The Guardian Small Business Network announced on Thursday, 2nd April that Serps Invaders, a full-service multilingual digital marketing agency based in Edinburgh, have made it into the top three finalists for the Smarter Working Award 2015.
The Guardian Small Business Network has been running this award for the 3rd year running. With 150 entries for the Smarter Working category, Serps truly differentiated themselves from the other contestants.
Serps Invaders showcased their way of smarter working with their successful 4-day work week and the ability for staff to work remotely from anywhere in the world if they please. Additionally the company offers ad hoc holidays called “Duvet days”, which can be taken at very short notice i.e. on the same day. Serps were the first Scottish agency to introduce a 4-day work week in September 2013.
The compressed working hours also ensure that clients are looked after for a minimum of 12 hours per day, as staff can also make use of flexible working hours and the office is therefore usually manned from 8am to 8pm GMT Monday to Thursday, at the moment even until 11pm due to one staff member working from Florida.
Felicitas Betzl, Managing Director and Partner comments: “We are delighted to have been picked as a finalist. I believe business owners need to become more open minded and forward thinking about how they can reward staff with non-material benefits.”
The compressed working week allows staff to enjoy a three day weekend off every week, which has increased productivity and has contributed to reduced stress and less sickness. Additionally the company has introduced set “catch up” times and only check emails in 2 hour intervals to increase productivity.
Felicitas Betzl adds: “Agency owners have to re-think how they operate and have to allow for a better work-life balance. Companies like Treehouse and Basecamp (former 37Signals) have been pioneers in shaking up the normal way of working. I think it’s time for agencies to follow suit.”
The winner of the Smarter Working award will be picked by a panel of judges, comprising of well known James Caan, founder and CEO of Hamilton Bradshaw, or Simon Walker, partner at international law firm Taylor Wessing, who will discuss the shortlisted entries for each category prior to the award ceremony. The winners will be announced at the Guardian Small Business Showcase on the 11th June 2015 in a yet unconfirmed location in East London.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
About Serps Invaders
Serps Invaders are a full-service international digital agency with offices in Edinburgh, Scotland and Gibraltar, specialising in cross-channel multilingual digital marketing strategies. Serps offer online marketing services in 35 languages, which makes us one of the top multilingual SEO and digital marketing partners for our client base. The company now also offers full digital design & build services with the expansion of their team to include award winning Creative Director Ruaridh Currie who has provided creative solutions for world famous brands such as Channel 4 & Tottenham Hotspur in the last few years.
Serps stands for Search Engine Results Pages.
For further information, please contact Felicitas Betzl (Managing Director)
felicitas@serps-invaders.com | +44 (0)131 208 3669
Web: www.serps-invaders.com
Twitter: @Serps_Invaders
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/serpsinvaders
