The coronavirus crisis has normalised remote working but the ninth annual Power Part Time List underlines there is still more to be done.
“We’ve been asking the wrong question. The future of work is not about how and when we fill the office, it's, how do we create the conditions for people to create their best work?”
Karen Mattison, Co-Founder of flexible working experts Timewise is articulating the elephant in the room when it comes to the future of work. Despite the column inches and airtime dedicated to either commercial landlords making predictions on ‘100% office occupancy’ based on little more than their own bottom line, or high-profile CEO’s declaring remote work ‘an aberration’, the truth is the genie is well and truly out of the bottle when it comes to reimaging the workplace. In a world of ever-decreasing certainty the notion that there will be ‘no return to normal’ is a rare truth.
“Ten years ago, those voices questioning flexible working wouldn't have been extraordinary and the cause for celebration would be how many hours you put in,” explains Mattison. Yet in a post-pandemic world, employers are increasingly recognising not only how difficult it is to keep employees engaged and thriving in today’s challenging circumstances but also that flexible working is a benefit for a company as a whole, not just a concession to be given on an individual level.
For Timewise there remains work to do. While there has been a wholesale shift in where people work, when it comes to ‘how much’ people work, stigma and ‘flexism’ abound. It is notable that the ninth Power Part Time list is completely focused on highlighting part-time jobs. “Part-time working has long been the Cinderella of flexible working and I’m really conscious that we don’t leave part-time working behind,” explains Mattison.
I feel strongly that the pandemic has shown what is possible, but policy alone is not enough.
Karen Mattison
Timewise’s research reveals a disconnect between what people want in their careers and the recruitment market. Almost three in four people, or 72% believe that part-time workers should have equal opportunity to progress at work, according to Timewise. This marks a complete turnaround from nine years ago when 72% of people believed it simply ‘wasn’t possible’ to work a senior career on a part time basis. Yet only 8% of jobs are advertised part-time, representing a significant opportunity gap for the media and advertising industry.
For an industry so creative in its output, the uncomfortable truth is that there has been a fundamental lack of creativity surrounding how, when and how much people work. The sluggishness in which the industry has embraced part time work has been exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis, according to the latest IPA census, which revealed a much greater decline in the number of part-time employees at member agencies, a group dominated by women. The overall number of individuals working in a part-time role fell by 23%, from 1,615 to 1,240. The number of part-time women fell by 25% from 1,373 to 1,037 and male part-time employees dropped 15% from 238 to 202.
It’s an ecosystem in which the ripple effects of the industry success stories are a powerful and vital narrative of what is possible. The ninth annual Power Part Time list includes Sara Tate, Chief Executive of TBWA London and Amanda Lowe, Founder and Managing Director of Story Comms, both of whom work four-day weeks. As well as showcasing the work of Mediacom and Creature, who also picked up special employer awards for innovation with flex during COVID-19 (see below.)
The annual Power Part Time list lands at a challenging time for the industry. The IPA census revealed the number of women employed in agencies fell disproportionately to men year-on-year. The number of women employed full time in member agencies fell by 13% from 13,088 to 11,411, while the number of men employed full time was down 8% from 11,700 to 10,752. While research from McKinsey and LeanIn.org reveals that a quarter of working women are currently considering scaling back their career ambitions or leaving the workforce entirely. It’s a state of play which makes intentionally taking a more creative approach to work business critical if the industry is to avoid laying waste to an entire generation of talent.
Timewise believes that embracing the power of part time working is fundamental to building back better. “Returnships are great, but let's focus on not losing that talent in the first place,” explains Mattison. “I’ve always felt we have to tackle part time working from a brand point of view. This is a turning point. People want to work less, and we just can’t hide that. There are huge numbers who want to see that shift.”
Power Part Time alumni Marc Nohr, Chairman of Fold7 and Group CEO of Miroma Group is cited as a key example of a leader focused on the people within his business, as opposed to the four walls they reside in, or the time they choose to sit there. As Mattison explains: “He has done a great job in ensuring the focus is on looking at how we help people make the best work and create an environment in which they can flourish.”
“I feel strongly that the pandemic has shown what is possible, but policy alone is not enough,” Mattison adds. This is where the individual stories come in, as, she adds, “there is huge creativity, not just in technology, but in the ways in which people have sliced up their days and delivered.”
It's the stories of these leaders, not just why they do it, but how they do it that have really changed things.
Karen Mattison
As Mattison explains, Timewise has succeeded in creating a community. One which gives people across the industry real-life examples to learn from when they feel ‘stuck’ or perhaps feel that having a career in advertising and a life are fundamentally mutually exclusive pursuits.
