Following a competitive pitch, SIM7 has been selected by the British Council as a key agency on its framework to supply services over the coming years.
SIM7 will work in partnership with the British Council’s international marketing teams, creating strategic messaging, copywriting and content to drive the organisation’s global initiatives.
This work will involve developing digital and OOH campaigns, creating assets across all channels, and supporting the British Council’s extensive international outreach.
SIM7 will join a handful of leading UK agencies selected to support the British Council’s strategic goals.
About the British Council
The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. Operating in over 100 countries worldwide, the British Council builds connections, understanding, and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education, and the English language, reaching millions of people annually.
Says SIM7’s Simeon de la Torre, “As an agency with extensive international experience, this is a perfect partnership for us. We’re excited about working on some of the most significant cultural and educational initiatives globally, and empowering the British Council by delivering the effective messaging that we’re known for.
“Our capabilities closely align with the British Council’s mission to promote and uphold the English language worldwide. Our expertise will enhance the British Council’s efforts to make English accessible to learners across diverse cultures and backgrounds. Through innovative campaign strategies and engaging content, we’ll support the British Council’s role as a global leader in English language teaching and assessment.
“We’re looking forward to connecting with the international communities that the British Council fosters and supports.”
“The British Council is one of the best names in the industry for cultural exchange and educational opportunity, and the SIM7 team are all keen to help them deliver their mission of building connections between the UK and the rest of the world.”
SIM7 is an award-winning creative agency that uses language to empower design. We drive growth by creating brands, campaigns and strategy – for marketing teams around the world. Our experience in international education extends to universities, leadership organisations, business schools and more. For more information, contact Simeon de la Torre [email protected]
Business Leaders & HR are under a lot of pressure here in the South-West. Employer NI increases are now with us, limited budgets, and rising expectations from talent. So, when you’re building out a benefits package, it’s natural to prioritise the ones that tick the “most people, most of the time” box. But if you want your benefits strategy to build loyalty, protect productivity, and future-proof your workforce, you must think differently. In my experience, utilisation isn’t always the right way to measure the success of a benefit. Some benefits might only impact a handful of people, but for those people, it can mean everything. If we’re serious about inclusive benefits, we must meet people where they are, even if that need isn’t common.
Because some of the highest-impact benefits are the ones your employees won’t use often. They’re the ones that quietly sit in the background until someone has a real need and suddenly, that benefit becomes the reason they stay, not leave. What do I mean by that? Here’s some examples of what that looks like in practice.
For example, Fertility & Reproductive Health Benefits. Offering fertility support (Egg freezing, IVF, donor support, surrogacy navigation) can feel and sound like a niche benefit. Most employees won’t use it. So why invest?
Because the absence of support comes with hidden costs. Research tells us that 1 in 7 UK couples experience fertility issues. IVF takes a physical and emotional toll: constant appointments, hormonal treatments, failed cycles…all while employees try to show up at work. Many reduce hours, take sick days, or even quietly leave during treatment. Others are forced to spend tens of thousands privately, causing financial and emotional stress. This disproportionately affects women in their 30s and 40s. But it doesn’t stop there: LGBTQ+ employees face unique financial and medical hurdles to build families. Without support, they’re more likely to churn or disengage. Offering benefits here isn’t just about doing the right thing; it’s about retaining high-value talent at a moment when they have big life choices to make. And for every employee who doesn’t use it? They see the offer. They see what kind of employer you are.
Keeping on the similar theme, another example is keeping Workplace Nursery Schemes. Childcare is the *1 reason working parents (especially mothers) scale back or leave the workforce. It’s not anecdotal. It’s backed by data across every sector. Workplace nursery salary sacrifice schemes reduce the cost of registered childcare by allowing payments from gross salary. This can mean thousands saved per year. And not from your HR budget, but via tax-efficient mechanisms. It’s one of the most financially meaningful benefits you can offer parents, yet uptake remains low in most organisations. Why? Because many employers don’t make the most of communicating it. Offering this benefit (and making it visible) removes one of the biggest logistical and emotional barriers to returning after parental leave. And it doesn’t just keep people in their jobs; it helps them re-engage faster, with fewer compromises and more long-term commitment.
