insight
insight
announcement
press
Author:
Tayte Lang
This International Women's Day, Queensland-based advertising agency April Ford is spotlighting the incredible working mums leading the company's growth, innovation, and achievements.
The agency recognises that a rich agency culture is based on team members with a wide breadth of experience and perspectives. That's why mothers like April Forbes, Gemma Graye, Amelia Strelitz and Pia Marshall are essential to its success and triumph. By making it a priority to support parents with flexible work arrangements, professional development and team building, April Ford gives them the opportunity to be an inspiration to their children while driving an impactful career.
This International Women's Day, Queensland-based advertising agency April Ford is spotlighting the incredible working mums leading the company's growth, innovation, and achievements.
The agency recognises that a rich agency culture is based on team members with a wide breadth of experience and perspectives. That's why mothers like April Forbes, Gemma Graye, Amelia Strelitz and Pia Marshall are essential to its success and triumph. By making it a priority to support parents with flexible work arrangements, professional development and team building, April Ford gives them the opportunity to be an inspiration to their children while driving an impactful career.
Chief Innovation Officer April explains, "although the agency is my firstborn, being a new mum has completely changed my perspective. As I have always told my team, there's no such thing as a marketing emergency, and I back this now more than ever. Having a healthy work-life balance means you can be a high-performer at home and work, and that's the environment we have built."
Chief Innovation Officer April explains, "although the agency is my firstborn, being a new mum has completely changed my perspective. As I have always told my team, there's no such thing as a marketing emergency, and I back this now more than ever. Having a healthy work-life balance means you can be a high-performer at home and work, and that's the environment we have built."
By allowing room for flexibility, April Ford provides opportunities for working parents, so they don't have to say goodbye to their careers when they welcome a family. From the "Mum, I forgot my shoes…" school drop-off to the dreaded "your child is unwell" phone call, with flexible working hours, April Ford supports mums through their busy lives to be their best at work. Whether personalised start and finish times mean starting later in the day to spend time with new bub or starting earlier to get the kids to afternoon swimming lessons, it makes a parent's life easier and enables them to be present during working hours.
Motherhood means saying goodbye to time for yourself, so each Monday morning, it's tools down for the first hour to focus on learning. This time is dedicated to each staff member before they get stuck into the working week. The Hour of Power program encourages professional development in the interest areas of team members to support and drive their success. All learnings are shared to an education database so staff can discover up-skilling opportunities, collaborate and bounce off each other.
"I've been in the advertising industry for close to two decades, ten years of which I've been a mum and found it difficult to take the time for things that are important to me, like professional development. During the 5 years I've been at April Ford, I've gained invaluable experience, working in every division and continuously upskilling. I'm excited to currently be completing a short course in Programmatic Advertising and Trading at Deakin University to further develop the way we create advertising strategies for our clients "says Gemma, Chief Investment Officer.
Bringing together a team of totally different people from far and wide, April Ford HQ is a place of high energy and support where great results are achieved for our clients and one another. There is never any shortage of laughter, face palms or baked goods in the office, making it a place where parents feel a little bit of normalcy away from the madness of life with children.
"Interestingly, I actually have a degree in Animal Ecology which prepared me for life as a mother more than I'd like to admit. Life as a mother has certainly helped me in my role as Chief Operating Officer too. Setting priorities and being absolutely clear in my communication is really helpful in managing the day-to-day operations at April Ford. Having endless opportunities to better my leadership and interpersonal skills has also been very powerful", says Amelia.
Single mother of one who doubles as April Ford's Digital Marketing Manager, Pia says, "motherhood has definitely changed the way I create success at work. It's taught me the mastery of time management and organisation. With flexible work hours and a great location, I can make the most of every minute I'm in the office and every minute I'm at home with my daughter."
Creating a workplace environment that understands the importance of family and the challenges that come with building a career is essential for businesses today. By prioritising the lives of staff outside of work, April Ford has built a more dynamic team and seen stronger results as a result.
By allowing room for flexibility, April Ford provides opportunities for working parents, so they don't have to say goodbye to their careers when they welcome a family. From the "Mum, I forgot my shoes…" school drop-off to the dreaded "your child is unwell" phone call, with flexible working hours, April Ford supports mums through their busy lives to be their best at work. Whether personalised start and finish times mean starting later in the day to spend time with new bub or starting earlier to get the kids to afternoon swimming lessons, it makes a parent's life easier and enables them to be present during working hours.
