Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do. Our company value “Connected” doesn’t just refer to having our fingers on the pulse for our clients, it refers to our close-knit teams all over the world. We have multi-market clients that are serviced across different locations, so collaboration is part of the day-to-day at Grayling. Our People team ensure there are fun employee engagement initiatives, such as team socials, wellbeing events and webinars, as well as regular, informative, two-way comms to make sure teams feel part of the wider Grayling network.
Our mission statement is To Create Advantage. It’s often said it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, but at Grayling we believe it’s both. We have the reach, influence and infrastructure of a global agency, but with the creativity, connections and cultural know-how of a boutique. It’s a powerful advantage. We know the global trends and the locals’ preferences. We are citizens of the world and the city’s residents. We are boots on the ground, wherever the crisis. We aren’t just there, we are a part of it. Globally. Nationally. Locally. We are Grayling. We create advantage.
Grayling’s value of curiosity crucially extends to fully understanding our employees. Our Employee Engagement Survey runs twice a year and responses are reported at Board level.
The honest feedback received leads to adapted processes. In the past year this has brought changes such as a designated D&I budget, increasing our external salary benchmarking to twice yearly and rolling out monthly new business workshops to showcase the key learnings from client pitches.
Our most recent Pulse Survey showed our employees felt their colleagues were supportive, the work environment was friendly and accepting and they also told how they felt part of a high-performing agency. Comments included that we have a great team spirit and collaborative ethos, adding our people were the biggest reason to work here.
Employees complete a PDP and everyone receives clear competencies by level, and recommended courses for individual development.
This helps define our internal training programme, Grayling Advantage Academy programme, which is closely linked to our appraisal process and competencies framework. Training sessions include various PR skills, personal development, digital, social and creative, plus leadership training, interview guidance and strategy, as well as DEI and mental health. We also host regular Lunch & Learns, featuring topics aimed at broadening horizons.
We measure training success with feedback surveys, sharing learnings with trainers.
All training is offered virtually and available to employees whatever their location. Workshops are designed to be easy to follow on-screen and recorded to allow flexible learning.
Our employees are CURIOUS about the world around them, people, brands, tomorrow’s trends; CONNECTED to our clients, their stakeholders, the media, influencers, culture, each other and COMMITTED to our work, delivering results, to making a difference, to creating advantage.
We connect to inspiring speakers and thought leadership experts to deliver regular lunch and learn workshops. Topics have included neurodiversity, ESG and wellbeing. Grayling Exchange encourages the spending of at least two days a year working from another office to understand different disciplines or expand knowledge in a different sector. We encourage staff to get involved with career masterclasses and coaching through our partnerships such as Inspiring the Future, Career Ready and the Taylor Bennett Foundation. We have a number of spot bonus schemes, such as Graysell, (new business bonus scheme), quarterly Grayling Gold Awards (for going above and beyond), Global Networker of The Month (for impressive prospecting), and several creative awards, such as The Suzy Brown Award – a £2000 bursary for self-development. We try to celebrate and reward our staff through gifts including drawing classes, Christmas food hampers, plants, stationery and snacks.
Our Global CEO has been at Grayling for over seven years. Our employees are naturally curious about the world around them and Sarah is no exception. Sarah models our committed value by being passionate about education, in particular raising awareness of communication careers and has been involved with Speakers for Schools to help inspire young people of all backgrounds. Sarah models our connected value by engaging with our teams and getting to know employees at all levels by hosting new starter breakfasts, presenting quarterly company updates, as well as being heavily involved with internal events, such as hosting a panel of internal speakers for International Women’s Day and running a Women In PR panel event to share her personal experiences.
All staff have access to a discretionary annual bonus, based on company performance, in addition to several spot bonus schemes, such as Graysell, (new business bonus scheme), quarterly Grayling Gold Awards (for going above and beyond), Global Networker of The Month (for impressive prospecting), and several creative awards, such as The Suzy Brown Award – a £2000 bursary for self-development.
• Unpaid sabbatical leave if with us for more than three years
• Integrated wellbeing programme with initiatives, webinars and gifts throughout the year based on our Eat. Move. Mind. &Sleep. programme – offering advice on nutrition, PT sessions, guided meditation and resources to aid better sleep. Gifts have included drawing classes, Christmas food hampers, plants, stationery and snacks
• Volunteering hours – 1-2 hours a month to support a charity or cause of the employee’s choosing, e.g. one is a mentor for The Girls Network (to inspire and empower girls from the least advantaged communities across the UK)
• Cycle to work scheme
• Season ticket loan
• EAP including eight counselling sessions
• Life insurance
• Free fruit
• Subsidised gym membership
• Long service awards
• Personal development grant award
• Bonus schemes
• PRCA membership including added benefits, such as discounts and training
• Tastecard scheme
Grayling is a PR and Public Affairs agency in 30 countries. We’re big, we’re small and we’re known for Creating Advantage for our clients. We are a team of publicists, planners, researchers, analysts, designers, creatives, consultants and producers. We create conversation, drive change and protect the reputation of our clients through creative communication.
We have the reach, influence and infrastructure of a global agency, with the creativity, connections and cultural knowhow of a boutique.
Globally. Nationally. Locally.
We are Grayling. We Create Advantage.
8th Floor, Holborn Gate
26 Southampton Buildings
London
Advertising/Marketing/Public Relations
Sarah Scholefield
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