Page 51 - Adnews Magazine January 2022

The space is also becoming increasingly competitive, with big inter- national streaming platforms and local Australian publishers boosting their investment in content production during the past year.
To stay ahead of the competition, Isaksson says Acast is focused on attracting the right talent.
“I think we are seeing a lot more content being created across the board, but it is not like all content that is being made is amazing, far from it,” he says.
“I don’t think it is going to slow down in any way but in terms of how we stay ahead of it, I am very humble when I say this, but I do believe I have the best team in podcasting in Australia and I work with this lot of people who I learn from every single day.”
Working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge for the team which now has an optional return-to-office policy. Isaksson doesn’t expect the company to return to five days in the office, with productivity levels remaining the same during work from home.
“We have a good balance at the moment where you can do the two or three days in the office and you might do Monday and Friday from home and that seems to be working really well,” he says.
“It is not like we have seen productivity go down. I think people enjoy the balance of working from home and from the office, and most people are coming back in just to hang out and have a chat.”
For Isaksson, the new year is focused on continuing to strengthen the team’s culture, with the company only managing its sales independently since 2020 after ending its three-year relationship with Nova Entertainment.
“I think personally for me and Acast, making sure that my team is well and healthy and thriving is definitely number one,” he says.
“And then build on the culture that we have. We have quite a new team, and we are only really a year and a half into being independent
Meet the Team
in Australia. Looking after my team is probably my biggest thing because it has been a tough cou- ple of years so making sure every- one is well, both mentally and physically.”
To help do this during the pan- demic, Acast introduced a range policies, such as health allow- ances which allowed employees to spend on health-related items including exercise equipment, gym subscriptions and new shoes.
“The other thing is, as a com- pany globally we have been a bit more lenient when it comes to working hours because people have worked more throughout COVID-19, with longer hours and more time sitting in front of the screen,” says Isaksson.
“We have tried to do half days on Fridays, if possible obviously, workload permitting.
“We have also cut down on the length of our meetings. Rather than doing half-an-hour meetings, we are trying to do 10 or 15 minute meetings because if you can’t cover things in 15 min- utes you probably need to pre- pare for the meetings slightly differently or have a strategic approach to it. So less meetings, more exercise and less time in front of your screen.”
Isaksson says this new, flexible approach to working in a post- COVID-19 world only works if there’s trust throughout the team.
“You have to have trust,” he says. “I couldn’t see it being done in any other way because if you have the same approach to working hours as you did pre-COVID-19, then I don’t think people would be happy.
“I wouldn’t be happy if my boss checked in on me all the time. So I think it is a benefit to everyone. And I am a believer in quality work rather than quantity, and that really reflects on the staff.
“The feedback from all the new people who joined the business last year has been that it has been better treatment than most, as opposed to being constantly asked what they are doing and where they are, or how many meetings they have. It is not about that any- more, I think the landscape has changed and I don’t think it is going to go back.”