At the inauguration. Pictured left to right; Dr. Fabian Prüschenk, Hervé Poupon, Violeta Velasquez, Pierre-Emmanuel Muller, Matthias Brüll. Seated left to right; Florian Haller, Stéphane Perrot; Carole Giroud, Marion Dolbeau and Markus Noder
The irony of this article about Serviceplan’s human-centric approach to working is that I couldn’t attend the opening of its new office – or rather, its House of Communication – in Paris. So I had to conduct the interviews remotely. While remote working remains an option at the Germany-based independent group, its ever-ebullient Worldwide Executive Creative Director, Jason Romeyko, clearly prefers the personal touch.
“I’ve worked internationally for years, so I’ve never thought that I absolutely must have all of my team in the same room. But my best work has always been done when I’m in a room with people. Collaboration is possible at a distance, but quality improves in person. It’s all about connection and body language.”
He admits that Teams helped to bridge the gap during lockdown, especially during the intense creative meetings he calls “überjams” (a reference to the group’s creative philosophy, ÜberCreativity). Before these took place in person; now they were on a screen. “They were just as effective, but not as much fun. Three days together in a room is exhausting. Three days watching screens is a killer.”
While he thinks “digital nomadism” is a positive evolution, “the culture of a company happens inside a company”. So a physical presence, even if it’s not 100 per cent of the time, is valuable. “This is a House of Communication – a house needs people, it needs life. You may not think having a cup of coffee together can add much to a creative idea, but it absolutely can.”
Jason Romeyko, Worldwide ECD
A catalyst for creativity
To put it simply, the idea behind The House of Communication is to have everyone collaborating together under one roof: creative, media, planning and all the related disciplines. The new Paris building is not the first to open since the pandemic – the current template was set by the group’s HQ in Munich, which was unveiled this summer. What do the two projects have in common?
Jason says: “Personally I’ve noticed a lack of hierarchy in the layout. There’s a sense of free flow – for ÜberCreativity to be able to happen, people need to be able to move easily from space to space. And of course now there are more shared working spaces, which is a genuine catalyst for creativity, because you have people from different disciplines sitting together.”
Carole Giroud, President of Serviceplan Group France, adds: “The dynamics of a group with shared skills is a strength, as is the proximity of independent structures. With these new, open-plan offices, combining profiles, personalities and varied and renewed skills, our ÜberCreativity will only be strengthened.”
Markus Noder, Managing Director of the Serviceplan Group, says: “The new House of Communication in Paris, similarly to the one in Munich, is designed on the latest new work principles, with a clear focus of enriching our working model of ÜberCreativity. Areas or zones are designed to meet the specific needs of our colleagues with regard to their working lives.”
He observes that the option for remote working was in place even before Covid – which allowed it to adapt fairly seamlessly to lockdown. “The new office in Paris sets new standards which enable smooth collaboration.”
Markus Noder, Managing Director, Serviceplan Group
An agile way of working
It's important to state that the House of Communication principle pre-dates these new offices, and is anchored in the group’s DNA. To determine whether the approach is working, you only need to look at the group’s performance. In the summer, Serviceplan reported the most successful financial results in its history, with turnover up 28%.
Markus Noder has no doubt: “The driver for growth was our integrated House of Communication offer and our ability to build customized teams/agencies for our clients in an extremely pressurised environment. The need for solutions to reduce complexity – and at the same time increase efficiency and impact – was and will be high in the future. Therefore, we have the best offering in the form of the fully integrated House of Communication model.”
CEO Florian Haller says: “We find ourselves in a market that is characterized by uncertainty, volatility, and a shortage of skilled professionals. In this environment, our House of Communication concept has overwhelmingly proved its unique operational and creative potential…This agile way of working enables us to attract the most sought-after talent for our teams.”
Florian Haller, CEO
Serviceplan is an innovator – and indeed it holds an annual Innovation Day to showcase trends and technology. Of the most recent event, Florian says: “A special highlight for me personally was to share the stage with the aerobatic pilot Dario Costa. The Red Bull Athlete became the first person ever to fly a plane through a tunnel, setting five world records in the process. One particular statement greatly impressed me: ‘Fear can guide you before and after action, but when the action starts, the fear has to leave. Or the action won’t happen.’
“We are all faced with our fears, but it is important to accept them and trust in one’s own abilities. That was definitely one of my key takeaways.”
Serviceplan clearly trusts in its own abilities – which in practice means the abilities of its people.
