Each Hill+Knowlton Strategies office has its own atmosphere (largely dependent on the city it’s in), but across the board H+K is collaborative, entrepreneurial and innovative—with plenty of irreverence, karaoke and beer carts thrown in for good measure.
In late 2014 H+K rolled out (and in 2015 to 2016 made expansions to) H+K Inside and H+K Outside: A set of policy commitments support employees both inside and outside of work.
The Inside policies focus on training, mentoring, office exploration opportunities and recognizing strong performance. The newest Inside offering is called H+K Kickstart, a program designed to provide tailored training, feedback and opportunities to junior staff as they launch their careers.
The Outside policies include a monthly fitness reimbursement for gym memberships, yoga classes and fitness equipment, as well as an expanded holiday calendar with offices closing at noon the day before big holidays and time off for birthdays.
However, the most notable element of the Outside policies is the Outside: Kids policy. The CEO has a stated goal of making H+K the best place in the industry for working parents. At the center of this commitment is an industry-leading parental leave policy that gives 16 fully paid weeks of leave for birth moms and 10 weeks for all parents—dads, partners and adoptive parents—with none of that time coming out of sick leave or vacation time.
These commitments have resulted in an incredible increase in employee retention, and in H+K receiving the prestigious 2016 WorldatWork Work-Life Seal of Distinction.