It’s July 2023 and it's been 3.5 years since I’ve been in the office all five days of the week. It’s hard to remember spending a Friday afternoon in the office. Now that the world has opened back up, what’s the back-to-office approach? Within the agency world, there are a wide-range of different approaches to how companies are re-entering office life --- some are fully remote, others take a hybrid approach, or are back in-person full-time . One thing is clear, there isn't a one size fits all solution.

Here at Kettle, we have our own spin on hybrid. I guess you could call it "semi-hybrid". Our approach is all about flexibility while prioritizing in-person moments when it really matters. For us that usually results in our teams coming together 1-2 times per week in our core cities of NYC, LA, SF, and Portland OR. Here in New York, we have a beautiful office space in 1 World Trade Center where we work closely with clients in person or collaborate together as a team. The concept of an office culture is different than it was pre-pandemic but it doesn't mean we feel less connected to each other.

Do we track people's swipes when they come to the office? > No.

Do we have the same amount of snacks in the office? > Not quite but close.

Are the views stunning at 1 WTC ? > Yes

Our approach is all about flexibility while prioritizing in-person moments when it really matters.

We find it's valuable to collaborate together but we're not requiring coming to the office if circumstances prevent it. That level of flexibility fits our key principles as an agency of being human-first and empathic. Working a few days a week from home has been particularly helpful as my wife just gave birth a few months ago to our second child (welcome Jude Leighton!). It's been invaluable to have the flexibility to be home for my family when needed. But I also love the energy of NYC and crave those in-person interactions with team members. It's a balance everyone needs to juggle which is why we don't make attendance mandatory.

We also realized our clients appreciate the same flexibility. In the past year we have seen a newly renewed energy toward collaboration in real life across nearly all of our active clients. We love having them over to our office for a workshop, presentations, or happy hour drinks. And our flexible working model also allows us the opportunity to work with clients all over the country easier than ever before.

A few notable Kettle + client IRL moments in the last six months:

• Workshops with our T-Mobile clients at their offices in Bellevue
• Planning sessions with our Nike clients in New York and Los Angeles
• Attending SXSW alongside our longstanding tech client partner
• Videoshoots for a fashion brand led by a major celebrity

These moments have not only bonded us closer with our clients, but they have made our work stronger. Our new projects are some of the best work that I've seen our team produce in my 10+ years at Kettle.

Our flexible working model also allows us the opportunity to work with clients all over the country easier than ever before.

Is Kettle's semi-hybrid model our permanent solution? It's impossible to predict. So much is constantly changing in our industry and we're constantly changing with it. All I know definitively is that, in July 2023, our current model is successful for our employees and clients alike.

What's working for your company or team? We would love to hear feedback and learn about how different companies approach their working models. And don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about how we work at Kettle. My email is [email protected] if you'd like to get in touch.