Unlock Success: Discover How Happy People Drive Thriving Agencies

The agency sector is dynamic and exciting but often creates highly pressurised working environments. To succeed, agency leaders must balance team energy with individual wellbeing and happiness.

This equilibrium is crucial for agencies, as research shows it leads to stronger employee engagement, better decision-making, and higher standards of creativity and innovation.

For example, happy people at work are 12% more productive, according to research from the University of Warwick. Researcher Dr Daniel Sgroi says, "The driving force seems to be that happier workers use the time they have more effectively, increasing the pace at which they can work without sacrificing quality.”

Reflecting this spirit, November's Festival of Happiness event, organised by The Alliance of Independent Agencies, is focused firmly on the theme that to achieve a high performing agency, independent agency leaders must pay attention to the wellbeing and happiness of their people

Centred on the belief that happy agencies are successful agencies, the Festival will explore how performance improves through happy people, positive cultures and recognition - offering key insights and provocations for talent managers and senior leaders of every agency.

Impacting the bottom line

The Festival will build on the main themes identified in the annual Wellbeing Tracker report, created by the Alliance of Independent Agencies in partnership with Opinium, which highlights the reasons why wellbeing should be a significant concern for agency leaders.

Isabel Odlin, chief people officer at Hub and Alliance of Independent Agencies’ Wellbeing Action Group Chair, says, "We spend most of our time at work so as employers we have a responsibility to listen to, support and create positive connections within our teams so they can do their best work as much as possible. Not only does this impact the bottom line but it benefits us as individuals, through both supporting and being supported."

The Wellness Tracker reveals that 85% of agency respondents say that they have experienced poor mental health in the past year. While it's welcome news that this figure is down 3% from 2022, and from 96% in 2021, there remains work to be done in reducing this figure further. Especially as the tracker also shows that 11% of agency people have taken time off work consistently for mental health issues (slightly down from 13% in 2021).

Top stress factors include excessive workload (41%), impending deadlines (39%), and self-doubt in job performance (39%). It's encouraging, at least, that this workload-related stress has notably decreased from 52% in 2022.

However, faith in agency leaders to address wellbeing issues is dwindling. Two-thirds (67%) feel their workplace values mental wellbeing, a decline from 76% in 2022. And 21% believe more could be done for mental health support.  While a significant 35% of the agency workforce has encountered burnout within the last year, a mere 14% feel completely supported by their employers in this regard.

Time for action

The Wellness Tracker recommends three clear actions for agency leaders looking to improve these worrying statistics.

• establish a peer-to-peer support program.

• develop "innovation labs" that ensure employee representation to develop effective strategies that promote a healthier and happier work experience.

• create skills-based volunteering opportunities to mitigate stress and improve job satisfaction.

This focus on action runs as a thread throughout the planned Festival of Happiness day. Each of the keynote presentations is themed heavily on improving performance - titles include "Are you ready for high performance?" (speakers Victoria Hall and Clive Hyland) and "Winning performance starts with exceptional culture" (speaker Bruce Daisley). Meanwhile, Matt Phelan will address the vital issue of growing client value through the happiness of people.

The event will take place at Google King’s Cross conference venue and host 250 agency leaders keen to propel their agencies to the next level of high performance.

Conducted over four areas of the event space, the Festival's format features keynote speakers, breakout and workshop rooms, a live podcast studio and a large space for networking and discovering the latest publications on the topic of culture and performance.

Tickets for the Festival of Happiness are available now. The Alliance also continues to monitor aspects of wellbeing and happiness through the Alliance People Pulse and urges all agencies to participate in this quarterly survey to gain insights into how their people are feeling across a number of areas.