Award-winning health and wellness advertising agency AbelsonTaylor group received the inaugural ACE aspire award for its employee psychological safety initiative from the healthcare businesswomen’s association (HBA). The award was presented yesterday at the HBA annual conference in Chicago.
The HBA’s ACE (advancement, commitment, engagement) awards recognise companies committed to ensuring that gender diversity and leadership opportunities for women are part of their organisational DNA. An independent panel of healthcare industry leaders selects ACE award recipients for their excellence in advancing female talent and removing the systemic barriers preventing timely progress to parity. Award criteria include measurable results, business performance, stewardship, execution, and sustainability.
“The intentionality of AbelsonTaylor group’s psychological safety initiative demonstrates the agency’s commitment to creating a work environment where women and all employees can feel free to express themselves and take risks that can benefit the organisation,” says Mary Stutts, HBA chief executive officer. “The ACE aspire award recognises AbelsonTaylor group’s impressive efforts to build a culture that attracts, values, supports, and advances women in their organization.”
In 2022, AbelsonTaylor developed and implemented a large-scale, ongoing psychological safety initiative for its 300 employees. The goal was to enhance its inclusive workplace culture, which is attractive to diverse employees, especially women, people of colour, and LGBT people. The programme is based on the premise that for all employees to feel welcomed, wanted, and valued in a workplace, there must be a foundation of psychological safety in which all individuals feel appreciated, respected, treated equitably and fairly, and empowered to share their ideas, take risks, and challenge the status quo without fear of discrimination or punishment. Click here to watch the psychological safety aspire award presentation video.
“We’re honoured to receive this award,” says AbelsonTaylor group President Jeff Berg. “Our goal is to foster a culture where every employee feels empowered and protected through psychological safety, with a goal to build a sanctuary of inclusion and an incubator of innovation.”
The AbelsonTaylor group psychological safety initiative supports the agency’s business objectives by providing a competitive edge in key areas such as workplace satisfaction, employee engagement and growth in recruitment and retention, and encouraging diverse thinking.
A recent internal survey reveals an exceptionally positive psychological safety score (4 out of 5), and the vast majority (89%) of staff feel they work productively in the current environment.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the agency staff are women. AbelsonTaylor Group provides formal mentorship and other opportunities to strengthen its female leadership, including educational and networking programmes for growth and advancement for women, and it has helped launch hundreds of women into successful medical advertising careers.
A significant proportion of women within the company hold senior leadership positions: 55% of staff with vice president titles and above are women, and 50% are department heads, as compared with 23% of executives worldwide. A majority (55%) of the agency’s executive committee are also women, compared with only 10% of executive directors in the US. Nearly half of AbelsonTaylor creative directors are women, compared to only 29% in the advertising industry as a whole.