Finally, another example are Income protection and Critical Illness benefits. When an employee becomes seriously ill or injured, it’s not just a health crisis, it’s a life interruption. Suddenly, work becomes impossible. And without structured support, income often disappears just when stability is needed most. Income protection fills that gap. It ensures an employee continues to receive a portion of their salary while they recover, allowing them to focus on getting better, not on whether they can pay their mortgage. And that continuity materially improves the odds of a full, confident return to work.
For Business Leaders and HR, this is where lower-utilisation benefits prove their worth. Income protection shortens recovery time, reduces presenteeism, and increases the likelihood that skilled, experienced employees don’t exit permanently. And when other team members see that their employer has their back, even in worst-case scenarios, it builds a level of trust that policies alone can’t buy.
All the above examples do not scale…and that’s the point!
Low-utilisation benefits aren’t supposed to serve everyone, every day. They’re designed to catch people in their most vulnerable, high-stakes moments. That trust is a lever for everything you care about retention, engagement, productivity, culture.
Business Leaders and HR often get told to “think creatively & strategically.” (This is the Bristol Creative’s Community, right?) Here’s the truth: empathy is strategic. Investing in benefits that show foresight, nuance and care is how you build a workforce that stays, grows and delivers. Because when your employees are most in need, they won’t care about your summer social. They’ll care about whether you were there when it counted.
And if you were? They won’t forget it.
AI is transforming employee benefits—enhancing engagement, streamlining admin, and driving smarter decisions. Let’s explore how AI-powered personalisation, automation, and predictive analytics are shaping the future of benefits in and around Bristol.
Better decision making. Enhancing employee engagement…AI is changing benefits, fast. From reshaping how companies design benefits to how admin manage them, this tech is like nothing we’ve seen before.
So, how exactly is technology shaping the future of employee benefits? Let’s delve deeper into some of the most significant trends and predictions.
1. AI-driven personalisation
One-size-fits-all benefits packages are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Employees today expect benefits tailored to their unique needs and lifestyles. AI is making this a reality by analysing vast amounts of data—demographics, preferences, claims history, and even engagement patterns—to recommend the most relevant benefits for each individual.
For example, AI-powered benefits platforms may soon be able to suggest healthcare plans based on an employee’s past usage or recommend well-being programmes tailored to their stress levels or fitness goals. This kind of personalisation could help companies deliver benefits that really make a difference for their workforce, ultimately leading to greater satisfaction and retention.
2. Streamlining benefits administration with automation
AI and automation tools are changing the game by handling repetitive administrative tasks such as enrolment processing, compliance checks, and payroll integrations.
By automating these functions, Business Leaders and HR teams can free up valuable time to focus on strategic initiatives, such as improving employee engagement and workforce planning. Moreover, automation minimises errors, ensuring that benefits data remains accurate and up-to-date.
3. Improving employee experience with chatbots and virtual assistants
People Leaders frequently receive queries from employees about their benefits—ranging from eligibility and coverage details to claims procedures. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide instant, 24/7 support to employees, answering common questions and guiding them through benefit selections.
This reduces the burden on Business Leaders and HR teams while ensuring that employees get the information they need when they need it. Plus, chatbots can proactively remind employees about key deadlines, such as tax periods or required documentation submissions, helping to improve overall engagement with benefits.
4. Leveraging predictive analytics for smarter decision-making
AI is already improving how benefits are administered, but what if it could also help companies make strategic benefits decisions? Predictive analytics tools will soon be able to analyse trends and employee behaviour to help HR teams anticipate future needs.
For example, AI could forecast which benefits are likely to see higher utilisation based on historical data, enabling companies to adjust their offerings accordingly. This would help Business Leaders and HR teams make data-driven decisions that align benefits with workforce needs, budget constraints, and overall company objectives.
5. Ensuring fairness and transparency in benefits access
AI-driven benefits platforms can also help eliminate bias in benefits administration. By analysing data objectively, AI can identify gaps in benefits utilisation among different employee groups and highlight areas where adjustments may be needed to ensure inclusivity and fairness.
