Creating Software and Culture at Your Agency with Zack Spear
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In this episode of Agency Journey, Andrew interviews Zack Spear from ICS Creative Agency in New Brunswick, Canada, about building his team and creating software.
Zack founded the company with his friend, Mike Capson, and it quickly became one of the fastest-growing agencies in their area.
Here are the main takeaways from the interview:
Foster and Build Your Agency Culture
Zack talks about the importance of hiring and creating a fun culture at your agency. ICS Creative Agency does that isn’t usually discussed by hiring a team of individuals who are good at multiple things rather than just finding an individual who is focused on only one thing. He says this gives them the flexibility to hire and scale the team as needed.
They are also slow to hire. ICS Creative Agency takes the time to sift out individuals applying who want to work there because they love the work and have fun marketing and working with clients. They don’t want to hire individuals who are just there to collect a paycheck and have the skill. This also means that they take a long time to hire. Rather than jumping at the first fancy resume only to see the individual isn’t a good fit or isn’t who they said they were and then six months dealing with the issue and hiring a new person all over again. They do test projects to gauge the fit and get a feel for the job applicant.
So much for ICS Creative Agency is about hiring a team with fun and matches the culture they want to foster and create. Or someone that will leave and is only there for the paycheck until a better opportunity comes along.
This approach has helped Zack and Mike build an agency he enjoys working at and spending time with people he likes.
Creating Software and Scratching Your Own Itch
With such a strong focus on culture, Zack and Mike started finding that at their size, despite doing well but not big enough for an HR department, they were finding that they wanted an easy way to track employee’s time off.
An affordable solution for employees to also see their pay stubs, days off remaining, etc. However, to make it more than just tracking employees, Zack wants to focus too on rewarding team members for jobs well done. He wants to reward outstanding work, celebrating employee birthdays, and more.
It is about building a relationship between owners and their teams.
Making the connection human and fostering a culture that individuals don’t want to leave. Having the ability to show appreciation for employees even in the hustle of day-to-day agency life.
Zack brings many insights about building a culture what to pay attention to to foster a community that individuals don’t want to leave. ICS Creative Agency’s focus on culture has helped grow them into a successful agency.
