In this opinion piece, iProspect’s national MD Marcelle Hoyek, explains how the agency intentionally developed a culture to drive its overall plans.
I’ve been at iProspect for four and a half years now and joined just as we were finalising the integration of Vizeum.
It was November 2020 and we were just starting to come back into the office after COVID. And although there was a clear sense of change fatigue among our staff, the various teams didn’t know each other, and a lot of people were unsure if iProspect was the place for them, in many respects it was perfect timing.
Because this uncertainty and change offered a clean cultural slate upon which to build. An opportunity to design an agency culture from the ground up.
Fast forward to 2025 and we’re consistently being recognised for the strength of our culture, and so I wanted to share what we’ve learned and done along the way with you here. To pay it forward, as it were.
I pride myself on being a people-first leader. This means putting our people at the core of our decision-making process. The trifecta of people, clients and commercial have an intersection and are connected, but by putting people at the core you create stronger client relationships and better commercial outcomes. This has come to life in our business with a focus on clients that isn’t just good for the business’s bottom line, but also for our culture.
This way of thinking means that we focus on culture as the key ingredient to success. But ‘culture’ can mean everything and nothing at the same time, so we’re very clear about what we mean by culture. Our favoured definition is that culture means creating shared patterns of behaviour and thinking.
And we treat these shared patterns as a strategic advantage; a secret weapon that directly translates into the transformative work we deliver for our clients. Not just because of its impact on creating stable client teams [our churn figures are some of the lowest in the industry], but because it results in far greater levels of inter-discipline collaboration.
But I’ll let you into a secret. Creating this culture has been tough.
This has been a journey of over four years.
And there’s always more we can do and want to do in this space. When you put people at the centre, and if your ambition is to be the best you can be, you constantly have to flex and iterate. We never stop evolving.
So, in the spirit of collaboration and openness – some of the shared behaviours I mentioned above – I want to share a little bit about what we do. Not in a showy way [that’s not me] but because as a force for industry good, we want everyone to be the best they can be.
STEP 1: Empowerment.
Creating a safe environment for people to bring their whole selves to work in which feedback and ideas are encouraged from all levels of the business starts with listening, vulnerability and open communication.
This translates into creating forums for people to share thoughts, feelings, opinions. Embracing feedback and using it to inform our priorities and strategies moving forward.
STEP 2: Set a clear vision for the business
This acts as a north star for everyone in the business.
It keeps us focused and ensures we are channelling energy in the right areas. Do annual business planning that involves the entire agency. Do away days and assemble working groups that include people from all levels of the business. Hold each other accountable through regular all agency check-ins and we are clear upfront on what success looks like so we can celebrate milestones along the way.
STEP 3: Hire for cultural fit
This is imperative if you value culture.
It will determine who you say no to and who you will allow to come into your business. You can teach skill, but you can’t teach attitude and behaviour.
Being intentional about culture and fostering that culture through talent pays dividends – our retention is higher than industry average and people rarely leave us to go to another agency. Clients, who all value consistency on their account, will love you for it.
STEP 4: Develop an Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
This will really focus your people offering and crystallised culture. Developed it with your team and build it around your values.
In doing this, we defined our behaviours as a business, helping us to develop initiatives such as our Level Up Committee and Careers Day. It can also be invaluable in defining your onboarding & induction processes, as well as a raft of other initiatives that will form the bedrock of a sustainable and rich agency culture.
So, what does all this mean in terms of success metrics?
iProspect is a performance-led media agency after all.
Well, we’re one of the happiest agencies in Australia (measured via industry survey media-i), have consistently growing NPS and TRR scores and have been recognised by both Campaign Asia and AFR for the strength of our culture. And 2024 was one our strongest ever years for new business.
So, I urge agency leaders to set a clear vision for the agency, communicate it clearly and empower your team to deliver it, for a strong agency culture has been the fuel that has accelerated our growth as it could yours.