For example, AI might reveal that certain demographics within a company are underutilising mental health resources due to a lack of awareness. Business Leaders can then take targeted steps to address these gaps, ensuring that benefits are truly accessible to all employees.
So…
What’s the take-away? Balancing innovation with a human touch
While AI offers incredible potential in the employee benefits space, it’s essential to balance automation with human oversight. The goal should be to enhance Business Leaders and HR’s ability to provide meaningful, personalised benefits—without removing the human element that makes employee support truly effective.
By embracing AI, companies here is the South West can not only improve efficiency but also create benefits experiences that employees love. The future of employee benefits is here, and it’s smarter, more personalised, and more impactful than ever before.
To learn more about what emerging technologies are bringing to benefits get in touch.
As we settle into 2025, the ongoing cost of living crisis and economic volatility continue to strain both employees and employers, with many employees facing heightened financial insecurity.
So how can you optimise your benefits budget without cutting value? The first step is to discover how to reallocate wasted spend, secure better pricing, and leverage tax-efficient benefits to maximise impact.
Managing employee benefits, cost control is always on the agenda. But savings don’t have to come at the expense of employee experience. With a smart approach to benefits design, companies can reallocate wasted spend to more impactful benefits – or a better benefits platform to help you manage it all. This makes the most of your existing budget while boosting value for employees.
This practice is sometimes referred to as “cost-neutral benefits,” but the reality is more nuanced. While some companies can identify and redistribute significant savings, others may already be optimising their spend. Either way, a strategic review of benefits is always worth the effort.
Here are three key ways employers can find opportunities to optimise their benefits budget:
A common mistake? Investing in benefits that employees don’t value. Recent key research tells us that there is low appreciation levels from employees for their benefits.
The cause is likely to be benefits that don’t align with employee needs.
For example, a Bristol Creatives startup made up of mostly employees in their twenties might be overfunding its life insurance policy, as employees in this age group are less likely to engage with life insurance. By scaling back the coverage from 10x to 2x cover, they could free up a big chunk of their spend—money that could be reinvested in wider range of more relevant benefits, or a platform that helps manage the administrative burden of benefits.
So how can Business Leaders identify these opportunities?
But before you go cutting less utilised benefits, remember: there are some benefits that few employees might use, but that are highly valuable and even life changing to them when they do, such as reproductive assistance or critical illness cover. It’s important to balance these factors when assessing your benefits. Speaking to a benefits design expert will be your best bet to strike that balance.
Cost savings aren’t just about what you offer, but also how you fund it. Many companies lose money by not negotiating the best rates with insurers or missing out on more efficient financial structures.Here are some key ways to make the most of funding:
By optimising financial structures, companies can often unlock significant savings without compromising on benefits quality.
3. Leverage tax-efficient benefits
Another overlooked opportunity is tax-efficient benefits, particularly salary sacrifice schemes. These allow employees to exchange part of their salary for benefits, reducing both employer and employee tax contributions.For employers, this means that you’re able to offer amazing benefits like electric vehicle leasing schemes and even grocery schemes…at no cost to you!
In the UK, salary sacrifice arrangements can create savings on:
For employers not already leveraging these benefits, the savings can be substantial, especially on National Insurance contributions. Yet many organisations fail to fully utilise these tax advantages, leaving money on the table.
Maximise your benefits budget with expert support
Not every company will uncover huge savings—but almost all can optimise their approach. By identifying low-value spend, negotiating better financial models, and leveraging tax-efficient benefits, Business leaders and HR provide a significantly improved offering without increasing their spend.
Want to find out where your organisation can unlock savings? Book a free benefits audit consultation with me –same budget, bigger results.
Bristol Light Festival is back! The fifth iteration of the annual event began on Friday 31st January and will run until Sunday 9th February, with 10 installations brightening up the city at a traditionally dark time of the year.
Bristol Light Festival’s digital programme is now available to view here.
