by Metta Thomas, Account Manager
The foundation of a thriving company is rooted in a workplace culture that prioritizes the wellbeing of its employees. At the heart of happy, engaged workers is a shared sense of value, community and freedom, all elements you’ll find at the core of H5. Known as the H5 Way, our legacy and success is centered on five core values that our founder set in motion more than 25 years ago and still ring true today: Kindness, Creativity, Integrity, Passion and Hustle.
These core values have paved the way for H5’s people-first culture, an approach that sets our independent agency apart. At H5, our workplace gives our colleagues unique opportunities to grow and succeed in their career, cultivate professional and life-long relationships, and be given the encouragement and balance to live their best lives outside of the workplace.
So how do you create and truly live a culture the H5 Way?
Making Space for Moments of Celebration
At H5, we celebrate connectivity and our accomplishments both in and out of the workplace. In our weekly newsletter, fittingly called the Weekly High5, we spotlight major client news, share team kudos, provide callouts for upcoming gatherings and celebrate coworkers’ personal accomplishments such as a wedding or vacation of a lifetime. The Weekly High5 is not only a space to catch up with one another, but it allows everyone a moment out of their busy week to celebrate the wins of the agency, their colleagues and themselves.
My personal favorite time of the year at H5 arrives twice (lucky me)! Our leaders bring everyone together with two agency outings, one to soak up the summertime sunshine and another during the holiday season to celebrate our wins and ring in another great year. Having these moments that allow us to connect and forge stronger bonds with each other is so important, especially when working in a virtual world.
From outings to weekly newsletters, these moments of connection are especially meaningful in our fast-paced line of work. However, H5’s celebrations aren’t just a once-in-awhile occurrence, but a daily happening. We encourage each other to do excellent work, provide the support needed to reach our goals and cheer each other on every day – and because we’re an independent, agile team, every act of kindness is personal and genuine.
Fostering Creativity and Collaboration
Creativity and passion are part of our core values, and as such, our senior leaders understand that having a culture where employees feel empowered to speak up fuels creativity and levels up our quality of work.
We take all-agency brainstorming seriously at H5 and it’s one of my favorite forms of connecting with my colleagues and flexing my creative muscles. Efforts are never siloed at H5, and we’re always collaborating with one another to come up with the next big idea that will generate even bigger results for our clients. Whether a brand is in need of a splashy campaign, has a new innovation launching, or we’re pitching a potential client, our all-agency brainstorms are where great ideas start to germinate.
We also make time for personal growth and team gatherings every month via Lunch & Learns where we give our colleagues and outside experts a platform to share exciting, innovative happenings within the industry. From the trajectory of AI in media to sharing professional social media tips and hearing from industry experts, every Lunch & Learn teaches us something new and helps us collectively grow stronger as an agency.
Being Happy + Human Is an H5 Cornerstone
Holistic health for the agency means prioritizing the social, spiritual and mental wellbeing of everyone. H5 puts these values into action by providing employees with the resources to succeed in all aspects of their lives.
Our team hustles every day, and to honor this, H5 offers flexible paid time off and a hybrid working environment that gives employees the freedom and ability to enjoy life outside of work. H5 also provides early close Fridays year-round so teams can earn a well-deserved head start on the weekend.
H5’s culture also believes that a healthy team is a happy team. Through the namaSTAY wellness program, H5 supports our teams’ physical and mental wellbeing. From a well-deserved spa day to new running shoes or a Pilates membership, H5 encourages its people to treat themselves.
Additionally, as H5 was founded by a working mom, the agency understands the importance of family and prioritizes employees’ futures. H5 stands out with its robust 401(k) plan, comprehensive health coverage and new parent time off policies.
The Overarching Importance of a People-First Culture
Being an independent agency, H5 empowers its employees to take ownership of our professional work and personal lives. This people-first working environment, in turn, directly contributes to the exceptional work we produce for our clients. Having the freedom and encouragement to not only be excellent in our work lives but also in our personal lives allows our teams to come to work happy, healthy and motivated to produce outstanding results.
On a personal level, I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to not only grow professionally and personally at H5, but to also have the unique opportunity to cheer for my colleagues’ growth and accomplishments across all aspects of their lives. H5’s culture is truly what makes us human and happy.