A Culture of Resilience
We are honored to be recognized by PRoVoke Media as one of the “Best Agencies to Work For.”
As the world welcomed a new decade, 2020 turned out to be a year like no other. From the COVID-19 pandemic and intensifying political division, the widening social and tech inequalities to the growing economic and climate crisis – life’s pivots from this past year have become the “new normal.”
At H&S we believe a healthy company culture is as important as a healthy balance sheet. Over the past six years we have focused on building a culture of resilience. Our scrappy, adaptable and agile approach – coupled with a talented and diverse community of employees, represented by varied ethnicities, races, genders, abilities, educational backgrounds, beliefs and perspectives – enabled us to not only retain and unify employees, but concept and execute award-winning programs for clients. By putting diversity and inclusion at the top of the list of priorities, H&S is committed to showing up differently.
Aside from a flexible work environment, generous benefits package, 401K match and employee assistance programs; here are some key elements that have helped to build our resilient workplace culture:
Open and Diverse Leadership: comprised of 70% senior diverse staff (directors and above) we have honest, open floor discussions with all employees and take meaningful action.
Modernizing DE&I and Cultural Transformation: partnered with Reframe, a People Leaders enterprise software company, to help organizations build the most inclusive employee and customer experiences.
Culture Council: in response to the new iteration of racial and social justice movements that rose across the country, H&S developed a platform and safe space for employees to voice their opinions, concerns , share personal stories and resources in an effort to build allyship, strengthen our community and help drive systemic change.
Coffee Break Series: a monthly culture and trends discussion, hosted by H&S employees, featuring some of the nation’s notable thought leaders across lifestyle, fashion, travel, consumer and spirits industries.
PENCIL Partnership: with 1.1 million students enrolled in NYC public schools, home to the largest school system in the country, H&S transitioned its mentorship partnership online moderating leadership and work-readiness workshops; and helping to raise funds during its annual “Giving Tuesday Now” initiative.]
Employee Well Being: Honoring Mental Health Awareness Month by implanting small actions to help strike a better work-life balance, including a company sponsored holiday, “H&S Mental Health Day”, observed the fourth Friday of May, encouraging all employees to unplug and recharge.
Emancipation Day: in commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, H&S has made Juneteeth an official company holiday.
Work from Home Stipend: provide all full-time employees a monthly stipend to help offset the rising technology costs incurred while working from home.
Celebrating “Agency Off Duty”: Our Culture Club, a volunteer committee comprised of staff members from across the agency who regularly plan and execute cultural activations, both live and remote, that include seasonal happy hours, holiday events (Ugly Christmas Sweater Competition anyone?), smart acts of gratitude – monthly Kudos celebrations, promoting exchanges of ideas and passion for literature via our monthly Book Club, and a CEO-appointed agency MVP who receives the coveted H&S “Varsity Jacket”.
Year End Bonuses: despite the economic downturn faced by the COVID-19 pandemic, H&S gifted each of its full-time employees, a year-end bonus as a token of gratitude for all their hard work and perseverance during an unsettling year.
The agency’s thoughtful investment in time, resources, money and efforts outlined in the areas above, enabled H&S to forge stronger relationships with its employees, express its gratitude and appreciation, improve employee experiences and continue building a healthy and resilient company culture.
We are proud to celebrate these and many other aspects of our culture. We are thrilled that PRovoke has recognized the work we put into making H&S a great place to work!