Putting our people first: the most fearless decision we've ever made

2021 has been an exceptional year for Clarity. 

The data tells its own story: we’ve grown annual global revenues by over 50% and our headcount exceeded 100 for the first time. 

We’re delivering highly sophisticated integrated campaigns for clients who are doing incredible things to build a healthier, cleaner, more equitable world. It’s important work. And we’re having a hell of a lot of fun doing it.

But things could have been so different.

In April 2020, we made a decision which in retrospect was perhaps the most consequential of our eight years in business.

Following a precipitous drop in revenues thanks to COVID, like many agencies overnight our numbers looked abysmal. Breaking even looked like a huge ask going forward.

As a people business, by far our biggest cost is payroll. 

So like most agencies, we contemplated layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts. 

Unlike most agencies, within a day we had decided against doing any of these things. 

Why?

1. We always put our people first. Everything flows from us creating a working environment in which our people are nurtured and taken care of as human beings, and stretched and challenged as professionals. In April 2020, our people needed us to step up and prove that our commitment to them was more than just idle management talk. 
2. ‘Fearless’ is one of our three company values. We knew we already had the most amazing people in our industry in the business. So why on earth would we ditch them at a time when we needed them more than ever? We knew that if we could ride out the storm, and get all hands on deck pulling together, we’d be uniquely positioned to capitalise once the economy started moving again. Under the circumstances I can’t think of a decision in our history that epitomised our fearlessness as a business more than this. 

I understand that many small agencies were forced to make such tough decisions or close their doors entirely, we were fortunate to be faced with the reality that we could lose profit, or lose people. Unlike many other agencies, we chose to keep our people.

Fast forward to today and we’re thriving. And our growth has enabled us to continue investing heavily in the Clarity employee experience (which was already pretty good if you believe what you read on Glassdoor). 

This week we announced some new additions to what was already a world-class benefits package. So on top of genuinely unlimited vacation; summer Fridays; flexible working; competitive salaries, benefits and bonuses; paid volunteering days off and much, much more, we are adding: 

• • mini-sabbaticals after just three years in the business 

• raising our pension contributions to 4% 
• the launch of ‘Clarity Cares’ – a programme designed to provide holistic support for our people at every stage of life, including support for fertility treatment, gender reassignment, menopause, mental health, becoming a grandparent and caring for pets as well as family
• a full-team offsite in 2022 (we’re optimistic, too!)

So if you’re excited to work with some of the most dynamic companies on earth in an environment that’s committed to taking care of you as a human, and challenging you as a professional, I urge you to get in touch (just not between the 24th December and the new year, because we’re shutting the office so everyone can have a proper, well-earned break!).

We’ve had a great start to life as an agency, but I really mean it when I say we’re only just getting started. Let us know if you’d like to join us!

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