How Fallon Is Trailblazing Creative

Creatives can be difficult people to work with. Not only do they not think like others, but they don’t think like each other—and this is incredibly important to their success and fulfillment as individuals.

Many organizations recognize this, as well as how important this value is to the success of their company as a whole. Neglecting this issue leads to decreased employee satisfaction, higher turnover and lower quality work. But what can companies do about it? How can they cater to such a variety of minds and talent? With deadlines and clients aplenty who has time for such tailoring?

In a little Instagram campaign called #Make5, Minneapolis-based agency Fallon has began giving each employee five days to create something creative of their choosing. The only stipulations are it must be to the level of work Fallon aspires and it will be shared across their Instagram account using the hashtag #Make5. Sound like a complete waste of time? Here are a few reasons why it’s not.

Be Generous to Your Employees and They Will Be Generous with their Work

Sure, employees love the boss that gives financial bonuses, but why? To show appreciation. And when a holiday or birthday comes around what means more to people, giving them cash or giving them a thought?

Creatives, the best creatives, put their hearts into their work. They take big risks everyday they work for your business. If they were in it for the money they would be doing something else, plain and simple. So giving them money is like giving a friend twenty pairs of socks for their birthday—we’re appreciative, we’ll use them, but once they’re used up we’ll forget we ever received them.

True appreciation is not the same. And true appreciation comes from the currency we all value most—our time. We all are only on this earth for a limited amount. People with heart know this the most. And these are the people you want to hire—and keep. By giving them time you show appreciation through trust in not only their dedication to their work but their talent as a creative. And that reaches deep.

The Path to Optimizing Work Efficiency Is Not Always Linear

We’re all busy. We all have too many clients, projects and responsibilities to balance. That’s why we need to get started and do things now so we can get the most of them done. Wrong. Humans are not robots, and positions that require us to use parts of ourselves that are especially human such as creativity require work systems that incorporate our humanity. In an interview with Digiday, digital creative director Marc Stephens lays it out best.

“This gives creatives a chance to express themselves without rules. It’s important to keep creatives fresh and happy, to give them an outlet to do the things they want.”

If you want work done, just do it and keep doing it, but if you want exceptional work you need to think about process while evaluating the fulfillment of not only your client but your employees. It’s not easy, it may add another layer to your workload, but it will undeniably be what sets you apart from your competitors.

So what is coming out of the #Make5 campaign? Right now mostly paintings and illustrations but employees say they are hoping to take the initiative even further into short movies, poems or even songs.

Follow Fallon at WeAreFallon on Instagram to learn more.