By Samantha Tan, Account Executive
By now, you might be catching on to the fact that Hoffman’s values are deeply interconnected with one another. We believe that each individual is unique and valuable to the agency, and in doing so we build trust and establish accountability. Our fourth value, Care, is truly the glue that brings it all together. As the saying goes, “Caring is everything.” At Hoffman, it’s not just about the bottom line, we care about each other, and ultimately strive to help each other to be successful.
Here’s what that means:
Patrizia Heun, Junior Account Manager, Europe
I believe caring is an integral component of every harmonic team or organization — it’s how people can work well together. To collaborate successfully, we ought to think about the human factor, where caring is essential. This ranges from an understanding of the person and their circumstances on a more personal level, to professional caring, which focuses on professional development. The bottom line is: if the business and the team care about the person as an individual, this person will also care about the team and the work.
At Hoffman, “care” is not just a buzzword that sounds good on the website — our teams live it. When people ask, “How are you?” it’s not just a phrase; they genuinely mean it. Even more, people want to know how they can help or support others — whether it’s to collectively finish tasks or solve problems. Especially in a fast-paced environment like PR, it’s crucial to take the time to ask the questions that help to find out what people need, including the need to be valued, adjust the tasks or organize training, and then deliver on those needs. This also includes having senior leadership and account leads take the time to check in with their teams and play to each individual’s strengths. It’s what helps teams foster stronger relationships, become better and do their best work.
Kymra Knuth, Executive Vice President, U.S.
To me, “care” means knowing more about your colleagues than just their professional skills, so together you can celebrate, laugh, cry, have empathy, or be all ears so they can vent when they need it. It means you’re always looking out for, and supporting, someone. It also means collaborating with and helping out your team mates to get the job done. In my everyday work, I try to learn more about the people I work with and manage outside of work so I can be supportive during challenging times, be empathetic and celebrate good things.
This value is SO important and it sets Hoffman apart, as well as contributes to our success. I’ve been at numerous agencies and worked with smart, wonderful people, but wouldn’t say the culture was built on care. I’m amazed at how often I see people proactively reach out to their teammates and offer to help and support them knowing they’re dealing with hard personal issues. I think people at Hoffman are happier and more fulfilled because of this value, and it leads to outstanding work for our clients.
Jackson Dulzo, Senior Account Executive, U.S.
Caring is about going beyond just checking the box for a task or a process. It’s about taking the extra time to fully understand both the subject and its context to help improve your work. For these reasons, caring is essential to working in a PR agency, where you’re often representing a third party whose products or expertise are unfamiliar territory at first. Caring starts with getting to know a client and their industry, to the point where you feel comfortable answering questions about their products or initiatives in stride.
Furthermore, my teammates are all deeply knowledgeable not only about each client and their industries, but also about the history of the professional partnership and all the little moving pieces that make up the day-to-day PR process. That’s how we have success after success for our clients at Hoffman because each team member cares about their clients, and about seeing every project through. Caring is also important since it’s obvious when someone’s heart isn’t in their work. Real passion and knowledge of a subject shows through in every press release, presentation and email. I apply this for my own PR toolbox as well; I show that I care by continuing to pick up new skills and stay on top of ad platform updates, SEO news, etc.
Agnes Liu, Senior Account Executive, APAC
To care means to offer (and be able to receive) mental, emotional and physical support to your peers, juniors and seniors. Caring is not only applicable during hard times. In times of celebration, it is an act to show appreciation of your and other’s success. “Care” definitely matters to an agency’s culture and is fundamental to the agency’s success. At Hoffman, one way we showcase “care” is through HA Moments, which include team building activities and events to catch up with and get to know team members. It allows us to grow and deliver higher quality client work — leading to the success of our business.
Since I first started working at Hoffman as an intern to becoming a senior account executive today, I have received a lot of care from Hoffmanites. In turn, it’s become a great motivator for me to provide extra care to interns and peers, whether it’s through regular catchups, sharing career advice or providing support for account-related work.
Bernice Tay, Senior Account Executive, APAC
When I think of the value, “Care,” two things come to mind. First, towards people, being caring is an emotion and looks at how you treat a person. It means showing up for people you love and being there for them when they need it. Second, towards work, it’s an attitude where you pay meticulous attention to the work you do, because you care about doing a good job. If you care about the outcome of your work, you’ll naturally take pride in what you do. Similarly, caring for and supporting your teammates is crucial as it contributes to their growth, which leads to strengthening the team’s ability to serve clients and achieve success.
At Hoffman, I often see “care” reflected in our day-to-day communications and check-ins. One thing I like about working at the agency is that we can approach anyone — from the intern level all the way up to senior leadership — at any point in time to ask questions. Our care for one another fosters an environment of trust and openness, so that we constantly strive to improve and produce better work. Also, on a personal level, I try my best to support my team and junior coworkers as much as I can, be it workwise or providing emotional assurance. I always seek to ensure my juniors get the guidance they need because I value their growth. After all, people make a company successful!
Kiana Cacchione, Senior Account Executive, U.S.
Care means being invested in something enough to pay special attention to that thing, person, action, etc. When you care about something, it’s coming from the heart. Care and success are synonymous with each other — great success only comes with great care. At Hoffman, I can full-heartedly say we care about the work we provide to our customers, which has been fundamental to our overall success as an agency. For example, we show our care in our everyday work by taking the time to ask questions, complete tasks, and overall be present for our teams, especially in the case of a client fire drill. Moreover, all my teammates are incredibly hard workers, and we care about each other immensely. Without my teammates, there’s absolutely no way my accounts could stay afloat — their effort, drive and overall presence are worth the world!
