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the hope of some balance, so that I could devote time to a young family. At the time, I had a long commute as I live in Whitstable. I felt I had the credentials to strike out on my own, I had recently qualified as a coach. So with my own business, I went on to run a portfolio of coaching clients, along with organisational design and change projects, as well as consulting with a number of SMEs, designing and delivering leadership programmes. This was my life for the next six years. However, I really did miss being part of something, being part of a team and as life has a habit of doing, an opportunity eventually arrived that would enable me to change track. I’d just completed a contract with Ogilvy, helping lead their change programme, when Michael Frohlich, the CEO, asked me to stay and lead the people function.
Te inescapable image of London-centric media companies is Edina and Patsy guzzling Bolly. But marketing and media today is a much more sober and serious sector. It's safe to say that Patsy and Edina wouldn't survive today - long gone are the days of the long boozy lunches. There was to be some considerable change, to prepare the business for the future. Last year, Ogilvy UK brought together all of the different operating companies into one. From the top, Michael Frohlich had to build a highly functioning leadership team, which included myself, very quickly. The necessity to work in a very different way, collaborating differently with each other, meant we had to stand shoulder to shoulder together. I really don't think you can underestimate the impact of that level of change. This evolved into the strategy that we termed "one Ogilvy", a consolidation of the organisation, which made very sound business sense. But the implications were significant to some people who perhaps worked for Ogilvy & Mather and the other operating companies, some for 20-plus years. There were fond memories of halcyon days set against the inescapable realities of the present.
So how do you build authenticity and believability when people simply do not want to change? There is no such thing as over- communication in the process of transition. Staff surveys will invariably tell you what you know anyway and, inevitably, the things you don't want to hear. But in terms of keeping change on schedule and to a plan, it's a hard road of campaigning and communicating the vision, in order to keep everyone in the direction of travel. If people don't feel they're on that journey, you will lose them, it’s that simple really. Change is hard and you have
to accept that. Traditionally, the nature of businesses in the media are surprisingly paternalistic, and we’re changing that. From a leadership point of view, the new way of working requires courage and trust in empowering and allowing people to be more autonomous, and that trust and transparency is very much a two-way street. That leads on
and we’re still talking about their supposed love of avocado on toast. It’s patronising. I think it’s much more about ensuring that all workplaces are inclusive so everyone can bring their whole self to work, regardless of their background, or age. Ultimately, we all learn from each other. It’s about an adult to adult relationship with staff.
MILLENNIALS ARE NOW APPROACHING THEIR 30S AND WE’RE STILL TALKING ABOUT THEIR SUPPOSED LOVE OF AVOCADO ON TOAST. IT’S PATRONISING. I THINK IT’S MUCH MORE ABOUT ENSURING THAT ALL WORKPLACES ARE INCLUSIVE SO EVERYONE CAN BRING THEIR WHOLE SELF TO WORK
to one of my other key focuses, employee experience, and we've partnered up with our customer experience team to look through their lens at what it’s like to work here. Our people are beginning to see some of the measures pay off in terms of structure, career paths and opportunities. What is also beginning to have impact is our focus on bringing in some new and different voices and perspectives, increasingly recruiting from a wider base than just the tight media fraternity. The signs are we're gaining traction and there's a rise in appreciation for the new changes coming in.
What are the signs that things are improving and what are the next objectives? We knew that true transformation of the business would take about five years. Collaboration is winning over the siloed, departmental mindset, and that has been monumental. We recently launched our diversity and inclusion strategy, and there is a real sense that everyone is now pulling in the same direction. That is quite hard to make tangible, but I've just had first glance of our most recent employee survey results and everything is looking up on the positives. In a nutshell, we are re-building. Our internal networks are collaborating together brilliantly, and you can really feel it. We launched our fifth network this year, which is our neurodiverse network - Ogilvy Rewired - which was started by one of our brilliant apprentices. This year for us, has all been about discovery. Finding out about our talent, scrutinising ourselves and our ways of working. And it’s really starting to pay off, as we prepare for 2020 and beyond.
Is there a noticeable change from the influences of Millennials and Gen Zs on older colleagues? I think there are some real hang ups about generational differences. Millennials are 30,
Constant change is so disruptive, is there a sense that there will never be normality again? For us it's about staying curious, keeping an eye on what's going on - not just with technology, but other areas for growth, and conversely how we as people are changing our habits and how we live - and therefore, how it will impact our business. We need to anticipate changes in how we operate and people's expectations. It sounds like an HR cliché but taking employers along on the journey is crucial. The culture to keep on learning is so important.
Te physical and psychological work culture is no more, increasingly it's about gigging contributors, there is a case to say, "that way lies chaos"! I definitely think there are challenges; most businesses now will need different thinkers or contributors for specific projects; TV for example does this exceptionally well - you cast different teams with complementary skillsets to ensure success of the project. To make it work you have to have agility, flexible thinking, and openness to change. In addition, I think workers now have different expectations of their employers. This is definitely a sea change. We are now questioning big businesses on equality, their position on climate change and caring for the environment for example, with ethics top of the list for staff. We know that talent now looks up a company’s gender pay gap before they’ll even interview, as well as their D&I policy. I’m personally really excited to be part of it all, and to see what is next for Ogilvy as we continue to grow.
FOR FURTHER INFO
ogilvy.co.uk
HRD
DECEMBER 2019 | thehrdirector | 11
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