Adaptable and agile agencies
We recently canvassed media owners on how they adapted to a virtual working model. This time around, GLENDA NEVILL asks media agencies how they connected with clients and kept staff sane.
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e asked agencies about how they created virtual teams and the challenges they faced in doing so. We wanted to find out how strategies had to change to deal with the new circumstances, and what methods were used to keep staff motivated. We looked at value, and whether or not remote work would play a part in a post-pandemic future. Responses from senior media agency leaders were extensive, and we don’t have enough room in the magazine to run them at length, but we will be posting them in full on The Media Online over the next few weeks.
ASHISH WILLIAMS, CEO OF MEDIACOM
MediaCom’s leadership believed that before implementing any operational or technological steps to transform an office-bound team into a virtual one, we needed to change mindsets first. Business focus became less about input (hours) and much more about the output (results), which was the value clients were seeking. Then MediaCom essentially had to recreate an office environment and experience for each staff member as much as possible. We believe that if our people and their needs are prioritised, the operational results will follow. 62 i T H E M E D I A
Ashish Williams
A key strategy was utilising the insights and learning from the global network available to us. We connected to CEOs at our Chinabased offices at the beginning of the outbreak to ascertain what we could anticipate when it reached South African shores. These conversations enabled us to predict beforehand what the challenges would be, where the vulnerabilities lay and what our clients would need most from us. Our biggest challenge was maintaining what others may see as the ‘softer’ side of running a business – employee morale, retaining company culture and encouraging social interaction. Consequently, we launched various digital-friendly, themediaonline.co.za
staff-orientated workshops centred on creating connections and team spirit. Effective and consistent internal communication helped staff feel supported. Our transparent communication activities extended to media owners, as we also made the effort to advise proactively on how investments could be managed and budgets might be affected and made even stronger. Motivation can be negatively affected by monotony, fatigue and stress. To counter this, MediaCom created two well-being champions, who were assigned to support and assist staff on a wide variety of topics such as debt, pressure on family life, depression and so forth. Adding value played a significant role. Some clients needed advice on budgets, while others needed support or for us to step up and find innovative digital solutions to reach their audiences even more effectively. Our ability to adapt to each client’s new perception of what value meant to them translated into strengthened customer relationships. The three biggest lessons for us were: focus on people; be adaptable to any challenge; and share and reapply (learn from other markets and reapply to your own). Moving forward, because we are so focused on output, it doesn’t
