In this episode of the Employee Benefits podcast, Rebecca Oatley, co-founder and co-CEO of The Wilful Group, talks about the importance of creating an organisational culture and benefits proposition that reflects corporate values and employees’ circumstances.
Oatley discusses how the benefits at The Wilful Group are very much designed to flex with employees’ needs, and to support them at whatever life stage they may be. The organisation placed a lot of emphasis on listening to its employees’ views on what they wanted in an employer, and has formed a workplace culture that focuses on employee wellbeing, fair pay, healthcare and flexible working.
At a glance
The Wilful Group is a communications and marketing consultancy for sustainable innovation and positive changemakers. It works with startups, scaleups, big brands and institutions going through significant change to respond to environmental and social responsibilities.
In September 2024 it was certified as a B Corp which means that it must focus on being a force for good as much as a vehicle for profit.
There are four market leads within account and associate director levels: heads of FMCG and lifestyle; finance and infrastructure; talent and education; and digital and tech.
The group has a team of 18 employees in London and independent consultants in Africa and the US.
The age of staff ranges from the youngest who are placement interns aged 20, to its oldest consultant who is aged 60; 40% of its workforce are over 40, 35% are under 30 and 25% are between 30 and 40.
The average length of service is seven years.
What are the primary business objectives that impact on benefits for the coming year?
- Becoming a B Corp has, and will, continue to have a big impact on the culture and benefits because the happiness and fulfilment of the team is as important as the profit.
Career history
Rebecca Oatley co-founded The Wilful Group in 2021 with her business partner, Narda Shirley. The Wilful Group was founded by merging two existing agencies to create a communications offering for sustainable innovators.
Oatley had been running her previous agency, Cherish PR of which she was founder and managing director, for 18 years prior to founding Wilful.
“I don’t think there’s anything quite like founding your own business. You can have the best of times and the worst of times all on the same day, but you are in charge,” Oatley says.
“I definitely suffered with imposter syndrome when I first started the business. In the first few months, I remember thinking that everyone around me had done all the work and I had simply gone along for the ride and that I was bound to fail when I had to actually do the work myself. It really taught me that business is so much more than execution; it’s all tied into self-worth, progression, challenges and fear. It’s helped me immensely in managing my teams over the past 21 years in my own business.”
