Like all marketing companies, we aspire to develop brands that make an impact. When we chose to re-brand in 2021, we wanted to make sure we left a lasting impression on our customers and potential customers, but also on our team. Led by the core value of ‘marketing actively’, ZOMA was born. Putting physical and mental wellness at the forefront of our business has been hugely successful for us. Research from the World Economic Forum found that employees in companies that support healthy habits are eight times more committed and three and a half times more creative and innovative. We have certainly found this to be true for our team members.
We have implemented a number of initiatives including weekly team workouts, availability of healthy snacks and meal plans and the adoption of comfortable, casual uniforms ensuring that all staff look and work smart when getting our creative juices flowing. All our efforts are paying off in terms of productivity, creativity and turnover, proving just how effective the right approach to wellbeing can be. We’re passionate about incorporating wellness into our lives and would recommend it for any business looking to improve work-life balance while still achieving optimum results.
1. Encourage Creativity
Since our rebrand to ZOMA in 2021, we have seen a massive 109% increase in turnover. This is largely due to the creative expression we encourage in our team. At ZOMA, we believe that everyone has a creative streak and we actively encourage our team to share ideas and develop new concepts without the fear of failure. Our sole focus isn’t just on creative expression, we encourage open discussions around workplace pressures and make sure to bounce ideas off each other in our communal workspace. Encouraging open discussion and expressing creativity has given our team the ability to turn ideas into actions and seek innovative solutions to complex problems.
2. Get Active
In addition to our on-site office gym, we have paired up with our active partner Fred's Functional Fitness who puts us through our paces weekly on Workout Wednesdays. We find workout Wednesdays the ideal opportunity to refresh and get our bodies moving. It also allows us to spend time as a team, motivating each other through some healthy competition. As our team grows, we are conscious that certain sessions may not suit everyone or that work and life commitments mean that not everyone can make every session. We encourage all of our staff to take time for physical activity that fits in with their own schedule. Whether it's a dip in the sea or a leisurely stroll, the choice is down to each team member. Fred is always on hand to offer fitness and nutritional advice for our team whatever their requirements.
3. Be Flexible
With 44% of people surveyed in Irish HR practices saying that the "always on" culture and screen time most affect their mental health, we strive to take time away from our laptops as often as we can. It’s the nature of our work that we spend a lot of time on our screens but where possible we encourage team members to take frequent breaks or adapt the working day to fit their lifestyle. We understand that this isn’t possible for all businesses but on most days it works for us. Like many companies during the pandemic, we craved a return to the normality of the office, but we’ve all adapted and seen the benefits of hybrid working. We definitely prefer team meetings face to face and we can’t say we miss the endless Google Meets but we do love having the option to work from anywhere and for our early birds or night owls the option to start a little earlier or in some cases later allows our team to produce their best work at the optimal time for them.
4. Create the Right Environment
Like our uniforms, we also aspire to have a comfortable office space that encourages productivity. We have a diverse team and we want to make sure our office reflects that. Whether you prefer rocking on a wobble stool, keeping your two feet firmly on the ground or changing it up at a sit/ stand desk, our office caters for all preferences. We’ve certainly found that having dynamic work spaces help our team perform better, particularly in terms of memory, focus and energy levels. With a 102% increase in productivity (measured by the number of projects we’ve undertaken) in the year since our rebrand, mixing up our workspace definitely works for us!
It’s called work-life balance for a reason and for us, promoting wellness isn’t just a 9 to 5 job. We strive to promote wellness for the ZOMA team in all aspects of their lives and we firmly believe that optimal workplace wellbeing will give employees the incentives, tools, strategies, and support to adopt and maintain healthy behaviours both in and out of the office. We were delighted to be recognised for our efforts in wellness as recipients of the SFA Workplace Wellbeing award in April of this year. We’re far from finished with our efforts and as our team grows so will our efforts to ensure that wellbeing continues to drive our creativity.