Page 40 - AdNews May-June 2020

Better Workplaces
Each agency has its own way to check in daily. In GroupM, there is #GoodMorningGroupM – a daily post to all staff via a Microsoft Teams group. It could be a per- sonal story, an inspiring quote, a beautiful photo or funny meme, posted by a different person each day, who then tags someone else to do it the next day. It’s really about staying in touch and remind- ing each other that they are part of a bigger team, even if they can’t see each other. There have been recipes, book recommendations, Spotify playlists shared, memes and family photos. This began in Mindshare, which kicked off the Morning Mindshare when every- one first moved to remote working and GroupM borrowed it with pride, This is a small example of the collaboration and idea sharing within the GroupM family.
Health and wellbeing
COVID-19 is both a global health and economic crisis so everyone is feeling higher levels of stress and anxiety than normal. There are new personal and professional pressures so providing support around mental health is vital. GroupM is running a number of initiatives at group level, and within each individual agency.
WPP AUNZ recently welcomed a new employee assistance pro- gram (EAP) provider, LifeWorks, which as well as offering free, con- fidential, independent counselling sessions for all its people and their families, has a full suite of tools for managing stress, anxiety and change, provided via a digital plat- form and app.
GroupM launched an initiative called Wellness KPIs a year ago
The New GroupM
In May 2020, GroupM is rolling out a refreshed global positioning, being led by new global CEO Christian Juhl. GroupM is on
a mission to make advertising work better for people – clients, consumers and each other. Bringing Intelligence and Imagination to our work and fulfilling careers to our people.
I always say we are a human capital technology company, and the thing that is most important is our humans.
Mark Lollback, GroupM CEO
which asked every member of staff to answer the question: “What are you doing to look after yourself?” Led by its young leaders committee, NCo, it embeds wellbeing alongside business KPIs.
Wavemaker Brisbane managing director Jane Sullivan asks each of her team to share with her three words that describe how they feel each day, and she responds with hers.
“It’s a simple thing to do, and it definitely helps me trend where people are at,” she says.
“Overall, it’s positive, but it quickly highlights who is struggling and requires some more support that week.”
Throughout April, Essence hosted a virtual Olympics with four com- petition categories: distance, daily workout, nutrition and mental power. Essence also created a series of workshops called Bridge and Traverse to support line managers to thrive in the face of this new status quo; to stay connected no matter the distance; and to continue to deliver to
clients while taking care of their own wellbeing.