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When ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 invited Publicis Media to talk about smarter ways of working after the pandemic, the agency group offered two different perspectives.

First, Sue Frogley, UK chief executive, explains how she believes it is essential for the industry's new cohort of talent to lead the debate.

Then, Kristina Mocilenkova, insight manager at Publicis Media and a member of the company’s Next Generation board, reveals what younger staff want.

Sue Frogley: We need to involve young talent in decisions about future

For most of us in adland, and many other businesses beyond, the move to fully remote working last year was instantaneous and proved to be fairly successful. We adapted in lots of ways, embraced new tech and despite the added pressures at home for some, the wheels of our industry kept on turning. 

Yet the debate on how to return to the office continues to rumble on. Business leaders around the world are either celebrated or criticised in their various approaches. Some have been quick to herald a fully remote future, although in some cases a bit of U-turning seems to be going on. Some are encouraging a full five-day-week return, while others, like us, have gone for a more hybrid approach. 

But I’m not here to celebrate or criticise. The reality is there is no one-size-fits-all, and I’m certainly not here to suggest we know best, although I hope we’ve all learnt by now that flexibility is key, on a number of levels.  

What I have learnt, however, is that leaders have never needed fresh thinking on their boards more than we do right now. Businesses are under increasing pressure to remain relevant and retain talent, whilst navigating disruption, improving their market position and creating growth.   

Our decision three years ago to create a Next Generation Board – a collective of up-and-coming talent from right across our business – was driven by a desire to look at our own transformation and bridge the divide between current and future leaders. 

Our first board helped create a fresh, flexible way of working to coincide with moving over 2000 of us to our new offices in White City in 2019. They spent two months devising the plan, following research into new ways of working and staff surveys, which revealed an overwhelming 93% of employees backed the move towards greater flexibility. 

Fast-forward three years and our current board – now bigger and more diverse than ever – are taking that to a whole new level, making it fit for our future hybrid way of working. 

I don’t mind admitting that when they first presented their new plan to me and my team a month or so ago, I felt a bit uncomfortable and nervous that it might be a step too far. But I knew that if I felt completely comfortable with it, then it probably wasn’t progressive enough.  

That is the point of having these additional 16 seats around the table. Just as we need diversity of thought throughout our business for our clients, we also need the same at the very top to provide a new perspective on our own strategy.

In the case of our return to the office, together we’ve devised an approach to suit the varying needs across teams, as well as individuals, which is aligned with our Publicis Groupe UK Heads Up, Heads Down, Heads Together principles. It’s not a brand new approach, but an evolution of what we had before, with extended flexibility. 

The reality is that it’s been getting busier and buzzier over the past few weeks at our offices, and we’re reopening more floors in the building. That feels really, really good. 

What surprised me the most in this process is how many of our younger talent want to come back to the office. One of the main factors isn’t the uncomfortable home-working conditions or lack of social interaction, but to learn. Online learning may have filled some of the gaps but nothing can beat the pace of knowledge that comes from face-to-face interaction, mentoring and observing, especially for those new to our business or the industry. Learning on the job simply can’t be done as easily from home.

Kristina Mocilenkova: An insight into how the tough decisions are made

I was lucky enough to secure one of the 16 seats on Publicis Media’s Next Generation Board, as part of the 2020/21 cohort. In a year unlike any other, it has only added to the scale of the experience this programme delivers.  

As it turns out, being a leader is not smooth sailing on a good day, never mind during the first global pandemic in our lifetime. It has certainly given me an inside view of how much consideration goes into making executive decisions, particularly the tough ones. 

Our first brief was by no means trivial as we were challenged to help design the future ways of working model across the organisation. Much like the pandemic itself, from brief to response, it continuously evolved throughout the year. I know I can speak for the whole of our Board when I say it has taught me the level of agility required to run a business of this size and the complexity of decision-making within a matrix organisation.  

Part of the reason that our Next Gen Board exists is to help our leadership understand and hear as many different voices as possible, to keep learning, growing, and evolving along with the changing needs of its people always at its core. At times, it made for some interesting and enlightening discussions, but in the end, it feels like we have collectively achieved success. 

Aside from the various leadership development training that being on this programme provides, we are also offered two-way mentoring with each of our agency CEOs – this is our opportunity to ask the real questions and share our perspective on areas we feel need more focus from our leaders. Likewise, it gives us a chance to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes and the different challenges they face as leaders day to day. 

It has certainly been an eye-opening experience in many ways, to say the least, one which many of us will continue to reflect on and take with us into our future careers. Not only has it helped me understand how our business operates, but it has also given us all an opportunity to drive positive change for the future. It is opportunities like this that bring to light the variety of circumstances people across our business are faced with, to continue to make positive progress and ensure we are taking everyone with us.