Insights

The many reasons why converting new employees into long term employees is such a good idea

Written by Natalie Betts 01 December 2021
LONG TERM RELISH EMPLOYEES VS NEW RELISH EMPLOYEES

These days it is becoming more and more unheard of to find businesses whose employees remain within the same company for long periods of time. With many competitive companies promising pay rises, remote working, positive work cultures and challenging work, many people don’t mind jumping from job to job. Which is why it is always so important to firstly, hire right and work on keeping employee’s content.

There are many reasons why converting new employees into long term employees is such a good idea. Here are just a few examples we can think of:

It saves money! That’s right, just think about how much is spent on employment packages, admin, hiring, advertising, onboarding, and training. Employee turnover costs businesses money.

Relationship Building: Most clients do not like change. Clients build trust with you over time which always leads to better delivery of services and more efficient working.

Stability: We believe that by creating a stable, healthy working environment amongst the team proves to our clients and prospects that we can grow and withstand the test of time.

Long term employee’s knowledge: They know their stuff. Not only does it help keep the business continuity, but it also helps when hiring new employees to pass knowledge on. Avoiding mistakes which could cost businesses a lot of money.

We decided to get a conversation going between some of our newest and longest serving Relish employees. Here’s what they have to say…

Alex & Jo have collectively been with Relish for 24 years.

Molly and Evie joined just a few months ago.

Molly: What is your advice for surviving your first year at Relish?

 Jo: Try and soak up as much info as possible and have chats with different team members to increase your knowledge and to get to know everyone. Lastly – be bold and go for it!

Alex: Be confident and chat to as many people as you can. Also, always throw your hat into the ring!

Jo: What attracted you to work for Relish, compared to other employers?

Evie: I had a little snoop around Relish’s website and socials and it just looked like the whole team genuinely loved working here. When I first met the Cameron and Cerhys I definitely had my fingers crossed that Relish was as amazing as they made it seem. Luckily, I haven’t been disappointed – it really is the best team of people and I’ve learnt so much in my first few months here.

Molly: I’m actually a 2019 Relish reject! I applied for a position in 2019 back after returning from working in Ibiza. I didn’t have much account management experience so unfortunately didn’t get the job. However, I remember walking into the office for my interview, seeing the ASOS calendars on show and then as soon as I met Cam and Laura, I was like I HAVE TO WORK HERE. The Relish culture sounded like an amazing place to work, and they worked with my most favourite brands. So, naturally I was gutted when I didn’t get in the first time round. I was determined to get a second chance. I went out, got the experience I needed, saw the position come up again in 2021 online and cheekily emailed both Cam and Laura and asked for another go. I was so happy when I got it the second time round! Taught me to never give up, keep on trying kids!

Evie: What are the 3 top things that have kept you at Relish for so long?

Alex: I genuinely could write ‘the people’ for 1, 2 and 3. Since I joined the EM team of just Nats and Jonny in 2015, it’s been the same, and it sounds cliché, but it’s a proper family. On multiple occasions I’ve socialised with people from work outside of work and I believe that’s the same for everyone. It’s just the culture that Relish has that makes it an enjoyable place: the flexibility, work hard/play hard balance, socials, our client/supplier relationships and general comradery. Everyone has down days and negatives, but the grass would have to be pretty damn green to move on from Relish. After all, I’ve spent 25% of my life here!

Jo: Varied, busy and challenging work. I’m never bored! Team Relish! I have made genuine, lovely friends over the past 100 years I’ve been here, the culture. Relish is a fun company to work for. It’s hard work but rewarding, and our leaders promote a healthy work/life balance which I appreciate.

Jo: What was it like joining Relish during a pandemic where everyone is working from home?

Evie: Being able to learn the ropes without having to worry about a long commute everyday has made things a lot easier. I was initially worried it might be lonely working from home so much, but everyone is so quick to jump on a call to catch up and check in you never feel like you’re stuck figuring out a problem on your own.

Molly: Meeting everyone for the first time online felt a bit weird. Then, what made it even weirder was when we all went into office once and I was seeing faces for the first time that id only seen through my laptop! It was like meeting someone famous. I remember getting out of the car and bumping into Alex and being like “OMG YOU’RE A REAL PERSON”

Molly: What is your favourite campaign you’ve worked on during your time at the agency?

Alex: Oooooooh. Aside from the calendars, which I am incredibly proud of year on year, it has to be the Raffaello ‘Coconut Catcher’ campaign. We had a great relationship with the team at Ferrero (shoutout to Jess and Viktor if they’re reading this) and ran multiple campaigns, but this one sticks out, we came up with something completely new, ran it in-stores, and ended up winning an award!

