Our hopes for 2022

As we settle into the New Year, we sat down with our MD, Richard Midgeley to talk about his hopes for 2022.

2021 was a frustrating year for everyone. Thinking we were coming out into the light again only to be wary of the numbers around COVID again has seen the business grow, both in terms of people and revenue but equally has also been a year where we could have grown quicker!

Our team have worked over and above to produce fantastic work and yet we still have at least 10 vacancies. Clients have put work on hold because they simply can’t get the raw materials to produce the products that we are helping them sell! We have all shown that we can be resilient and flexible in terms of how we work and we have had a few great social gatherings that hopefully reminded people that working in an agency can be good fun as well as hard work. Nobody wants old people like me to say it was great in the old days, cos actually it was great in 2019, never mind 2009.

And this is my hope for 2022. That we can take the benefits of working from home, less commuting, bit more relaxed time to concentrate on tasks in hand but also that we realise we are better together. Not just the usual “agency life is about bouncing ideas off each other” but more the little things we miss about being together. Helping young people and new people learn the little things about agency life, how best to speak to a client, how to get your work through creative, but also see the whites of their eyes and check they are ok.

I also think those of us that have a spare room to use as an office need to spare a thought for those that have flat shares and have to work at the kitchen table or on their bed. We also owe it to the millions of people that rely on office workers for their livelihood. They need us back in the cities at least part of the week.

My last hope for 2022 is that we start to think about our views and our opinions. We seem to have become very polarised in our thinking, whether it is Brexit, cancel culture, transgender issues, mental health and now vaccinations. There was a time (and now I am being old fashioned) when you could speak to someone who had different views and you didn’t have to fall out. You could even find common ground. Now it would appear that we have to be in one camp or the other. The best way to avoid this is to discuss it in person, in the same room. Preferably with a drink.

So my hope for 2022 is a bit of balance, work life balance, working from home balance, and a balanced approach to the arguments we are having. Not very dramatic, but a bit of balance will make it all a bit better.