Behind our Best Companies ranking: the initiatives that actually made a difference

In 2025, we were ranked Top 5 Best Marketing & Media Agencies to Work For in the UK, Top 50 Best Small Companies, and Top 75 Best Companies in London. We also received Best Companies 1-Star Accreditation - the ‘very good’ level of workplace engagement.

These are rankings we’re genuinely proud of. But what matters more to us than the position itself is what they represent: a body of evidence that the things we’ve been doing for the last 25 years are working.

So, we thought it was worth being specific about what those things actually are - not the glossy version, but the real stuff.

Fortnightly one-to-ones with wellbeing built in

Most managers have regular one-to-ones. What makes ours different is the structure. Every fortnightly check-in includes wellbeing-specific questions, recorded in our HR system. This means wellbeing isn’t a bolt-on conversation for when things go wrong - it’s a standing item, tracked over time, so we can spot patterns early.

The result: 89% of our team agreed that their manager shares important knowledge and information with them. But more than that, people tell us they feel genuinely seen.

Mental Health First Aiders and HR that’s actually confidential

We have trained Mental Health First Aiders available to the team. But we also know that sometimes people need to speak to someone who isn’t a colleague. That’s why we retain an external HR provider who is always available, approachable and genuinely independent.

The availability of a confidential, external option changes the nature of the support we can offer. People use it and we think that matters.

The ‘Bubbles’ system

As we grew from 22 to 40+ people, we noticed the risk that junior team members could start to feel distant from senior leadership. The Bubbles system was our answer: pairing smaller groups of junior colleagues with a more focused group of managers, so everyone has a closer relationship with someone above them in the structure.

Alongside this, we run a buddy system for managers - structured peer support so that people managing others for the first time aren’t navigating it alone.

Financial wellbeing, proactively

In June 2024, we implemented a cost-of-living increase - before being asked, before it became a retention problem. We’ve adopted the London Living Wage for contracted permanent staff. All employees receive profit-related pay. Annual bonuses reflect both individual performance and company results.

We also cover travel expenses in full for everyone who travels to events or meetings, provide corporate cards for regular travellers and pay an amount per night for any onsite overstay required. Financial stress is one of the biggest contributors to poor mental health at work. We try to make sure it’s not something our team is carrying quietly.

Celebrating the whole team, properly

Our annual two-day residential is one of the things people mention most when we ask what they value. It includes training, team-building and an internal awards ceremony - with winners voted for by colleagues, not chosen by leadership. That detail matters. Peer recognition is more meaningful than top-down recognition for most people and the process of voting encourages people to notice each other’s contributions throughout the year.

We also celebrate a wide range of cultural events - Eid, Diwali, Chinese New Year, International Women’s Day - not as a tick-box exercise but because our team is genuinely diverse and our calendar should reflect that.

“97% of our team say our policies are fair to everyone. We think that’s the number that matters most.”

The training programme that earned us a Business Culture Award

Our in-house event management training programme has grown from 10 to 14 modules. It combines in-person group sessions, individual online learning and on-the-job experience. It’s aligned with IfATE’s Apprenticeship Standard for Event Executives and it was Highly Commended at the Business Culture Awards.

More importantly: it works. Junior staff join us often in their first full-time role and quickly become confident, capable professionals who can handle tight deadlines, multiple time zones and last-minute challenges with composure.

What the scores actually say

In our Best Companies survey:

•      97% agreed: ‘Policies and procedures within this organisation are fair to everyone’

•      92% agreed: ‘My team is fun to work with’

•      89% agreed: ‘My manager shares important knowledge and information with me’

These numbers don’t come from a single initiative. They come from 25 years of making the same choice, repeatedly: to take the people stuff seriously, even when it’s easier not to.

We’re proud of the ranking. We’re prouder of what sits behind it.