Background
A commitment to putting people over profit has been pivotal to growth at specialist digital agency network TIPi Group. TIPi Group launched with their flagship agency, ROAST, in 2015 with just five members of staff, no clients, no permanent office and no business certainty. Coming from humble beginnings, the company knew it needed to do something special with its culture if it were to attract the best talent. Four years on and the firm now has 65 employees servicing 40 clients across four specialist digital agencies under the TIPi Group umbrella. Each has unique specialisms but share a common set of cultural values: collaboration, authenticity, purpose and restless minds.

Approach
To get to this, one of the first things it did was launch Houses (Gravy, Horseradish, Mash, Stuffing and Cauliflower Cheese). These Houses enable new starters to be supported not only by their immediate teams but also by staff from different departments, agencies and levels of seniority. Houses gain points in activities and each year the winning House receives the House Championship Cup and an extra day of holiday.

"Unique specialisms with common values: collaboration, authenticity, purpose and restless minds"

An entrepreneurial mindset permeates through the business, with everyone having a chance to change how things are done. This is encouraged through a biannual competition, ‘TIPi Talkback’, where staff pitch a company-wide initiative to senior management. This year’s winning idea was a new ‘wellness ecosystem’ designed to support the mental and physical health of employees. The ecosystem, which has now been implemented, consists of subsidised massages and yoga sessions, extendable lunch breaks, a revitalised library and subsidised meditation app membership.

To ensure good cultural fit and maximise career satisfaction amongst juniors, the TIPi Academy offers a two-week programme at which junior staffers hone skills by teaching graduates basic skills and explaining what life is really like at a London Agency.