion of agency culture has only grown louder and louder. Debates over in-office policies rage on, mental health and support discussions have grown more frequent since the pandemic, and businesses have slowly begun to realise that, perhaps, keeping their employees happy is, in fact, a good route to success… at least in theory.
In reality, especially in North America, there’s a lot of talk, and not quite as much walk. And to this end, Canadian agencies Broken Heart Love Affair (BHLA) and Lifelong Crush (LLC) have actually been trying to make a difference these past few years. Placing an emphasis on agency culture by appointing Nadine Lamanna as director of agency experience, and Joline Matika as people and culture lead, the two have pushed strongly for better quality of work life across the board.
Creating a unique ecosystem with unlimited vacation days, no in-office mandate, and a programme which funds employees who want to pursue individual points of curiosity, their combined efforts have served as a backbone for the success of both agencies, and, notably, secured BHLA the status as the only Canadian agency on the Ad Age ‘Best Place to Work 2024’ list.
To discuss how they achieve best practice in this regard, and why this is so important to BHLA and LLC, LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with Joline and Nadine for a chat.
LBB> Obviously, BHLA and LLC care deeply about agency culture, considering your respective roles as director of agency experience, and lead, people and culture. Why is this so important? And has this been in place since the BHLA first opened its doors?
Joline> The department wasn’t in place when we launched, but the focus on people always felt like a priority, especially seeing as we opened during covid-19. When we began in 2020, I was looking after clients, and then when Nadine joined, she was managing leadership calendars, working on new business, PR, ops - a little bit of everything. We were in start-up mode. But, there was this nice, informal, ‘all hearts’ culture building organically from day one.
In 2022, after a period of growth, the partners decided it was time to ‘protect our egg in the tornado’ and asked me to step into a new role to help them do that. The job description was fluid, but the directive was clear: maintain that special feeling no matter how big we get. Shortly after that, Nadine jumped on board to help.
At the end of the day, culture is a feeling. It’s how people feel. It’s how they feel when they wake up on Monday morning, and it’s what they say about you when they’re talking to their family and friends. And a lot of it lives in the micro-moments. It’s important for hundreds of reasons.
This industry is beautiful, inspiring, and fun as all hell. It can also suck the wind right out of you. But if you have a strong foundation, the really difficult parts and the creative work are both made better.
Good culture provides an inspiring space for creativity, a soft landing for failure, and a wide-open door for one’s full unique self.
LBB> With this in mind, what does the day to day of your jobs look like? And do you have an overarching goal that you’re trying to achieve?
Joline> Well, for starters, I feel like ‘job’ doesn’t really capture it. It’s more like a mission for me.
I could bore you with administrative jargon about what I do, but I prefer to frame it the way I do with my teammates: ‘think of me as the person who can help move that big rock out of the way when you need that. Or help you see it’s actually a diamond’.
I’m an accomplice. For the team, I’m doing my best to remove barriers and empower them so that they can focus on creating, and on our clients. For the partners I’m helping codify all the ‘things’ we need structurally to maintain that sense of safety and belonging, and set the team up for success every day. In a start-up environment, that’s a lot of ‘things’.
In terms of an overarching goal, I want our people to feel like they work with the best team and for the best agency. Simple as that!
Nadine> My goal is to always make people feel valued and heard. We’re really good at ‘hearing’ what’s not even being said. Reading the environment and energy of our team has become imperative in making this agency a place where people feel they belong.
This is not an easy industry – it’s ever-changing and sometimes very tumultuous, but it’s also a very exciting place to be, and our day-to-day jobs change with the ebbs and flows. No day is ever the same. We wouldn’t be very good at these roles if we thought today was going to be anything like yesterday. Simply put, I can’t describe the day-to-day.
LBB> And what makes this approach different from other agencies, both in Canada and the rest of the world? How do you set yourselves apart in this regard, and operate in ways others cannot?
Joline> This is a big question, there are a lot of differences through our entire ecosystem that I believe set us apart.
First, our people and culture team does not live on an island - we are embedded into the larger operations team, or as we call it, ‘Super Ops’, so our people are at the centre of every decision about how the business operates.