Jo: Volvic and Smirnoff/Fever Tree initially came to mind, but for me it has to be Pepsi Max. Working with Cam over the past few years, helping the brand grow and develop its marketing campaigns and achieve success has been hard work but brilliant!

Alex: What was your knowledge of sampling prior to starting your role at Relish?

Evie: I really didn’t know much at all other than how it feels as a consumer to receive a surprise sample! It’s something that always made my day, so I loved the idea of being part of that experience. I’m now so passionate about the importance of sampling, particularly for newer, disruptive brands. It’s an amazing opportunity to trial, get feedback from products and create a buzz around a new product launch.

Molly: I am the biggest champion for sampling, I absolutely love it. I remember being a student and getting lots of free samples at student fairs, it felt like Christmas! And still to this day I use some of the brands that I was given there. Once I received Galaxy hot chocolate in one of my online orders, I will never buy another as I just have the best memory’s receiving it on a cold wet day and before I even tried on my clothes that id ordered I made a hot chocolate. Free hot chocolate to my door AMAZING! A memory I won’t forget.

Evie: Where do you think relish will be in 5 years’ time?

Alex: Two words: World domination. *Insert pinky and the brain gif here*

Jo: I hope Relish will retain its amazing culture, and be bigger, better, and maybe even Worldwide!

Jo: How did your expectation of working for Relish compare to how you perceive it now?

Molly: It sounds cringy but honestly even better than I imagined. I don’t ever get that Sunday evening terror where I’m dreading work. I literally look forward to the week ahead. Every day is different and everyday you get the pleasure of speaking to brand managers for massive companies. Not to forget the people at relish are amazing. All so easy to get on with, always wanting to help and constantly there as support and guidance. The management team as well o maaaa gwadddd. I have the best manager ever.

Evie: I had heard a lot of horror stories about people’s first job not living up to expectations, so I was prepared for disappointment if I’m completely honest! I didn’t think you could stumble into your dream job straight out of university, but it turns out sometimes you can get very very lucky. Once I joined, I had about a month experiencing Relish pre-Whistl acquisition and then we moved over to a new office. So, a lot has changed even in the short time I’ve been here, but its only made it clearer what’s important to the agency and what makes Relish, Relish!

Molly: Where do you see sampling in 10 years time?

Jo: I see it continuing to grow as it has done over the past few years, however I think sampling will develop and evolve into an even more targeted marketing solution, because this is what brands want more and more. Sadly, I see more decline in retail, however for online sampling opportunities it can only continue to be successful.

Alex: Far more targeted, but, in a similar place. We’ve been running in-order sampling successfully for almost 10 years now and if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it! I think sampling will always be a key part of a brands marketing model as consumers love to try before they buy, and so Relish will need to adapt to ensure we are relevant, but I believe sampling will stay the same.

Alex: What do YOU think has changed at Relish over the past few years, from the start of the company to now?

Molly: I know the team only started with Nats then Jonny and that the team keeps growing. So, I feel like Relish’s biggest change is that it just keeps getting bigger and bigger! Now that Whisl has acquired us and Jonny, Nats and Laura are leading us all, I think we will only grow more!

Evie: I think the most obvious thing is the growth! Each new person that joined seemed to bring their own ideas which have expanded into more defined roles whether that’s Cerhys with RRG or Beth with Try Love Buy. It seems like Relish has grown so much and not just with its number of employees.

Molly: Just for fun, who is your favourite person to work with in Relish?

Alex: If I don’t answer Olivia there’s going to be uproar! Seriously, I would HAPPILY work on a campaign with every single person at Relish, and each time it is different based on who it is.

Jo: I love the girls in the CS team hugely. But if I have to choose, I’ll base my choice on working with colleagues on campaigns, so it’s a toss-up between Dick and Dom aka Cam and Cerhys.

Having a healthy mixture of long serving and brand-new employees is every employer’s holy grail.  It is very much a leader’s role to help keep long term-members of staff engaged and enthused, but there is nothing like the energy new people bring to their role.  The dream is to partner this new energy with the experience, knowledge and security that more established members of the team offer; when it is partnered it resonates around the whole business.  Ultimately, this coupling of skills leads to a better customer journey and better business strategies and job satisfaction.

My advice as an employer is to A) treat everyone with the same value, but not necessarily the same way. Veterans may want space to be heard and want to see some of their suggestions either implemented or explained. New recruits need proper time to bed in, the more time and attention you offer in their first months will pay dividends in their confidence and competence.

Speak to Relish about your next campaign

Get updates, news and insight from Relish sent straight to your inbox

    Got a question?