The festival covers much of the city centre, with artworks located in the Harbourside, Broadmead, College Green, St Mary Redcliffe Gardens and beyond…
College Green has become home to a flock of bright and beautiful flamingos, delighting visitors with a whimsical display of nature’s most flamboyant creatures.
Shrouding the Amphitheatre in a cosmic blend of light and sound, Somnius responds to the audience’s every move, immersing crowds in a playful environment that puts them in control of their experience.
Those crossing Castle Bridge are being painted in reflections of shimmering light as they admire the suspended facade of more than 1,800 recycled CDs and DVDs, inspired by the waters of Sydney Harbour.
Back for another year of musical delights, Swing Song can be found on Queen Square. Due to popular demand, Bristol Light Festival organisers have introduced a fast track ticket for one set of swings at this year’s event. More information around this, including how to book, is available to view at bristollightfestival.com/swingsong
Lighting up the gardens of St Stephens Church is Our Beating Heart, an enormous heart-shaped disco ball that brings people together in its display of shared love.
At Broadmead, visitors to the festival can find Tetra, a tactile installation that needs to be engaged with to truly be felt and understood, taking inspiration from the many forces of nature.
Temple Church has been illuminated into a world of lasers and mirrors, where moving footage of natural phenomena like flora and the cosmos are being transformed into floating abstractions of light with Parallels.
The world premiere of The Whilers can be found in St Mary Redcliffe Gardens, where otherworldly creatures greet visitors as they interact with each other in an awe-inspiring experience.
Bringing the history of drum and bass to the centre of Bristol, Anthems: Volume One is inspired by the historic connection between the city and DnB music and can be found at Quakers Friars.
Katherine Jewkes, Creative Director of Bristol Light Festival, said:
“Bristol Light Festival 2025 is underway and it’s amazing to see such a positive response from visitors once again.This year brings such a variety of artworks, but at their core is a real sense of togetherness and connection with audiences. We look forward to seeing what the run holds for visitors and hope that even more people will come to Bristol to see all that is on offer!”
For the current edition of Bristol Light Festival, several Fringe events are happening across the city to allow visitors to amplify their experience.
Photography Walk – Monday 3rd February and Wednesday 5th February, 5:30 – 7pm
Award-winning photographer Adrian Wyatt will be guiding budding photographers around the installations, offering guidance on how to capture the best shots of the installations.
Walking Tours – Monday 3rd, Tuesday 4th, Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th February, 5:30 – 7pm
An opportunity for festival-goers to orientate themselves within the locations and to learn about the installations. Participants can choose between the ‘waterfront’ or ‘central’ routes, or join an accessible tour.
Official Silent Disco Tour – Wednesday 5th February, 5:30 – 6:30pm, Starting at Bristol Cathedral
On this one hour tour, visitors are invited to boogie their way between art installations accompanied by hit tunes from across the decades. High tech headphones mean that users will be able to hear both the music and their tour guide as they make their way around some of the festival’s highlights.
Neon Kids Rave – Thursday 6th February, 4 – 7pm, Bambalan
The whole family is invited to brighten up February with a non-stop rave party including bright colours and plenty of opportunities to boogie. Tickets can be purchased here
Lights Under the Sea – Saturday 8th February, 10am – 7pm, Bristol Aquarium
To celebrate Bristol Light Festival, the Aquarium will be open later on this date, so visitors can experience the aquarium after dark with its botanical house magically lit with colourful lights. Special UV animal crafts will be available throughout the day, free of charge with an aquarium ticket.
For more information about all events, and to book, visit bristollightfestival.com/events
For the 2025 event, Left Handed Giant has once again created the event’s official beer. This year’s ‘Shining Stars’ is a bright and balanced pale ale, full of citrusy grapefruit and juicy tropical character, from a blend of citra, motueka and el dorado. While visitors check out C-Scales at Castle Bridge, they can grab a can of Shining Stars from Left Handed Giant Brewpub to enjoy the full Bristol Light Festival experience. Shining Stars will also be available at Small Bar, Glassboat and the Royal Navy Volunteer.
