Canvas Worldwide listened to employees when it created a back-to-office plan

Kindness, communication and flexibility are among the attributes Paul Woolmington keeps top of mind for fostering a happy and productive workplace. The CEO of media agency Canvas Worldwide holds regular meetings with employees at all levels and takes pride in his honesty with staff even in the face of hard questions. “I’ve never had to plead the Fifth,” Woolmington said. Ad Age Best Places to Work 2024 50 companies doing a standout job See the full list here Canvas ranked No. 4 in Ad Age Best Places to Work 2024 and top in the western region for companies with more than 200 employees. “I’m not going to use the word transparency, just bloody good communication,” said Woolmington. “That gives people permission to feel they can communicate back on any topic. You make sure people feel safe.” The years since 2020 have indeed been a domino-roll of difficulties, but Canvas has not laid any employees off due to financial or business strains during that time. Instead, in addition to continuing to hire, it makes a point of rewarding its employees with gifts and additional financial benefits, such as a $2,500 bonus for employees that purchase cars from auto clients Hyundai, Kia and Genesis. Canvas has dual headquarters in Los Angeles and New York, but the agency bases its culture around a people-first philosophy called OneCanvas rather than office locations. The OneCanvas philosophy extended to the agency’s return-to-office mandate as well. It conducted an employee survey and brought on a consultancy to determine the best course for employees. It settled on two days in office, which employees can select. “When we had the talent crisis two years ago, people were crying when they left because they were leaving for more money,” said Woolmington. “Since then, we’ve had tons of people come back. It’s a wonderful endorsement that comes from someone coming back and saying, ‘I didn’t know I was going to miss Canvas until I left.’” What will set apart Canvas Worldwide as a Best Place to Work amid the challenges of 2024? CEO Paul Woolmington: “Mission, culture, people—double down on that. If you do that, then you do better work. You’ll hold yourself accountable at all levels. And that has seen us through the toughest times. 2024 is going to be a rock-and-roll year—we’ve got the Olympics, we’ve got the elections, we’ve got a new post-COVID environment, we’ve got a new media landscape. That’s why we have to challenge the comfortable. I may have been in this industry for decades, but I’m only going to be relevant based on what I do today and tomorrow. The rule book is changing every day.”

Canvas Worldwide listened to employees when it created a back-to-office plan

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