Over the past few years at Alfred, we have focused on our culture as a key business activity, one that is core to driving our growth and ability to create great work. Like any other business in the space, we have a thought-through proposition (movements not moments), that in many ways reflects our cultural values and approach. However, we’ve only been able to deliver on this, through ingrained determination and grit to create bold ideas, driven by the team. There are many factors we needed to consider; one key element being creating the right environment for this to take place.

At the very beginning of Alfred, we always set out to be a great place to work, however, you are often focused on the immediate requirement to deliver work, pitches and revenue, which can often result in a lack of attention to the “culture” you are creating within a business. While there is always a balance, this is an oversight that can damage the potential of any ambitious business. Being a consultancy that was started the old-fashioned way (you know, without backing or investment from a group… instead it was simply a client and a touch of unjustified self-belief), we have always been commercially astute.

That said, this didn’t mean we needed to create a factory or a place that put profit over people. Instead, our view is that people create profit. While year on year, we optimise what we do and ensure that the business grows efficiently, we’ve continued to up our focus on the culture we create. Without this, we can’t do great work, keep great people and create the movements we have promised to deliver.

We’ve focused resource and dedicated capital to building our culture, we run ongoing audits and we’ve created a set of initiatives that are designed to inspire us all. From Take Tuesday (our weekly WFH or somewhere inspired programme), and Culture Currency (our monthly fund to visit an exhibition or event), to the newly launched TEN Talks (team presentation on a subject that shares collective insight) and Your Movement (time and resource to learn something new) – we’re really proud of the place we have created.

We have also ensured to create a culture of support and development, we want our team to grow as individuals and to create an impact for the business and for themselves. We know that in order to grow and to help our team progress there needs to be a structure in place to support and encourage ambition. At Alfred we have created an environment where everyone can leave their mark and this is supported through training programmes, career planning, and a culture of direct constructive feedback.

This is why, we continue to create better work for our clients, grow revenues double digital percentages year on year, and develop ideas that stand out from the norm.