Case Study: Special Group

Performance Development Program Design

Special Group are an international, independent, creative advertising agency. At the time of engagement, their Sydney office was growing rapidly and the founders no longer had the time or bandwidth to maintain or scale the strong, values-based culture that had served them so well to that point. This was particularly being felt by those employees who had been with the agency for a while, who were looking for feedback, growth and career progression.

A Lion & The Vibes was engaged to design a Performance Development Program that would:

1. Highlight and promote Special Group’s values

2. Give employees clarity on their role and career paths

3. Provide a simple and sustainable tool for managers to assess, manage and reward employees

We created a bespoke values-based job description that not only gave employees clarity on WHAT they should be doing, but also HOW, they should be doing it based on Special Group’s values. Off the back of this, we designed a simple and effective goal-setting and quarterly check-in process . We then sourced a digital platform that would automate a lot admin and trained all staff on the new process and the skills they would need (how to set and achieve goals, how to give effective feedback and have tough conversations, how to create career plans, and how to run effective 1:1s)

Off the back of this project, A Lion & The Vibes was engaged by Special Group’s NZ office to roll out a similar project.