Second, much of the activity around the agency is not mandated from the top-down, but from the team itself. We have four committees that we support, and the individuals involved with each of these runs with their self-determined missions. Our wellness committee, ‘The Wellness Pals’, provides resources, impacts policies, and raises awareness around the importance of mental and physical health in our everyday lives. ‘Common Ground’, our DEIB committee, owns all the learning and sharing initiatives to promote respect and understanding. Our sustainability committee keeps the team accountable to our sustainable practices and develops programming for the agency. And finally, our safety committee, affectionately known as ‘SSU’ (Safety and Security Unit), is made up of a group of diligent individuals who are dedicated to ensuring that we follow health and safety protocols within the office.
The raison d’etre for BHLA is to bring the love back – for consumers, so they find meaning once more in their relationships with brands; for clients, to love the experience of brand transformation; and for agency talent, so they can once again love what they do. That last pillar underpins both our BHLA and LLC policies, designed to fix what was wrong in traditional agencies that has created low morale in the agency world.
Traditional agencies do timesheets. Our business model is based on outputs, not inputs, so we do not track hours and our team can just focus on doing what they love. For agencies where the entire infrastructure is focused on counting inputs, it’s hard to make that change. Traditional agencies dictate time off based on seniority and role. We believe everyone works hard, no matter who they are and what they do, and we all deserve the time to recalibrate. So, we have an unlimited vacation policy that applies to everyone.
A lot of agencies are struggling to get people back together and are mandating in-office days. Because of when we launched, from the beginning we had a group of people who were excited to get together, but couldn’t be. This, I believe, set the tone for our organisation. We say that as an independent, ‘we are only accountable to each other and our clients’, so we have a flex policy - come and go as you please, keeping that in mind. More days than not in a week, we have a hard time finding a seat because so many of us are working in-office.
So, to sum it up, we keep people at the centre of our decisions, give our team ownership of and accountability for the environment they work in, implement policies with a view to solve for the problems we saw in our previous agencies - allowing for freedom and flexibility - and we prioritise empathy.
LBB> Speaking more broadly, how does this emphasis on good culture impact the quality of the work output?
Joline> I can sum this one up with one of my favourite quotes from one of my favourite coaches, Dawn Staley, three-time Olympic gold medallist, US women’s national basketball coach and NCAA championship coach. She said, “When you find special talent and treat them like they are special, they will want to win for you.”
At the end of the day, people want to feel safe where they are, and they want to feel valued. We spend a great deal of time making sure that people at BHLA and LLC feel valued for who they are and the work they do. They know we trust them to do what they do best. And, the business success of our clients and the awards we are amassing for our work - those are the proof points.
Nadine> Echoing Joline’s sentiments, when people are happy, they do great work. It’s as simple as that. When clients are happy, we’re happier. It’s all connected. People (both employees and clients) need to feel appreciated, understood and valued. Those feelings are cultivated by building relationships, not just on paper, but in real human interactions. That’s what we foster every single day.
LBB> Do you have any favourite examples of promoting good agency culture? Tell us about these!
Joline> Being named the only Canadian creative agency on the Ad Age ‘Best Place to Work 2024’ list is a huge one. Brad Johnson, director of data analytics over there, said it’s highly impressive that an agency as young as we are, made it onto that list.
Internally, we are always getting feedback from employees about the team experience – how their onboarding was unlike anything they’ve ever experienced and how they feel supported even during times when things feel chaotic. We do quick spot team surveys that get a lot of engagement, and we get a lot of positive feedback in those.
For obvious reasons, we have appropriated Valentine’s Day as our anniversary, and we’ve made it a ‘statutory holiday’. I love the email the partners send to clients every year to remind them about this, and the positive response we get from our clients about us giving our team that day off.
But my favourite has to be when I hear people say how insanely helpful everyone is at the agency. It comes up all the time. It’s a real team vibe. It’s ‘I’ve got your back’ versus ‘Watch your back’... I stole that line from someone.