“To have people like Sara [Tate], Marc [Nohr], Amelia [Torode, Co-Founder, The Fawnbrake Collective] and Nicola Mendelsohn [VP, EMEA Facebook] give you a different narrative when you are told what is not possible,” explains Mattison. In practical terms she shares how executives have used their insight and stories to take into interview and promotion processes. As well as utilising practical advice on how trial periods can put managers minds at ease when it comes to opening their minds to new ways of working.
“These are great leaders, and they are opening doors. The policies and the structures are really important. But it's the stories of these leaders, not just why they do it, but how they do it that have really changed things,” Mattison adds.
Notably, as Mattison prepares her own transition to Timewise’s board, it's important to highlight her own powerful contribution to challenging and changing the narrative surrounding part time and flexible working. “When I look back there have been so many people who have really pushed us up a hill of championing new ways of working. But we have a responsibility to keep moving forward and take the positives from the pandemic,” she notes. It's a moment of inflection, one in which, she explains: “It is important to mark how far we have come, as well as recognise how far there is still to go.”
As the industry grapples with a once in a generation opportunity to reshape the future of work, the possibility for progress Timewise showcases is a powerful tool. At a time when a myriad of data points paints a picture of employees reaching a breaking point on burnout, the Power Part Time list is an important reminder of what is possible. Keep going, because you can rewrite the rules of success and do things differently.
Contract: Four days per week
As CEO of top ten advertising agency TBWA\London, Sara is responsible for delivering sustainable and profitable growth, by attracting the best clients and talent, and creating world-class creative work. She has full people and P&L responsibilities\London back to its former status after several challenging years. Under her leadership, the agency is thriving, with media billings up 9% to £226m and six new client wins, causing Campaign magazine to declare that the agency was “finally back in the game.” Sara works part-time so she can spend more time with her family. She mentors young women for WACL, NABS and Adweek, and won Campaign's 2020 Female Frontier award for exceptional leadership.
Contract: four days per week
Amanda founded Story Comms, a PR and communications firm, in 2015. As Managing Director, she currently oversees all elements of the firm’s output, including client service, strategy and tactical delivery. She is also responsible for the day-to-day management of the business, covering everything from new business to finance and HR. She has a team of seven staff, has generated £2.4m in revenue and won 16 awards. In 2020, she steered the firm through the devastating impact of the pandemic on the PR sector. Story is projected to deliver strong growth in 2021 as it looks to double in size and grow its creative studio offering. Amanda has two young children and has worked part-time since she launched her firm.
This year, Timewise introduced a special employer awards to celebrate the companies who innovated with flex during COVID-19. There were two winners in the media and advertising sector.
Advertising agency Creature was designed with flexible working in mind. A number of senior members of staff have worked flexible hours/days in the last two years, and the agency takes an outcome-focused, rather than hours-focused, approach to recruitment. However, it was in response to COVID-19 that the leadership team took their commitment to flexible working to the next level. As it became clear that perceived barriers, such as the need to come together for pitches, creative reviews and workshops, were perfectly surmountable when the situation demanded, they took the opportunity to develop the concept of the 3:2 week.
Under this arrangement, the business remains remote-first for three days every week, although the office is always there if people need it, and everyone comes together in a working hub for the other two. Staff surveys had indicated that the concept would be welcomed, and leaders were careful to discuss practicalities with the wider team before deciding to implement it. The concept is being trialled for an initial six months, with a full review due soon. Feedback suggests that it has been positively received, “Folk are loving it”, and leaders believe it has made them a better business, with the potential to attract people who can’t, or don’t want to, work full-time in London.
MediaCom is the UK’s biggest media agency which helps brands unlock growth through media, using data, technology and creativity to design communication strategies that build brands and generate sales. A 1,400 people strong business, MediaCom’s long standing philosophy is “people first, better results”. Unusually for the advertising world, they have a flexible approach to working hours and location, and a focus on outputs not presenteeism; people can work when and where suits them, as long as they continue to deliver.
The arrival of COVID-19 inspired leaders to evolve their people-first culture for a remote working world. This includes an initiative called MediaCom My Way, which allows everyone to work fluidly and achieve true work-life blend. It incorporates a tool which allows people to identify their work/life needs, two check-ins each week with a mental health ally, the launch of Unmind, a mental health app for all employees plus one of their loved ones, a COVID hub for working parents, and MediaCom Unplugged, which focuses on encouraging people to switch off and avoid work creep. All plans and proposals were researched through staff surveys and communicated through town halls, team huddles and live Q&As. Plans are now underway to develop MediaCom My Way 2.0, which will help develop a hybrid workforce whilst maintaining the Media Com culture and supporting mental health.
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