Thank you:
A big thank you to Annabel Dunstan of Q&R for presenting the findings, and to our brilliant panellists from Alliance member agencies (Gemma Longfellow of Open Partners, Emma Beagrie of C21 Creative Communications & Nicola Christie of Umbrella).
With feedback from 855 employees across 61 independent agencies, our 3 times a year pulse provided a valuable snapshot of how people are feeling across the sector. Encouragingly, this wave saw record highs in agency pride, trust and respect, alongside continued improvements in wellbeing and mental health support, demonstrating that many agencies are making meaningful progress by listening to their people and acting on feedback.
Alongside the data, our panel of agency leaders from Umbrella, C21 Creative Communications and Open Partners shared honest insights into the practical steps helping them build strong cultures. A common theme emerged throughout the discussion: there is no single silver bullet. Consistently listening to employees, communicating openly, recognising great work, investing in wellbeing and taking action on feedback all contribute to creating cultures where people want to stay and perform at their best.
Key Takeaways
- 📈 Agency culture continues to improve: with record-high scores for agency pride and trust, while wellbeing indicators continue to move in the right direction.
- 👂 Listening is only the first step: agencies seeing the strongest results are regularly acting on employee feedback, not just collecting it.
- 💬 Communication matters most during challenging times: Transparency from leadership builds trust and confidence, particularly when agencies face commercial pressure.
- 🙌 Recognition doesn’t need to be expensive: Small, consistent acts of appreciation and peer recognition often have the biggest impact on engagement.
- 🎯 Define what good performance looks like: Clear expectations, regular one-to-ones, consistent feedback and transparent career progression help employees understand how to succeed.
- 🌱 Learning only works if people have time to learn: Ring-fencing development time remains one of the biggest opportunities for agencies.
- 🤝 Collaboration is about people as much as process: Tools alone aren’t enough, leadership behaviours, psychological safety and cross-team communication remain essential as agencies grow.
- ❤️ Wellbeing is becoming embedded: Mental health scores reached their strongest level yet, with agencies increasingly investing in mental health first aiders, buddy systems and supportive leadership.
Key Takeaways from our Panel:
Create culture through consistent, everyday behaviours and not one-off initiatives.
Great agency culture is built through trust, reinforced by everyday actions, and sustained by listening and continuous improvement.”
Annabel Dunstan
Founder & CEO | Question & Retain
Fantastic to see neurodiversity being celebrated and welcomed in agencies scoring highest in DEI in the survey – this is a big step up in the industry. And, there’s lots more to work on, so let’s keep going!”
Gemma Longfellow
Chief People Officer | Open Partners
Even if your results are strong don’t become complacent or think one size fit’s all. Every employee has different aspirations and needs. Also, there are always things to learn from other agencies so its well worth a hour of your time to join these sessions! “
Nicola Christie
Managing Director | Umbrella
The mental health aspect was interesting to me – I think it identified that we probably don’t signpost enough what support is available. “
Emma Beagrie
Managing Director
C21 Creative Communications
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