Our Founder recently shared a letter to talent and brands that helped outline our latest trial. You can read the full letter below!
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When I started Parker almost 6 years ago, I had the goal in mind to do things differently. Not just in how we managed talent and worked with brands, but in how we treated our employees. I truly believe that the better you are to your employees, they will treat your business like their own. I have always wanted those people on our internal team at Parker and guess what, they are here.
One thing I see in our industry left and right is turnover and burnout. On our side of the industry, the repercussions of a manager leaving are high. It not only affects the internal team, but it has a huge effect on our talent and brand partners as well. At Parker, we have the lowest employee turnover I’ve seen in our industry. We have had only one employee leave since we started and even that was a mutual + loving decision we made together. It is unheard of.
With that said, as one of the leading management companies in our industry, I know our company sets an example. Parker has always been different. I have others often asking me: how do you do it? And I always put an emphasis on not just our team, but our genuine desire to encourage well-being with our talent and employees.
In an industry that has what feels like ZERO boundaries, I know that ultimately it is a choice. I see our team working late nights and weekends all the time. Our talent as well. The work doesn’t stop unless you make it stop. It is our choice to set these boundaries for ourselves in an effort to create a healthier, more sustainable career in this space.
Now to get to my main point : )
I’ve always been fascinated with the way other countries approach work. The polar opposite of us here in the US. They prioritize enjoyment and quality of life over money and work obsession. Here is the thing… I believe we can have it all. We can have both a great quality of life AND success. I don’t think we have to have one without the other. We can still work hard and dream big, but also slow down and LIVE.
This brings me to a 4-day work week (see clarity below!). I’ve researched this concept for a while and I don’t see one negative thing about it. My biggest question was: how can we do this in OUR particular industry? So, our team came up with a plan. We went through every pro and con we could think of and for each con, we had a solution.
I truly feel that it starts with us. We want to show others that this can be done, so for Q4 of this year, we will roll out a trial. We want this to work long-term, but we need to do it right and we need to ensure that no one feels a difference. It can’t disrupt our relationships with talent or communication with brands. It will also mean that on the days we are on, the expectations are going to be high.
QUICK FAQ’S FOR BRANDS + AGENCIES:
+ Parker will trial a 4-day work-week starting the week of October 3rd, with Friday being more of a “flex day.”
+ Will we be available for and checking in on urgent items and anything specifically going live on Fridays? Yes!
+ Will the rest of the week become more streamlined? Yes! Our goal is to provide our brands and agency partners as quick and organized responses as possible.
+ Will we get behind on things? No, you have our word! Our team understands what this means and wants to prove to everyone that we can be just as efficient (if not more efficient) with this setup.
+ This isn’t a permanent change, this is a trial to see if this works for our team, talent, and brands.
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I would love to hear from you! What questions do you have? Concerns? Excitement? Do you want to troubleshoot anything together?
Let’s be the change. Let’s enjoy a high quality of life AND all the success. Let’s make an impact!
