Why our best agents have stayed for 13 years

Fifteen of our best agents have been here since the day we opened thirteen years ago. That does not happen because somebody wrote a retention policy.

The work fits real lives

Many agents are mothers and prefer three-day weeks. We organise flexible hours around the people we want to keep instead of treating one fixed week as proof of commitment.

Help is practical

When staff need flexibility, an advance or support through a difficult period, the answer is not automatically no. The exact help remains private. The principle is that a long relationship cannot work if support travels only from the employee to the company.

My job is to keep work in front of them

The agents are the masters of the conversation. I cannot teach them what they already do better than anybody. My responsibility is to choose decent clients, keep research and fundraising available and protect the conditions in which they stay brilliant.