Ewen MacPherson, People Director at Havas Group, speaks exclusively to HR Grapevine about HR success at Havas in 2018, as well as what exciting HR projects he has queued up for the year ahead.
What’s it like working at Havas Group?
The past two years have been transformative for Havas Group. We brought 14 different businesses together for the first time in a new inspiring collaborative space in King’s Cross; we fundamentally changed the operating model of the business by flattening the structure, reducing silos, and making it easier for our people to get things done; and, we have an entirely new leadership team, of which I’m proud to be a part of.
None of these have been without their own challenges, but the result is that we have a collection of excellent talent and people.
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There is a strong sense of belonging within the teams and the wider business, and we’re achieving incredible things together. As an example, 2018 saw the most awards won by the agency in its long history.
Last year, we also created our own ambitiously-titled ‘manifesto’ that outlines our CEO Matt Adams’ vision for the business. It articulates what we’re trying to achieve here at Havas Group Media in the UK: that everyone in the Havas family is expected to bring their whole self to work; have a positive, fun outlook; and to always put their hand up to support and help others.
What kind of employee engagement or greater HR initiatives did you implement last year? Were they successful?
Our biggest achievement in terms of HR initiatives last year was a massive push within our holistic health and wellbeing programme ‘Havas Equalise’.
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Originally co-created with our employees as a way to best support them, as well as to stabilise the business following the business transformation, my team has built significantly on this.
Last year, we were able to offer nearly a thousand wellbeing interactions which resulted in a 14% uplift in employee retention for those employees that the programme touched.
The cherry on the top is our HKX Wellness Lounge which opens this month; a unique and dedicated space where employees can retreat to, unwind and recharge as and when needed.
We will run some of our wellbeing activity through the space and it will also be home to ‘Wellness Wednesdays’ where we will have an onsite Reiki Master and Meditation Teacher running hourly sessions throughout the day every Wednesday.
What HR-related projects are you working on this year/ what are you hoping to achieve this year?
We are in the final stages of completely revamping our recruitment approach at the moment – which is exciting. Over the course of 2018, we conducted an in-depth review to really understand our voice in the market and this project focuses on addressing our findings from that activity.
I’m conscious that our recruitment approach hasn’t effectively reflected our transformation journey, so I’m looking forward to showcasing our point of differentiation to the industry and wider market whilst highlighting the cultural DNA of our business.
