Within digital agencies, you’ll often hear the word ‘culture’ being bandied around willy nilly. However, many agencies don’t have a defined culture code and, therefore, any claims to a recognised work culture are weakened dramatically. We’re proud to say that this can’t be said about Red-Fern - our culture is held in high regard at all times.
When working from home, we’ve seen a lot of companies lose their established culture and some teams have become a group of individuals, rather than a collective. When working within a digital agency, if the team starts to disband, it’s the first sign of things going downhill, in our opinion.
At Red-Fern, we’ve only become stronger and are collaborating just as efficiently as ever. Our expert team has adapted to the change - but how have we done it? How has the strong Red-Fern culture put us in such a prime position coming through the other side of the recent uncertain times? This post will explain it all.
We’ll cover:
- The Red-Fern culture - a quick recap
- The effect our culture has had on our business position during the pandemic
- How have we upheld the Red-fern culture
- Welcoming new faces when working remotely
The Red-Fern culture - a quick recap
“Create with the heart, build with the mind” is a common theme throughout our culture code. We firmly believe in this and it couldn’t be more true when carrying out projects for our partners. The quote encaptures everything that we’re about at Red-Fern - passion, innovation and growth.
Each team member is incredibly passionate about their field of work. We’re firm believers of “if you love where you work, you don’t work a day in your life” and that’s something that we uphold daily at Red-Fern. We love where we work, and it’s about time that everybody knew just how good it is - things are only going to get better too with the launch of Project 9.
“Insight + Strategy + Creativity + Innovation = Growth” - this formula is key to the success of all our partner projects - not forgetting our own brand work too. One area that we place a massive onus on is collaboration, because greatness is the result of different areas of the business coming together - not a team full of individuals all pulling in contrasting directions, right?
Trust, trust and trust some more. Because if you can’t trust your own team to get the job done right, who can you? Our team members all realise their worth and have a vital part to play in the bigger picture at Red-Fern. The culture we uphold is a shining example of the standards that we portray - a happy team is a successful one, as we’ve proven in the face of adversity.
The effect our culture has had on our business position during the pandemic
All businesses have had to make changes during the uncertain times of the past few months - however, one thing that hasn’t faced any changes at Red-Fern is the culture we uphold. In fact, we can honestly say that the culture between team members is one of the things that has pulled us through the uncertainty in such a strong position.
Our team members never fail to amaze us with their creativity and innovation - but to do it at such a weird and concerning time for all is a credit to them. In the agency world, your team members are your most valuable commodities as a business - and that statement couldn’t be more true for the current time. We’re sure that other agencies will wholeheartedly agree.
It comes down to our team having a genuine passion for everything that they do day in, day out. Without this desire, you could expect to see a slouch in standards, productivity and creative flair. However, that’s certainly not the case. We’ve seen our team members stand up and be counted like never before, and go further above and beyond to delight the client.
Collaboration has played a huge part in our strength. While collaboration in the office is easy, when working remotely it throws a few hurdles in the way. Luckily, with tools such as Slack, Zoom, Google Drive and Basecamp - team members can link up just as they would in the office and work together on deliverables.
How have we upheld the Red-fern culture
When we’re all in the office together, a “work hard, play hard” culture is always adopted - and things haven’t been too dissimilar while working remotely. Sure, the easy option would be to relax and not work as hard, but what does that achieve? Nothing. Plus, in times like these, delighting the client has never been more important and we’re constantly adding value.
Trust has been a main pillar of upholding the Red-Fern culture. You’re left to your own devices when working at home, so it’s very chilled out. The beauty of working at an agency that doesn’t have a tendency to micromanage at any given opportunity is a sense of empowerment and worth. We realise that some agency workers aren’t as fortunate to have this level of flexibility.
When working remotely, I’ve found it’s the little things about the office you miss the most. At Red-Fern, not having the football to chat about was a big thing for some of the team. So, once that was welcomed back, it was like being right back in the office. Although, personally, I am quite glad we didn’t have to listen to Sean gloating about Liverpool winning the Premier League so much. We've missed the darts a lot too - haven't we, lads?
Before the restrictions were introduced, socials were always on the agenda for Red-Fern. It was very much a case of finding any excuse for the next team night out or activity. However, lockdown brought a brutal halt to this. Despite this, we still managed ways of coming together as a team and having a good time. Quizzes were the main way of keeping the competitive juices flowing - with prizes to be won each week!
Welcoming new faces when working remotely
Over the past few months, we’ve welcomed two new faces to the team - Luke and Rowey! In what must have been a pretty daunting time to start a new job, they were welcomed into the Red-Fern culture with open arms and it’s practically like they’ve been here for years now - well, if you can look past the part that we’ve never physically met, that is.
Thinking about it, joining the team at a time of uncertainty was the perfect welcome to Red-Fern for both of them. They got to see first hand exactly how strong our culture is and what it means to us, even when we can’t be with the team physically. The fact they’ve taken to the business so quickly and uphold all of our core values within their work, indicates to us that our culture is partially what makes us so strong.
We’re looking forward to getting into the new office and all being together so we can properly celebrate their introduction. I know that Rowey has some pretty big board game plans in store for the team! I’ll try not to flip the board, but I'm not promising anything if I’m losing.
The Red-Fern culture - do you think you’d fit in?
As you’ve just read, we hold our company culture very close to our hearts. Do you think you have what it takes to join our team? We’re always on the lookout for fresh talent to join our team. The introduction of new team members brings a new outlook, helps generate different ideas and brings a wealth of knowledge to our already strong team.
For more information on our culture at Red-Fern, and to see whether you’d fit in or not, please download our free culture book. It describes everything we're about - so you should be more than able to get a good feel for the business before registering your interest.
However, if you feel you’re ready, please get in touch today. Our expert team will be on hand to chat with you about what you think you could bring to Red-Fern and deal with any questions or queries that you may have.