Small Agency, Big Future: How our company is taking action to support the #futureofwork in 2022
By Terri Chrestenson, Marketing Specialist
With over 105K followers on LinkedIn and a whopping 11M views on TikTok, the #futureofwork conversation is on fire.
The Future of Work conversation encompasses the changes in how work will get done over the next decade, influenced by technological, generational and social shifts. This isn’t a new idea, but the pandemic — and other concurrent monumental events such as Gen Z entering the workforce — gave it a new sense of urgency. In direct response to the pandemic, practically overnight an estimated 17 million people in the US began to work remotely.¹ And just as quickly, we had to rewire how we think about everything — childcare, mental health, socialization, productivity, our values.
It’s no surprise that our workplace standards changed, too.
Agency life during the pandemic gave us a broad view of how different companies were operating. We witnessed the pivot companies made in order to accommodate the new workplace standards: flexible hours, increased productivity models, better transparency… the list goes on. Alongside these changes, the need for inclusive workplaces was amplified. It’s never been more important to celebrate diversity, support employee mental health, and fight back against workplace inequality.
The future of work has a place for people of all races, genders, and backgrounds to exercise their voice and expertise in the field, while being acknowledged as real people with real lives outside of the office.
To ensure we keep progressing, we all have to hold ourselves accountable and contribute to making a positive impact.
As professional marketers and communicators, our careers are shaped by our ability to tell stories that will add value to the lives of others. In doing this, we are enabled to help write the future and build a better, more equitable workplace.
Here are three things Kingston Marketing Group is learning and how we’re continuously trying to take action to support #futureofwork initiatives within our small marketing agency in 2022:
1. Supporting pay equity and inclusive funding
What we’re learning:
Female entrepreneurs own 38% of all businesses in the US, but that is not reflected in the proportion of startup money that currently goes to female founders.²
BIPOC receive less business financing, less often and at higher rates. 80.2% of white business owners receive at least a percentage of the funding they request from a bank, compared to 66.4% of BIPOC business owners.³
Marginalized groups are paid cents on the dollar for every white male counterpart: An Asian woman makes 90 cents on the dollar that every white man makes; White women, 82 cents on the dollar; Black women, 63 cents on the dollar; Native American women, 60 cents on the dollar; and a Latina woman makes 55 cents to every dollar paid to a white man for similar work.⁴
The future of work relies on the talent of more diverse and inclusive business practices, and that starts by putting your money where your mouth is. As our client from Voodle, Rachel Lanham said, “We can’t promote the Future of Work without supporting those who are shaping it.”
What we’re doing:
In 2021, KMG launched a Woman’s Founder Grant. We invited women founders of early stage, post-launch companies in the PNW—using technology to make a positive impact—to apply to win $20,000 in tailored startup integrated marketing services.
This year, we were thrilled to partner with Voodle to sponsor the first-annual Voodle Visionaries Grant. This $10K grant opportunity was open to all female, non-binary, or BIPOC founders who submitted a 60-second video pitch about how their company is changing the future of work. After meeting nearly 300 applicants, Diana Wilson, founder and CEO of Yielding Accomplished African Women (YaaW), was announced the winner at a GeekWire Studios Virtual Event. YaaW is a nonprofit organization building the largest online career community and talent pipeline of Black college women in STEM, and a place where hundreds of young women are building their careers.
KMG is a proud supporter of Fairpay Workplace, who is on a mission to dismantle pay disparities using a set of transparent Rules and Standards developed by independent experts. Our founder and CEO, Nancy Poznoff, sits on their Board of Directors and we continue to advocate for their work through monetary donations.
2. Prioritizing workplace culture and employee wellbeing.
What we’re learning:
Inclusive environments, where employees feel a sense of belonging and value, result in employees that are “3X as likely to be high-performing” and “8X more likely to achieve better business outcomes.”⁵
Productivity is a major factor in accelerating the future of work. We’re enthralled by all the tech, but the secret ingredient to our productivity will always be our close-knit team of smart and scrappy leaders. We pride ourselves on being able to simultaneously strategize big ideas while sharing laughs.
It comes down to trust. Our hybrid team is a collective of busy professionals (and more importantly, busy people!) scattered across different locations, yet we stay grounded in a shared vision and standard of work.
What we’re doing:
This year, we are implementing the OGSM (Objective, Goals, Strategies, Measures) framework to establish goals at both the company and individual level. This practice allows each member to grow at their own pace, while keeping us aligned with the KMG mission. Each OGSM ends with an objective (and budget) around personal development and learning. By dedicating time to sharing these goals with one another, we’ve also created an environment of trust and accountability.
When we have these OGSM planning sessions, we also take time to acknowledge our personal goals — not just the professional ones. We all have goals that we want to achieve outside of work, and pouring resources and support into these initiatives are equally as important to our company identity.
Although we operate remotely, we’re investing in an on-site collaboration space for anyone who chooses to utilize it. We believe it is important for every team member to have access to reliable working environments and opportunities for in-person collaboration.
3. Aligning values to our work
What we’re learning:
Purpose-oriented companies have higher productivity and growth rates, along with a more satisfied workforce who stay longer with them. Such companies report 30% higher levels of innovation. Orienting business around purpose can help companies drive their operations toward outcomes people value.⁶
What we’re doing:
Since opening KMG in 2019, we’ve had the honor of working with brands advocating for a stronger future of work, including:
Syndio, a pay equity software, and
Xembly, a conversational AI assistant that helps improve meeting culture
Core company values should be reflected in our client roster because the work becomes an extension of who we are. The stories we help our clients tell have the potential to create a lasting impact on how people move through the world. Beyond the marketing campaigns and press announcements, this sentiment extends to the interactions we share when nobody's looking (including both the easygoing moments and difficult conversations).
When the work is authentic and intentional it becomes more meaningful. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned from these past few years, it’s that meaningful connections are the driving force behind success.
The future of work is here. The work will never end, nor will we ever be able to tackle it all. But, the more we embrace the changes and apply our values to do our part, the brighter the future will be. As always, we’re inspired to learn more and do more together — how are you and your organization contributing to the future of work? Let us know.