Marketing agency Troika has formed a Happiness Committee to keep its 45 staffers enthusiastic about coming to work.
Throwing office parties and costume contests are just some of the ways the Mid-Wilshire company raises morale.
Maya Imberman, who goes by the unique title of director of human development, said the process is more rigorous than simply saying, “If we have a party, everything will be better.”
Chief Executive Dan Pappalardo hired Imberman just over a year ago to manage HR duties with an eye at boosting creative potential among employees. Imberman’s first undertaking was to ask employees what they hoped to improve in the company. From that exercise, a dozen volunteers came together to brainstorm ideas and strategies. They dubbed themselves the Happiness Committee.
Imberman, who has a Ph.D. in industrial-organizational psychology and teaches strategic human resource management at the California School of Professional Psychology, leads the group. Every couple of weeks, they discuss office-life improvements that are decidedly less glamorous than party planning – such as installing a clock in the conference room.
“Something as simple as having a clock changes people looking down at their phones every five minutes,” said Pappalardo, turning to Imberman to ask, “Should I attribute that to you?”
“It came up in the committee,” she replied.
The committee has also developed a system for running efficient meetings, guided by a specific vocabulary. If employees need to borrow someone occupied in a different meeting, they ask: “Can I hijack this person?” in order to eliminate any awkwardness from stepping in and out.
“Happiness” is hard to measure, of course. Pappalardo said he listens for sounds of laughter. But other indicators have been more obvious. For example, one producer decided to stay with the company even after he felt his career aspirations starting to shift.
Imberman, using what she calls a “job grid,” showed the producer various roles within each department, outlining the skills needed to get from one position to the next. The employee – a Happiness Committee member – then realized he had opportunities to achieve his new goals.
But even for employees on straighter career paths, Imberman aims to illustrate how their responsibilities will help them transition into more senior roles.
“It ends up creating happiness by giving employees a clearer road map,” said Pappalardo. “It gives people a feeling they want to stay here a long time, because they know they can grow and develop.”
Sweet Memories
Donald Trump, Caitlyn Jenner and the pope might never wind up sitting side by side. But they are sharing close quarters in a box of decorative sugar cookies meant to showcase some of the year’s buzziest moments.
The goodies come courtesy of Culver City ad agency Pitch, which dreams up 20 whimsical designs every year to get clients and friends playfully testing their pop-culture knowledge.
One cookie bears Trump’s face with the tagline: “The political apprentice.” Another puts Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover portrait alongside the red logo for Wheaties, the cereal she endorsed when she was athlete Bruce Jenner. A third cookie depicts Pope Francis cruising past the White House in his black Fiat. A pink hoverboard makes the cut, too, as well as the Brian Williams fiasco.
Some images are sadder and subtler. The image of a blue car driving solo is a tribute to the “Fast and the Furious” actor Paul Walker who died in a car crash. All the designs can be seen on Pitch’s website.
Pitch President Rachel Spiegelman mails out as many as 150 cookie boxes each year, a tradition that began in 2007. Her design team brainstorms 40 concepts before “duking it out” to decide the top 20.
“As an advertising agency steeped in pop culture, we thought it would be fun to create a holiday gift that curated and satirized the best from that year,” said Spiegelman in an email. “Our clients and friends harass us (in the best possible way) every day after Thanksgiving until they get their set.”
Agencies & Accounts
West L.A.’s Murphy O’Brien Public Relations is taking on several travel-related accounts: the Arizona Biltmore, a Waldorf Astoria Resort in Phoenix; the Ventana Inn in Big Sur; and the Pullman Miami Airport in Miami. … MLC PR, which has offices in New York and Los Angeles, has created Conscious Living PR, a subsidiary that will be based in Los Angeles.
Staff reporter Daina Beth Solomon can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5262, ext. 263.
