1. Commit from the top.

Company culture comes from the top, so leaders must make a real commitment to taking action and driving representation and inclusivity at all times. To foster a really strong culture, leaders need to create constant and consistent messaging about the company’s values so that employees can understand and live by them. You can’t see this as just a task for HR. We’re talking about commercial success, creativity, innovation, and recruiting and retaining the very best talent.

At Anomaly, we hold ourselves accountable with specific and measurable commitments to improve diverse representation of all types at all levels, and track and report our employee diversity data.

Crucially, we partner with external organizations with the expertise and networks to help us recruit, such as ADCOLOR, Creative Equals, the Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP), Creative Access and Women in Innovation (WIN). We’re already seeing progress. Around 47% of the people we hired last year in the USA were Black, indigenous or people of color (BIPOC).

2. Be aware of bias and find your blind spots.

While culture comes from the top, diversity—and more importantly, inclusion—is a task for everyone. We all need to do the work to self-educate. Companies also need to provide the right environment for everyone to feel appreciated. Running unconscious bias and sexual harassment training programs doesn’t equal “job done” – they are hygiene factors. You need to create an open culture where people can feel comfortable enough to be themselves, as well as recognize their own biases and blind spots.

Above all else, you have to recognize that if you do not intentionally include, you will unintentionally exclude.

This is so much bigger than just creating a diverse talent pool—it’s about recognizing the power that comes from working without biases. When people come together with different perspectives, magic happens.

3. Create a culture of collaboration and cultivate curiosity.

At Anomaly, we have built a highly collaborative culture. It’s not about your sex, race, age, background—it’s about how good you are.

Our internal ways of working—our own “operating system”—is built for collaboration, with no department being the central powerbase and without hierarchy of discipline or skillset. Creating a culture of inclusion will ensure that people feel valued, otherwise they won’t stick around. And in order to unlock high performance and true creativity, it’s essential for people to feel confident that they can be themselves at work.

We do a lot to celebrate the differences among our own employees. We’ve made an internal commitment to ongoing programs designed to create trust and empathy, and drive wider cultural appreciation. We have internal teams dedicated to shifting the narrative and spotlighting societal issues, as well as celebrating different communities.

Whether it’s by hosting musical talent, keynotes panels, Q&A sessions, storytelling slams or art shows, our cultural programs are designed to educate and inspire everyone at Anomaly, as well as help ensure that under-represented groups reach their full potential.

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