Bristol Light Festival’s hub can be found at Queen Square. The perfect place for visitors to meet, regroup and rest, the hub hosts merchandise, including branded beanies, tote bags, light up umbrellas and prints. The hub also houses the information hut, seating and a food market, as well as being the site of two of the festival’s installations – Swing Song and Bristol is Always a Good Idea.
Bristol Light Festival was founded by Bristol City Centre Business Improvement District (BID) and is presented in partnership with Redcliffe & Temple BID. The festival’s Artwork Partners are Broadmead BID and Cabot Circus. Visit Bristol, Visit West’s consumer channel for Bristol, is this year’s media partner. The festival is curated by Katherine Jewkes, Creative Director.
For those looking for somewhere to stay in Bristol City Centre during the festival, a list of offers and discounts for some of the best hotels in the area can be found at bristollightfestival.com/accommodation. The festival recommends booking early to avoid disappointment.
Bristol Light Festival recommends travelling as sustainably as possible. Visitors are encouraged to walk or cycle to the festival where possible, or to utilise the many train and bus options available to the city centre. More information about getting to the festival can be found here: bristollightfestival.com/getting-here/
All information about the festival can be found at bristollightfestival.com
Images credit: Andre Pattenden
Fiasco is excited to announce that Gabby Luciani has joined the team as Account Director. Gabby brings over 10 years of experience working as a creative producer and account handler at some of the finest small and mid-sized agencies across London and the South West. With past clients that include YouTube, Activision, Nike and WWF, Gabby’s breadth of commercial experience, combined with her passion for creative collaboration, makes her a fantastic addition to their growing team.
“Gabby’s varied experiences have given her the perfect mix of commercial experience and know-how. I have no doubt she’ll play a key role in driving the agency forward as we approach our 15th year in the business.” – Ben Steers, Co-founder and Executive Creative Director.
Gabby adds: “Joining Fiasco feels like the perfect opportunity to contribute to a team that’s not only brimming with creativity and ambition, but also deeply committed to delivering meaningful, impactful work for their clients. I’m thrilled to be part of an agency that’s constantly pushing boundaries and focused on thoughtful growth. ” – Gabriella Luciani, Account Director.
Fiasco is a design agency that works at the sweet spot of brand and digital. People are at the heart of everything they do. At Fiasco, each and every team member brings a unique perspective and every voice is heard. You can read more about Fiasco and Gabby, over on their site here.
Nine Tree Studios, Bristol’s biggest independent studio, has launched a WhatsApp Community to give back to local filmmakers, photographers, creatives, and production companies.
Primarily it’s a free loyalty programme offering studio discounts and freebies, including:
There’s also groups for advice and jobs, and private channels for production companies and studios to collaborate and share advice.
“We’ve always wanted our space to be able to support Bristol’s creative community” said Russell Jones, Co-Founder of Nine Tree Studios.
“Nowadays email newsletters feel old and clunky and aren’t really suited to what we wanted, like offering free studio hire to those who need it, and promoting and discussing events.”
“By virtue of having members we also hope it’ll be a space for freelancers, screen professionals, studios and production companies to share advice, post jobs, collaborate, and generally chit-chat.”
You can join the community at https://chat.whatsapp.com/D64qZ5CmnxCASYEevxDFEV and visit https://www.ninetreestudios.co.uk/community for more information and terms.
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Nine Tree Studios is Bristol’s largest independent studio.
Suitable for set builds, commercial productions, photography and HETV, the space features two main studios – a 4,640sq ft soundstage and a 567sq ft infinity cove – plus a podcast suite, green rooms, production offices and a 9,000sq ft backlot.
For more information visit www.ninetreestudios.co.uk or email [email protected].
In my last blog I talked about the three superpowers you need to create a great company culture, those of Connection, Purpose and Trust. But there’s a little more to it than this. These superpowers are supported by what I call the elements or ingredients that make the great culture you want to become a reality.
Now, I’m sure you’ve come across companies that have put in a pool table, have lots of Zoom quizzes, and they think that will suffice. Maybe they’ve even put in sleep pods in their attempt to have the funkiest office in town. Of course, all of this doesn’t make a great culture if the organisation doesn’t deliver on Connection, Purpose and Trust. And that’s where my tips come in.
