Reasons to love working at Foolproof
When you spend nearly a third of your day at work it’s important that where you’re working is a friendly and welcoming place.
Whether it’s the down to earth culture, the way company operations run, the people who sit next to you and whether or not they grab you a cup of tea, or simply what your daily task list looks like it’s important that you enjoy going to work every day – otherwise, what’s the point? We took to the slack forum and asked the team here at Foolproof to find out what they love most about working here. We’re proud to say that we received a variety of responses from people business-wide, across all of our offices. We had people respond regardless of their role, tenure at the company, level of seniority, or location. A collection of our favourite responses from the Foolproof folk that contributed their thoughts and feelings on their working life here at Foolproof are below, as well as a short video with some of our favourites.
Career development and welfare
In the past we’ve written about how working at an agency can provide more opportunity for career growth. At Foolproof we have an almost unlimited training budget to help our team grow, but it’s more than that – we proactively want to help our team learn new skills and progress in their careers.
Consultant Jennifer Rockman noted:
At Foolproof I feel like the management cares about my career and welfare.
Consultant Ana Crespo also emphasised the scope for professional development at Foolproof:
There are great opportunities for career development. Not only through work assignments, but also through mentoring and specific training.
A real welcome
Starting a new job can be daunting. At Foolproof we want people to feel part of the team instantly so we have an onboarding process that encourages getting to know everyone early. Not only will you meet with the heads of each department within the first week, but you’ll have the opportunity to meet everyone during our weekly cake-Friday and team meeting. New starters are also paired up with a buddy to show them around and introduce them to other people in the company.
Our newly joined Resourcing Coordinator said this about her time here so far:
I’ve only been here a few weeks, but I love that people go out of their way to make me feel welcome here.
Farhana Khatun - who has recently joined our Front of House team as an Office Assistant - added:
The working atmosphere blends effortlessly – everyone is incredibly welcoming and more than happy to help you get started.
A picture-perfect office
We recently moved to our new home on Folgate Street where there are plenty of lunchtime food options alongside Spitalfields market to explore. Our new home is bespoke, designed to meet our needs. It’s spread out over three floors and supports collaborative working with various breakout seating and standing areas. Having such a great space we’ve started partnering with local groups to hold industry events, helping bring the UX community together.
Harpal Awan, our Facilities and Fieldwork Manager had this to say about our new space:
We have an amazing new office, I was a part of the decision-making process – which made me feel valued.
Work/life balance
With project deadlines looming and demanding clients on the phone agency life can sometimes put pressure on people to give up family and personal commitments. At Foolproof, we help people maintain a work-life balance by encouraging flexible working, from the hours that people work to where people work.
As James Reeve who is Creative Director noted:
Foolproof values the importance of family and personal commitments and trusts people to work in the best way that suits them.
Programme Director, Jonathan McElhatton also drew on the work/life balance that Foolproof prides itself on maintaining:
I do better work when I am rested and have the time to enjoy my personal life, I wake up wanting to go to work!
Transparency
Many larger organisations lack transparency regarding business dealings, successes and failures. We pride ourselves on maintaining transparency business-wide whether that’s across our engagements with clients or internal business shifts.
In his top reasons to love Foolproof James Reeve said that:
Foolproof is open and transparent about process, financials and overall business performance.
At our weekly team meeting, we celebrate our wins and share what projects people are working on. Our showcase slack channel lets teams show off some of the brilliant work we do here.
Culture
At Foolproof we work smart and play hard. We invest heavily in building up and maintaining our culture, this ensures greater cohesion across the business which makes for better work for our clients and their customers. Our quarterly company away days (Holy Flow Days) and annual team trip are testaments to the importance of being part of a team.
Ziqq Rafit, a designer in our Singapore office who participated in the EDB STRAT programme had this to say about our culture:
Foolproof knows how to have fun! We have quarterly Holy Flow Days and our annual Team Trip overseas where you get to chill by a beach with your colleagues, sing your hearts out during karaoke and are essentially paid to have a good time with your co-workers.
Our annual beach trip Holy Flow Day from 2017 is a testament to the Foolproof family feel:
Foolproof folk
We call each other Foolproofers, not because we bleed green, but because we’re all part of the same team working towards a common goal. But our team can say this better than anyone:
Head of Strategy, Phil Morton, said what he loved about the working environment here at Foolproof:
The fun, family atmosphere. People ask each other "how are you?" not out of politeness but because they actually care.
In a similar vein, Jonathan McElhatton added that he loved:
The people – everyone is themselves, the person you see at work is the person you see socially, everyone is authentic, which means your colleagues really become your friends.
Ana Crespo had this to add about life at Foolproof:
It’s a great place for women to work. I keep hearing horror stories about women in tech, so I feel happy and lucky to work in a company like Foolproof. I like that there’s brilliant women in managerial and senior roles, I think that has a very positive impact to company culture - for all genders!
As did Ziqq Rafit:
Being a business that is all about people-centricity it only makes sense that this happens right at home in the office. At Foolproof you will feel welcome and you’ll get along with any Foolproofer almost instantly.
Farhana Khatun summed up all this perfectly in saying that:
Foolproof is filled with smart, quirky and colourful people that lessen the dullness that office life sometimes vomits out. The talented people that work for Foolproof are what make it such an engaging and dynamic environment to work in.
It’s clear there’s a lot to love about working here at Foolproof. You only have to spend a few minutes in any one of our offices to see for yourself how we interact and engage with each other. If this sounds like a place you want to be a part of we’re always on the lookout for like-minded individuals to join our team.
You can get in touch with us today via careers@foolproof.co.uk.
See our current opportunities on our careers page while our people can be found on our team page.
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