GOLD AWARD WINNER: Women-Run Workplace of the Year - More than 10 Employees

Our CEO & Founder, April White, discusses the impact that winning gold in this year’s Stevie Awards for the agency’s considerate culture will have on the firm moving forward. As the Silver Winner of the 2023 Stevie Award for Maverick of the Year – Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations and Gold Winner 2022 Stevie Award for Most Innovative Woman of the Year – Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations, this was the third consecutive year White accepted a prestigious Stevie Award at the award gala.

Read on for a special Q&A blog post as our team chats with April about what the award means to her and the agency she created.

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Q: Thank you for chatting with us today, April! We’re dying to hear about how the Stevie Awards gala in New York City went. Can you tell us about your reaction to winning gold and the event in general?

The Stevie Awards gala for Women in Business is always a special and inspiring event, where I stand in awe of all the ambitious women from around the globe who are changing their industries—and the world in general—for the better. They all gather to celebrate each other’s success, and the collective energy of their commitment to transformative missions and business approaches is palpable. This year was especially exciting for me as I stepped out of the spotlight and let my baby, the agency that is Trust Relations, get its due and well-deserved recognition. There’s something so incredible about seeing the company you’ve built over the last almost six years, with the help of so many fantastic team members, win its own award. It showed me that my agency is now standing entirely on its own as a brand, industry disruptor, and force of nature…and it didn’t even just win in a category devoted to advertising, marketing, and public relations this year, as I have the past two years for my accomplishments—we won gold in the “Woman-Run Workplace of the Year – More than 10 Employees” category across every industry worldwide. That is a fantastic achievement, and I almost can’t find the words for it because saying “I’m proud” doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Q: Why do you think Trust Relations won gold in this category? 

First and foremost, it’s because of the female leaders at Trust Relations, who are all equally committed to its growth and success and give their all to the agency every single day they show up for work. Without them, there is no chance that Trust Relations would be where it is today or continue to attract the most talented PR practitioners I have ever met. I am consistently in awe of every team member I work with and each one’s ability to achieve unsurpassed results that often leave me speechless. They are all some of the kindest and most introspective and inclusive humans I have encountered in my entire life. The way they all work together seamlessly as a team and make each other better practitioners and humans never ceases to amaze me. But no one deserves this recognition more than our COO Lana Marshall, my work wife, partner in crime, and sanity backstop, who is the glue that holds this agency together and the one who logic-checks my big ideas and keeps all of us on track in delivering top-tier results for clients.

Q: The award entry focused on the agency’s “considerate culture.” What does that mean, and how did you define that term for it? 

In the fall of 2022, we coined the term “Considerate Culture” to define our workplace. Our COO, Lana Marshall, came up with this based on my initial vision and has continued to build it out and refine it over the years with different processes and procedures, which is her superpower. When I started the agency, my primary mission was to create the agency I wished existed based on its commitment to an inclusive and supportive culture that prioritized team spirit, transparency, inclusion, and a sustainable work-life balance for team members. Lana took that vision to the next level by implementing the following: 

• Connecting every new hire with at least one direct mentor to learn from 
• Instituting an annual check-in with every full-time team member, which reaches beyond the traditional performance review to combine management feedback with a deeper discussion about that team member’s professional goals and how Trust Relations can help them achieve those 
• Introducing an annual agency retreat program and monthly virtual team-building exercises, complete with games, professional coaching, self-care giveaways, sincere kudos, team compliment cards, and more
• Ensuring a richer work-life balance for employees by consistently demonstrating an appreciation for each individual’s personal interests and passions, both at work and outside working hours

Q: Is there anything we didn’t ask that we should have? Or anything you’d like to add? 

Actually, yes. I just want to say that I hope companies everywhere will be inspired by our approach to a “considerate culture,” as I strongly feel that this is the way of the future for every brand, regardless of what industry it’s in. I think any company that doesn’t embrace a similar approach and evolve with the times will become a dinosaur in the near future or begin to crumble. Just because many companies have prioritized profits over people for many decades does not mean this is a sustainable business model or system for future growth and success. Trust Relations is a testament that asking first what your brand can do for your clients and employees, rather than what they can do for you or your wallet, is the way of the future. Sure, all companies must ensure their profit margins make it possible for them to continue their respective missions, but the people they serve and their employees should always come first. I love that Trust Relations is a pioneer of this and is proving this is a viable approach to business to the world. 

Thank you so much for your time, April. We are excited to see what the future holds for Trust Relations and look forward to future awards and recognition for this industry—and business model—disruptor!