Culture

March 2020. The phone call that changed everything.

"I'm sorry, but we're going to have to pause all projects indefinitely."

And then another. And another. Within 48 hours, we'd lost 60% of our business overnight. Covid had arrived with a brutal efficiency that left no room for the gradual adaptation most businesses pray for during challenging times.

In your busy day-to-day, it's easy to focus on deadlines, goals, and personal priorities. Yet one vital element can elevate both relationships and projects: empathy.

2024 has been a great year for Salad. One year further on in our journey of employee ownership, as a team we're celebrating a significant new hire and significant milestones.

I'm delighted to announce an exciting new addition to our team: Michelle Jamieson has joined us in the role of Head of Client Services at Salad, bringing us full circle in an extraordinary way.

Many businesses struggle to articulate their values. So, in choosing words with little meaning, or not enough meaning, you may be doing your organisation an operational disservice. In this blog, our Strategy & Creative Director, Harry, argues for values that are actually valuable, authentic and usable.

For over three years, Salad has been investing in quarterly Vision days, bringing the entire team together to discuss the agency’s direction and the bigger picture. Our Vision days are not a one-size-fits-all affair; each gathering is unique, tackling diverse topics and challenges that shape our collective journey.

As we mark the milestone of three years employee-owned, we reflect on our journey so far as a team, and how this transition has evolved life at Salad.

Since transitioning to employee ownership in 2021, we’ve been quietly (or not so quietly) on a journey to empower our team members and elevate our employer brand through personal brand building.

Earlier this month I read a statistic which stated that 98% of mothers want to return to work after having children, but 87% find it impossible to balance full-time work and childcare*. This really shocked me. In fact, it compelled me (a non-writer) to share my experience!

Neatly fitting into ten points, here’s a round up of my learnings as we pass our two and a half year anniversary of being employee owned.

I was recently invited to share my experience of Salad becoming employee owned with a team who are looking to start their EO journey. With plenty of interesting questions raised by this aspiring group, it felt like they might not be the only ones with these queries.

Changing our identity after some twenty years was a daunting exercise, but something we were ready for.

A little while ago, our founder and MD, Bella, shared her thoughts as an ex-owner as we transitioned into Employee Ownership. Now, the baton has been passed to me to share the view of this transition from the other (employee) side, and with the benefit of some hindsight.

What is it about the photography of your people that creates a powerful brand connection?

Our MD, Bella shares her thoughts on how becoming employee owned has impacted ways of working, our culture and how we’re working together as a team, more than ever, to shape our future.

Team bonding at its best: a brilliant Copenhagen jaunt to celebrate a year of being employee owned. We couldn’t have been more blessed with the weather and we’ve come back rewired, inspired, and full of gratitude for the brilliant few days spent together in one of the design capitals of the world 🇩🇰

Teamwork makes the dream work: we are proud to announce our move to employee ownership

We sat down Simon Coley, co-founder of Karma Cola, to find out more about the brand’s “good karma” ethos, iconic packaging and the origin of the famous cola taste.

To top off another fantastic year we escaped to the wintery Dorset countryside for a 1920s inspired Christmas Party, followed by a day of festive fun.

This year we reached the grand old age of 18. To celebrate our 'coming of age' we hosted a birthday bash in the studio and invited some fabulous people to party with us.

To celebrate the start of summer the team wandered over to Studland for a hearty pub lunch, an afternoon of beach games and a quick dip in the sea.

Sarah Brown, founder of Pai Skincare, discusses the significance of authenticity for the sensitive skin experts and their customers.

What better way to celebrate another year of teamwork than a night in one of the UK’s most picturesque cities.

Head of Marketing & Communications, Fleurie Forbes-Martin, has opened a satellite office in Soho as part of Salad's strategy to nurture and grow relationships.

Abigail Hayhoe, Head of Marketing and Communications for the world’s longest serving jeweller, shares the story of Garrard's devotion to craft.

With the sun shining brightly, the team took a trip to the Dancing Ledge in Swanage for a delicious picnic and a dip in the sea, followed by a cider at the Square & Compass.

Lizzie Bartholomew, marketing director at Peppersmith, explores the power of ambition and explains how it’s shaping the sugar free confectionery brand.

Katharine Schäfli, global head of brand at Clipper Race, tells us how ambition continues to play a pivotal role in the brand’s success.

Joe Benn, co-founder of the fruit-infused sparkling water brand, tells us how ambition is helping Ugly shake up the drinks industry.

For many companies, sending Christmas cards can feel like a chore. But for us, it’s a wonderful opportunity to embrace craftsmanship and produce something special for our clients, colleagues and friends.

Salad’s annual Christmas party is always a little more special than the average company do. And this year was no exception. On December 1st, our merry team took to the skies and travelled to the beautiful city of Madrid for a 3-day adventure.

Since founding Salad 16 years ago, I’ve watched our business grow from strength to strength. And after a prosperous 2017, we decided it was time to celebrate in style with a Christmas party to remember.

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of speaking about the next generation of digital talent at one of the UK’s longest running web developer conferences.

Making the most of the beautiful coastal sunshine, the team spent an afternoon across the water enjoying a picnic and a little beach-side exploring.

Following the completion of the Beautifully Effective mural in the studio this week, we thought we’d round up the latest snippets of Salad life at high speed.

We were very moved to welcome some of our oldest friends, colleagues and clients to the ‘ribbon-cutting’ of our new office space.

To celebrate the end to a busy year on the blog, we offer you Sophie’s most popular seasonal recipe. Yule love it.

For those not in the know, Salad are a collective of food lovers. This week, Fleurie explains why our foody rituals are about more than a full stomach.

After two long years of negotiations, work is underway on our much-needed office expansion. Just in-time for a significant new chapter in our story…

After all our hard work so far this year, and with some fresh, new recruits in tow, it was time for the Salad team to undertake their next outdoor adventure. This time we chose to take to the open water sea kayaking and foraging around Studland Bay.

The Salad studio is transformed into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory for an afternoon.

It’s my favourite time of year - the decorations are up, Christmas songs are playing on the radio and Christmas jumpers are out in full force. So it can only mean one thing… time to bake some Mince Pies!

Our work experience student, Max, reflects on his week here at Salad by exploring what he’s learnt and how it compared to school life.

Before the icy winter mornings officially arrive, I ventured out with the camera to capture why working by the sea helps ease the chilly morning wake-up.

Salad return to Digital Wave for the second year running to inspire a future generation of digital talent.

Following the launch of our new website, we have also updated how we communicate offline.

We take cake seriously.

Arabella Lewis-Smith is lined up to speak at this year’s Silicon Beach Fest digital conference in Santa Monica.