Friel: Connect, Communicate, Create
Historically, I had worked in business development, liaising with people outside of the business, making connections and building a network of contacts. I had run myself ragged over the years flitting from one networking event to the next, missing out on milestones for my children and living and breathing someone else’s business. I had the choice to find another job, get into the same rut, or take the brave leap into creating something of my own. This was when I started Friel Consulting.
Initially a business development agency, it soon developed into a full-service marketing agency in response to the demands from my clients, and to take advantage of opportunities I was identifying when networking with my contacts.
Making sure employees were valued
Straightaway from day one, I wanted to create a culture where people knew they were valued, and felt their job enhanced their lives, rather than hindered it. Flexibility is one key factor that I’d longed for in previous jobs and I was determined to make it part of our culture: Not only for the parents in the team, but for everyone.
When taking on new staff, we don’t just look at the skills set, but also at personal aspirations and goals; whether that is to buy a house, learn new non-work-related skills, or even to start a family! By doing this we don’t end up on the hamster wheel and can celebrate personal and professional achievements. It’s so important to me that my team is happy and feels supported, so if there’s something in their personal lives they want to achieve, the ‘Frielers’ will be their biggest cheerleaders as they make it happen.
Our culture isn’t just internal, we like to promote it outside of the business too. We like to become an extension of our client’s businesses, and we are proud of our ability to quickly develop strong friendships as well as great working relationships with most of them.
Everyone’s part of the Friel family
I always find it cheesy when businesses call their staff ‘family’ but at Friel we really are. We’ve even gone on holiday together! We also have family days, and kids and dogs are always welcome in the office (when we aren’t in lockdown).
Inevitably lockdown and the last 12 months has been hard, and we’ve all had points where we’ve struggled with not seeing family or friends, or found it tough with home schooling. But I’d like to think we’ve got each other through those challenging moments and our company culture has helped play a vital role in that.
One of my favourite sayings is “Your vibe attracts your tribe” and through my amazing team, we have built a solid foundation for the business to take Friel forwards. Our culture and values will always remain the same though and be at the heart of whatever life throws our way – even a global pandemic can’t stop that.
