Connelly Partners employees can now work from another international office for up to three months
The "CP Abroad" program is designed to enhance the agency’s culture, engage talent and bring its offices together.
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Connelly Partners employees will now have the chance to live in Boston, Massachusetts; Dublin, Ireland; or Vancouver, Canada and work out of one of its offices there for up to three months each year.
The “CP Abroad” program allows for one person from each office to live and work in a different location for a minimum of 30 days, up to three months. Through the program, employees who have been with the Boston-based company for at least a year will get the chance to apply, with flights and living accommodations paid for by the agency.
Employees can choose a preference for how long they want to stay on the application—for 30, 60 or 90 days, and during what time period.
Dana Wantman, senior partner, chief client and integration officer at Connelly Partners in Boston, was seeking a way to bring the agency together during a time when remote work had taken over. The idea was sparked prior to the pandemic but was not fully formed until about a year ago, when he took the role of chief client and integration officer. The first person participating is taking off from Boston and heading to Dublin for 30 days at the end of July.
"The idea [of this role] was having someone at the agency dedicated to bringing the offices together from a cultural standpoint, from an operational standpoint,” Wantman said, adding that his goal was "to leverage all the great things that are happening in the work, but also the people, the cultural diversity, the geographic diversity. How do we bring everybody closer together?”
'Really be part of the community'
Under the program, a Connelly staffer is sent to a different office to work and collaborate with other employees in person, as well as enjoy bonus vacation days to explore the new location. The agency, which has clients including Titleist, New Balance and Gorton’s Seafood, wants its employees to fully immerse themselves within a different culture. That's why they are required to go for at least a month, because “anything less feels more like a vacation,” Wantman said.
“You want people to get there and not just [treat it like] a kind of vacation of popular tourist spots, but to really live in the neighborhood, understand the culture, understand the people, meet the clients and really be part of the community,” he added.
For now, employees in the program will stay in Airbnb properties, but the agency is looking at purchasing real estate in all three markets to enhance the program and allow for more people to go in the future. The agency is also allowing people to do house swaps. If someone from Dublin wants to go to Boston and vice versa, for example, the agency would help them set up a house swap and pay for airfare.
Enhancing company culture is important, but the program is also meant to retain and attract talent, which has been a hot topic in the industry for years. Many agencies have implemented new approaches over the course of the pandemic, such as going fully remote, creating programs to enlist talent such as comedians from other fields, eliminating degree requirements, or even allowing employees to work anywhere in the world for six weeks out of the year.
While the pandemic persists, many COVID travel restrictions have been eliminated, making for a smoother transition to a new country for most employees. However, should restrictions change, Connelly said it will adapt the program as needed.
The agency is trying to be flexible around timing and accommodations. “We really want to try and make sure that the program is accessible to anybody who wants to travel,” Wantman said.
CP Abroad is “definitely something that we’re going to use to help recruit,” Wantman said, adding that he thinks it will have a “noticeable impact on our recruitment and retention."