Motherhood means saying goodbye to time for yourself, so each Monday morning, it's tools down for the first hour to focus on learning. This time is dedicated to each staff member before they get stuck into the working week. The Hour of Power program encourages professional development in the interest areas of team members to support and drive their success. All learnings are shared to an education database so staff can discover up-skilling opportunities, collaborate and bounce off each other.
"I've been in the advertising industry for close to two decades, ten years of which I've been a mum and found it difficult to take the time for things that are important to me, like professional development. During the 5 years I've been at April Ford, I've gained invaluable experience, working in every division and continuously upskilling. I'm excited to currently be completing a short course in Programmatic Advertising and Trading at Deakin University to further develop the way we create advertising strategies for our clients "says Gemma, Chief Investment Officer.
Bringing together a team of totally different people from far and wide, April Ford HQ is a place of high energy and support where great results are achieved for our clients and one another. There is never any shortage of laughter, face palms or baked goods in the office, making it a place where parents feel a little bit of normalcy away from the madness of life with children.
"Interestingly, I actually have a degree in Animal Ecology which prepared me for life as a mother more than I'd like to admit. Life as a mother has certainly helped me in my role as Chief Operating Officer too. Setting priorities and being absolutely clear in my communication is really helpful in managing the day-to-day operations at April Ford. Having endless opportunities to better my leadership and interpersonal skills has also been very powerful", says Amelia.
Single mother of one who doubles as April Ford's Digital Marketing Manager, Pia says, "motherhood has definitely changed the way I create success at work. It's taught me the mastery of time management and organisation. With flexible work hours and a great location, I can make the most of every minute I'm in the office and every minute I'm at home with my daughter."
Creating a workplace environment that understands the importance of family and the challenges that come with building a career is essential for businesses today. By prioritising the lives of staff outside of work, April Ford has built a more dynamic team and seen stronger results as a result.
By allowing room for flexibility, April Ford provides opportunities for working parents, so they don't have to say goodbye to their careers when they welcome a family. From the "Mum, I forgot my shoes…" school drop-off to the dreaded "your child is unwell" phone call, with flexible working hours, April Ford supports mums through their busy lives to be their best at work. Whether personalised start and finish times mean starting later in the day to spend time with new bub or starting earlier to get the kids to afternoon swimming lessons, it makes a parent's life easier and enables them to be present during working hours.
Motherhood means saying goodbye to time for yourself, so each Monday morning, it's tools down for the first hour to focus on learning. This time is dedicated to each staff member before they get stuck into the working week. The Hour of Power program encourages professional development in the interest areas of team members to support and drive their success. All learnings are shared to an education database so staff can discover up-skilling opportunities, collaborate and bounce off each other.
"I've been in the advertising industry for close to two decades, ten years of which I've been a mum and found it difficult to take the time for things that are important to me, like professional development. During the 5 years I've been at April Ford, I've gained invaluable experience, working in every division and continuously upskilling. I'm excited to currently be completing a short course in Programmatic Advertising and Trading at Deakin University to further develop the way we create advertising strategies for our clients "says Gemma, Chief Investment Officer.
Bringing together a team of totally different people from far and wide, April Ford HQ is a place of high energy and support where great results are achieved for our clients and one another. There is never any shortage of laughter, face palms or baked goods in the office, making it a place where parents feel a little bit of normalcy away from the madness of life with children.
"Interestingly, I actually have a degree in Animal Ecology which prepared me for life as a mother more than I'd like to admit. Life as a mother has certainly helped me in my role as Chief Operating Officer too. Setting priorities and being absolutely clear in my communication is really helpful in managing the day-to-day operations at April Ford. Having endless opportunities to better my leadership and interpersonal skills has also been very powerful", says Amelia.
Single mother of one who doubles as April Ford's Digital Marketing Manager, Pia says, "motherhood has definitely changed the way I create success at work. It's taught me the mastery of time management and organisation. With flexible work hours and a great location, I can make the most of every minute I'm in the office and every minute I'm at home with my daughter."
Creating a workplace environment that understands the importance of family and the challenges that come with building a career is essential for businesses today. By prioritising the lives of staff outside of work, April Ford has built a more dynamic team and seen stronger results as a result.