Nadine> I take great pride in recognising the things that matter to our team and our clients. Birthdays, anniversaries, and other milestones. People feel seen when they are celebrated.
One of the most popular programs here is our ‘Curiosity Cash’ program. Every member of the team gets some cash to put towards something they’re curious about and it has been really fulfilling to see what people have done with theirs to inspire them, as well as to connect them to DEIB-focused learning.
LBB> A common issue seen within North America is the classic ‘grind’ mentality, which frequently leads to burnout and cynicism. How do you combat this, while also ensuring that there’s no drop off in productivity?
Joline> We hustle here. It’s just the nature of the business. The difference is that we work hard to provide a highly motivating environment while also giving people the time they need to recharge. Our overarching philosophy and the way we keep our people at the centre of everything we do, in all the ways I’ve mentioned, contributes to that environment.
We also promote wellness here through constant reminders and communications from the ‘Wellness Pals’, an annual ‘Wellness Day’, and through our ‘Wellness Room’, which is a quiet room that people actually use to decompress in the day. We’ve created an environment where if someone is feeling burnt out, they can put their hand up and say ‘Hey, I’m feeling burnt out’ and we help them solve that. In a nutshell, we treat our humans like humans.
Nadine> It is evident that hard work pays off in the creative work we do, but we also believe that balance is a necessity. Joline is great at reminding people to tap out and disconnect when they need to. She reminds people of our policies, and to ask for support when they need it.
I tend to see and hear a lot, so we’re really in tune with our team and when people may be overworking. That’s when we offer support. Our partners also support the team in communicating to clients that we take our agency days, holidays, wellness time, or anniversary days seriously, so that our team can take a breather, to produce great work for them.
You’d think that co-workers don’t want to hang out when the workday is done, but we’ve got an ad hoc group of people who like to organise off hours activities so the team can take a load off together. Our ‘Music League’ game is strong, and we seem to have a lot of gamblers here because there’s always someone organising a pool.
LBB> And as a whole, what do you think businesses around North America could be doing to remedy that situation? Should they perhaps take a page out of your book?
Joline> Ultimately, your people will tell you what they want. Especially your gen z people! If you can create an environment where people actually feel heard, that’s a really good start.
Personally, I also think the in-office mandates have to go. Rather than mandating when your people have to come into the office, focus on creating an environment they want to come to. And if we know anything, we know that’s not through ping pong and free beer. Give them the freedom to create where, when, and how they will be the most effective, while also protecting the space so they can do the best work of their lives.
LBB> Undoubtedly, an important part of agency experience is also promoting a diverse, representative and safe space within the workplace. How do you approach this at BHLA, and integrate it into your overall process?
Joline> We’re on a journey. We haven’t got it all figured out, and we’re honest about that, but we are always trying to do better and be better. First of all, we lead by example and ensure that we have diverse representation at the leadership level.
I mentioned our DEIB committee that develops and delivers programming so we can educate ourselves on the issues impacting underrepresented and marginalised communities. This includes events, speakers, sponsorships, a quarterly newsletter, and filling a Slack channel with some awesome content.
Nadine> We’re also creating opportunities for more individuals from underrepresented communities to get into advertising through our Miles Philip Hammond Scholarship, which is a two-year full scholarship program at Miami Ad School for individuals who have overcome hardship to pursue their creative dreams.
LBB> Finally, do you have any cool initiatives or plans for the first part of 2024?
Joline> Well, continuing to do what is working is certainly part of the plan!
We’ve got a few great campaigns launching in February and March which the team is excited about, so of course, I need to mention that.
Valentine’s Day is coming up, and that is always an important moment in our mission to bring the love back.
We’ll also be selecting the recipients of the second Miles Philip Hammond Scholarship with Miami Ad School in March. It has been great to see our first recipients thrive since their journey in advertising began thanks to this scholarship. (They worked with our creative teams on this year’s recruitment campaign!)
As Nadine said earlier, every day is a new day so it’s hard to predict the adventures we will embark on in 2024. But whatever they are, we will do our best to ensure the needs of our team members remain at the centre of it all.
