Teamwork is at the core of business excellence, but achieving a true sense of teamwork takes more than thumbing through a few management textbooks and attending multiple seminars. At Ogilvy PR, the enemies of teamwork and success has historically been boredom and conflict. The agency fights both by making learning, training and exploration part of everyone’s everyday job.
“What’s important is that we come to the table with open minds, knowing that great ideas can come from any channel,” says Rachel Foltz Ufer, VP, external relations & business development, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. “While we might challenge an idea or build to make it better, a spirit of collaboration and partnership is at the heart of all we do. With clients seeking the most value from their agencies, it truly is incumbent upon us to get the most out of all the members of the team.”
Year after year, Ogilvy tweaks the core curriculum of its professional development program, RedEd. The program consists of weekly internal trainings directly related to the business of public relations. The program, which now includes social media training, has resulted in more than 750 employees in 20-plus cities worldwide who can now manage a crisis online, create an online conversation map and more.
Volunteerism is an essential element of the team building at Ogilvy. Announcement and calls for volunteers are often made at open-forum monthly staff meetings, via e-mail or posted to office bulletin boards.
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| Ogilvy PR hosted a diaper drive during the 2010 holiday season on behalf of Huggies' Every Little Bottom campaign to provide diapers to families in need. |