All our staff, from the CEO to the cleaner have attended creative sessions that were designed to equip them with a set of tools and a fresh way of thinking that facilitates innovation within their day-to-day jobs.
The creative session helped us re-think how as a company we inspire our staff. Sitting in front of a computer all day every day isn't very inspiring. But what if one day you were told to take your laptop and mobile and work in the park? Or were brought into work in a stretch-limo or invited to a wine tasting at lunchtime?
These may seem like strange initiatives, but we believe that one of the best ways to keep people motivated is to surprise them. We can't expect our staff to adhere to the planning goals of Cut Through and Innovation for their clients' media plans if we don't inspire them.
We decided to take the scheme one step further and appointed a Director Of Freshness who oversees the programme. We announced a competition, which all staff entered. In one minute, teams of five presented to the board on what they would do if they ran the company - the winning idea would be implemented. Prizes included two tickets to anywhere around the world, a motorbike, 6 months rent paid and an interior designer to decorate one room in your home.
The winning idea - "invest in dreams" has since been implemented into the company. Our judges were so overwhelmed by the wealth of ideas in the agency they actually decided to implement several more of them. These include free fresh fruit for staff, rewarding loyal staff and a 'stars of the month' programme.
We are looking at lots of other ways to put stimulus into the working environment. Project Tiger aims to surprise staff and create a buzz with everything from a magician performing at your desk, being summoned to play bingo with the chairman, being driven to work in a Limo or viewing of a film during the day.
With Fresh Learning we have helped colleagues on non-vocational projects. We have helped motivated people to climb Kilimanjaro, speak Japanese and learn flower arranging, all of this helping to improve staff retention and make MediaCom the most desirable, interesting agency in which to work.
The Enhance programme again was born as a direct result of the 'If I ran the company' competition. The winning team's idea was to 'invest' in dreams by empowering and equipping staff members to develop clear life goals and dreams, and to formulate a plan to achieve those dreams. The programme is solely funded by MediaCom to help balance work life with personal life.
Stars of the Month is a programme devised by the board directors to recognise achievements of every member of staff; that is every department from the postroom to the account teams. Each month, the Board Directors nominate staff recognised for going the extra mile.
