Ultimate Agency
Inspiring greatness by continuously striving to be the best not the biggest
This isn’t a statement which media and technology agency Ultimate takes lightly. Having navigated through recessions, pandemics and mergers, this Manchester based company has survived, and often thrived as a result of always putting its people at the heart of its evolution. So, it’s no surprise that Ultimate, a creative organisation with a focus on technical and digital innovation were early adopters of the Emotie platform.
Team members across the company are encouraged to use the Feedback Module to recognise contributions towards common goals, give praise for extra efforts together with any general feedback which can constructively help to improve an individual or company process. This simple tool for acknowledging a positive contribution towards success, has been widely praised by managers and staff alike as a simple, yet effective means of boosting morale and maintaining the culture of support and openness.
Simplifying team complexities
Indeed, simplicity is a common theme from the team when reporting back on their experience using Emotie. Because of the sector they operate in, Ultimate utilises multiple tech platforms and software systems for everything from scheduling projects, communication platforms, to research tools and job boards. It comes and goes, and is superseded by the next cutting edge idea, but with Emotie, it’s been embedded in the business for the long term (almost four years) and its success, as far as Ultimate is concerned, is all down to its simplicity.
Time pressures, tight deadlines, and packed production schedules are synonymous with working in a busy agency. Without the time efficiencies that Emotie so seamlessly enables, understanding how the team are feeling would be a greater challenge for managers. Team members “check in” bi-weekly, which takes no more than 10 minutes, with an emoji to represent how they are feeling in response to four questions. One of the questions asks “How are you feeling about the week ahead”, the response to this allows the manager, at a glance, to understand if their team member is coping with current work pressures, is inspired by their projects or is feeling overwhelmed. They can act immediately to overcome any issues.
“Emotie is a great method of capturing and celebrating a moment in time. From this you can benchmark, plan and progress. Together, we are working towards something bigger and better”
Senior Leadership Team
Understand how teams feel at any given time
The Senior Leadership Team are able to use Emotie as “a good spot check” to understand how their team are feeling at any given time. It gives a clear “of the moment” picture. And because agency life is as fast paced and ever changing, this is exactly what they need.
The phrase “open door culture” is obsolete in this new world of hybrid office and home working, but the principle behind the statement is embedded in the culture of Ultimate. From sharing ideas, research and inspiration, to breaking down a brief or dissecting client feedback, talking things out and learning from each other is just the way it’s done at Ultimate. And no pandemic was going to get in the way of that. One to one’s have always been an essential part of the HR tool kit at Ultimate. Where Emotie adds huge value is the focus that it gives to this time. Using Emotie ensures the one to one between manager and team member are entirely focused on that individual and not diverted into project talk, it allows for every moment of that time to be about progression and growth.
Focus on being the best
In a working environment surrounded by people focussed on being the best in their field, tracking personal progression is essential. The Big Intensions module of Emotie, allows team members to plan their professional development through setting a series of measurable and trackable big intentions. For Ultimate, these are reviewed every six months. Big Intentions are designed to focus on an individual's ability to improve, progress and develop.
For the managers, all the information, plans and objectives are all in one place. The personal
development plan of each member of their team is constantly moving along its progressive journey.
“Emotie is a great conversation starter. It hugely aids the preparation of 1-2-1’s. It removes anxiety as you know what the session is going to be about, you can mentally prepare for it.”
“Where Emotie can be really useful is the Big Intentions module. It can push someone to find that course that will aid their specific career progression. They become so much more accountable for their own development”
“My team are not about treading water. They are ambitious and want to see the plan for their career development. Yoomi is a great tool to enable this. Having all the information in one easy to access format allows us to focus on the development, not the paperwork”