1) Have a culture strategy
As you can tell, I’m a little cynical about gimmicks. You need to think a little deeper. A little more strategically. Where are you now in terms of your culture, where do you want to be? What’s your ‘target culture’? And how can you measure this to create your start point. For me, the people that drive a culture strategy are, or should be, the leadership team.
As we know, leaders are your role models. They have a profound effect upon company culture because they shape the environment, they influence how people behave, how people interact, and they drive motivation and performance. And of course, what the leaders do is look at the strategy and look at the purpose. Your leaders need to be involved in your culture strategy but more than this, they need to display the right qualities.
2) Authentic leadership
The great leaders I’ve worked for, display qualities like empathy, resilience, integrity, and they’re authentic. And that really does set a strong foundation. Going right back to childhood, we tend to model the characteristics we see in others, especially those who we feel we should look up to. Whether it’s parents – or leaders – the behaviours we see we often replicate.
So, my second tip is about making sure your leaders display the right qualities and develop them. And it’s often the leadership team that can make a big impact in often small ways. Little interventions can make a big impression on development.
3) Help them find their purpose
I’ve done many culture audits where I ask people for their views on the culture, why they work for that organisation and what motivates and engages them. And I always ask a really key question. Can they articulate the purpose of the organisation? Is it important to them? Can they join the dots on how their role aligns to that actual purpose?
And I would say in having done this with over 30 organisations, about 50% of people cannot articulate the purpose. It may be because there isn’t one or maybe because it’s not clear. My question to you is – can you give your people a reason ‘why’ and reinforce it?
4) Upskill your leaders and managers
It’s quiz time now. What percentage of people in a recent survey said they would prefer a new manager to a pay rise? Shockingly it’s a whopping 72%. I love this question because it was asked by the Chartered Institute of Management, and it clearly demonstrates how important the relationship is between the employee, and the manager or leader. I think managers have such an influence on people’s day-to-day work style and behaviours.
They are there to support and coach people, not micromanage. But, from my experience, many people are not skilled at being great people managers, they are often promoted to be people managers because they’re technically good at what they do. So, tip number four is to upskill your leaders, upskill your managers to be brilliant coaches, and that will have a dramatic effect on the culture.
5) Give your people choices
I hear this a lot, certainly since the pandemic. We gave people flexibility and they’d rather like to keep it. Of course it means different things to different people. It might be about working hours; it might be about working locations or actually how they do their work. I believe it’s something deeper than actually flexibility. I think people want autonomy in their roles, they want control over how they do their roles.
So, tip number five is really all about giving people a choice. And not the least because they also have the choice of whether they work for you or engage with a culture they perceive to be better, elsewhere.
In conclusion
If there’s one word underpinning these five tips, it’s ‘involvement’. Whether that’s your involvement in crafting a culture strategy, involving your leaders or asking your people for their own thoughts – and involving them in making all of this happen. If I’ve whetted your appetite for investing in creating a great culture, you’ll be pleased to know that my next article shares 5 more tips. Or maybe that’s 6. You’ll have to wait and see.
About Richard Roberts
Richard Roberts has over 30 years’ experience of helping organisations establish dynamic people strategies that help to shape culture and build highly productive and engaged teams. Across his career he has supported a number of marketing and creative agencies as an outsourced HR Director and consultant.
People Strategy Surgery – for creative businesses
Members can book a free of charge 30 minute 1:2:1 session with Richard for people strategy advice, specifically geared towards the needs of creative businesses. Taking place on 10th January 2025, these sessions are an opportunity to ask him any questions about your people strategy. These might relate to culture, employee engagement, talent retention or the establishment of best practice HR policies.
Find out more: https://bristolcreativeindustries.com/event/people-strategy-surgery-with-richard-roberts/
I’m often asked what’s the magic formula for creating a successful and engaging culture? What’s the fairy dust that needs to be sprinkled? Well, the bad news is that it takes a lot of hard work, it takes a lot of effort and thought. But here’s the good news. You have the power to create a culture that’s truly aspirational and great.
Every organisation has a culture and if you don’t focus on it, your culture will be created by accident. Worse, it might be a culture that’s created that has a real negative impact on your business. So, what does it take to get it right?
From my experience there are three key elements that every organisation should focus on in order to have a really engaging culture.
Connection. Purpose. Trust. These are what I call your three culture ‘superpowers’. Create these and you’ll become your very own culture superhero. Let’s take a closer look.
Building Connection
It’s all about being a part of a team. It’s about the camaraderie. In my last full-time role, I worked for a company called Pure Planet, we were a provider of sustainable domestic energy with a strong environmentally friendly ethos. Many felt a real emotional connection, and of course, we’re all social beings and this connection also led to a sense of belonging. And, we all want to feel like we belong. Indeed, there’s quite a lot of scientific research that shows that being connected is a fundamental need that human beings have, and I think this is crucial to having a really engaging culture.
Finding Purpose
Building on connection is wanting to be part of something bigger. And this for me is all about purpose and our need to find a purpose in what we are doing in our life and work. Many of you will know of Simon Sinek. He says very clearly through his research that a lot of companies can tell you WHAT they do. They can tell you HOW they do it, but very few can tell you the WHY they do it. And it’s actually the why that motivates and engages people to put in extra effort.
Feeling Trust
Trust is the third element and kind of underpins it all. It’s a very small word, but I think it’s absolutely fundamental. When I look back on my career to when I felt I most engaged, most motivated, and where I felt there were the best leaders – it was where I could be myself, I felt trusted, I felt safe. And I think this is absolutely key. In the HR world, we call it psychological safety. It’s that ability to be yourself and to behave in the way that you want to behave.
What’s more, the benefits of a high trust culture have been researched. Psychologist and professor Paul Zak found that the levels of trust experienced directly influences how willing your employees are to go above and beyond in their roles. This data comes from his book, ‘’Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High Performance Companies’. People working in companies in the top quartile of trust are: 76% more engaged, 50% more productive and 50% more likely to stay. I rest my case.
In conclusion
So, in summary, these are the three key ingredients of a great culture: Building a sense of connection, finding purpose and feeling trusted. And, just to emphasize again why getting it right really matters, Gallup found that over half of employees (56%) said company culture is more important than salary when it comes to job satisfaction. So, it’s worth making yours a positive one – and now you know the superpowers you’ll need.
About Richard Roberts
Richard Roberts has over 30 years’ experience of helping organisations establish dynamic people strategies that help to shape culture and build highly productive and engaged teams. Across his career he has supported a number of marketing and creative agencies as an outsourced HR Director and consultant.
People Strategy Surgery – for creative businesses
Members can book a free of charge 30 minute 1:2:1 session with Richard for people strategy advice, specifically geared towards the needs of creative businesses. Taking place on 10th January 2025, these sessions are an opportunity to ask him any questions about your people strategy. These might relate to culture, employee engagement, talent retention or the establishment of best practice HR policies.
Find out more: https://bristolcreativeindustries.com/event/people-strategy-surgery-with-richard-roberts/
Some of the best moments in my talks on company culture and employee engagement are often the questions I get asked. They really open up the conversation and reveal the issues as people in the room see them. As these are often people managing teams, perhaps even the business owner – you get a sense of what’s on their mind.
These questions have inspired a new blog series. I’m going to tackle topics relating to company culture on a Q&A basis, using some of the questions I’ve been asked and adding a few of my own.
A positive and engaging company culture is about connection, purpose and trust. That’s connection with your organisation, the purpose they find in their work and the levels of trust they experience.
So, let’s start at the beginning – and explore why connection matters so much.
What role does connection have in creating an engaging culture?
People are seeking an emotional connection with where they work – or who they work for. They want to be a part of something that has meaning. They want to be a part of something that has that sense of connection or be a part of something bigger. When people feel connected, they also almost always feel proud to work where they do – and that’s highly powerful. I think one of the key challenges now is how you nurture connection in a more virtual hybrid way. So, I think it is absolutely essential that employers invest time and energy and thinking into how they keep their people connected.
Why are so many employers talking about connection and culture right now?
I think employers are realising that it’s a key factor in having a profitable and successful business. There’s far more research out there now on what makes a great culture – and it matters too. For example, Gallup found that over half of employees (56%) said company culture is more important than salary when it comes to job satisfaction.
I think the significance of culture has increased because people have realised what makes a great business and what doesn’t. Just look at the number of companies that are now offering engagement culture surveys, engagement platforms, and the importance of technology in keeping people connected. It also cascades into what employees think of leadership style, and how they are being managed. I’m quite sure employers realise that their culture is being judged which is why they are keen to discover what their people think.
Why do you think it is that companies are struggling to build connection?
I think they haven’t really adapted to managing people in a hybrid world. The problems start when companies try to manage people as if they were still in the office on a daily basis, or if they have a very direct ‘command and control’ style of management. They haven’t adapted to the fact that this is a different way of working now. It needs some thought when your business is in Cardiff and the person you’ve just recruited is based in Scotland. It’s about the actions you take, that send clear messages to your new employee that ‘you’re part of us, you’re part of our community, you belong with us’. Or completely the reverse if they neglect it.
Can you give some examples of what companies can do to build better connection?
If you think about connection in an organisation, where’s that going to come from? It’s going to come from your team. So, create opportunities for people to connect. If you can, meet once a month, for example face-to-face. I know that can be difficult in certain circumstances. Always have an element of getting to know you. For example, that could be showing pictures of your kids, bringing in a special object that means something to you and describing it. I’m a great believer that it’s actually the small things that have the biggest impact. Maybe that’s just arranging a random coffee with somebody from a completely different team every week, or simply checking in to see how remote based colleagues are doing. And don’t forget that with global organisations, people are working in different time zones. You might have a great idea to run a team building quiz – but no one is going to join in at 3 am in LA. So, think time zones when you are planning these things.
What advice would you give a line manager to build better connection?
Often the reason people leave is that things have gone sour with their line manager. I think companies just assume that line managers know how to manage and do it in their particular culture. Help them to understand the expectations that you want from your managers. And that might be as basic as we would love you to do a regular one-to-one with your team member each week. If so, give some guidelines about how to run a one-to-one and build connection. Then you need to train, support, guide and coach that person. I’d also say please don’t move those one-to-ones. I know they are the easiest meetings to move but they really matter, especially with remote based employees. A great tip for line managers is when they introduce a new starter, don’t just say who they are and the role they are going to do – find out three things about them that others might find interesting. It’s just a small example of the little things that help us all connect to each other. We can be a bit more creative than just sending out a really dull email.
Despite expectations about hybrid working, companies are wanting more people to return to offices. How can employers manage that better?
It’s another difficult challenge. I am not keen to see employers mandating a return to office policy, these can be deeply unpopular. I also think we’ve seen many examples of highly effective remote working so people have fair case to push back if they feel they can work from home. But, the office, and face to face contact is a great way to find, or re-discover connection, so, if you are going to request it, at least make it meaningful. Give them reasons why they’d want to. And this doesn’t mean going in to do the same work they could do from home, that’s really going to annoy people. What’s more, I think companies underestimate the social part, the water cooler chat or being in the coffee room and having a, “Did you see the football last night? It’s a shame Wales got beaten in the World Cup,” and all that kind of stuff. We need to connect with each other as much as our organisations.
Any tips for leaders to build connection back in the office?
I think people are more creative when they get together and that could be working on a shared problem. Definitely projects run more smoothly if people are getting together on a regular basis. It’s also about understanding people’s different styles. One thing that’s worked really well on leadership development is where you have managers who meet regularly once a month just to talk about managing people and sharing their stories, the good, the bad, the things that they’ve tried. It can be really great advice to share, just as a peer group and it’s far more likely to happen face to face.
If you would like to find out more, on Friday the 15th of November at 8.30am, Rich will be running a Wake Up Call session on the “10 top tips for creating a successful and engaging working culture”
About Rich Roberts:
Rich Roberts is an employee engagement and culture specialist and is passionate about building highly motivated and productive teams in both start-ups and larger organisations.
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