Spark named Best PR Agency to Work For in the UK

We’re so chuffed to be named the “Best PR Agency to Work For in the UK” by PRovoke Media and of course the Spark team. I have always been very passionate about creating a workplace where the team doesn’t wake up dreading the day ahead – one that avoids the corporate culture so typical of many agencies, where it is quickest to the top and the politics and toxicity that go with that.

Perhaps because of previous agency experiences, the example set by Kewal and I, everyone at Spark is united in creating and sustaining a culture where whatever background we are from, we all get along well with each other – just a lovely bunch of people that enjoy doing great work! This award win has been all the more special as we grow, as both myself and Kewal are committed to keeping that family feel even if we are now a team of over 30 people.

Over the last 25 years, we have developed a culture focused on wellbeing, development and inclusivity, and we take pride in ensuring people thrive personally and professionally. Highlights we think have contributed to the win include:

• Dedicated Leadership in People and Culture: In 2024, we hired our first-ever Head of People to oversee our approach to wellbeing, training and inclusivity, ensuring we maximise the support and opportunities available to every team member.
• Work-Life Balance: Our unique billable hours model dedicates no more than 55% of employees' time to client work, safeguarding time for creativity, personal development and innovation initiatives.
• Health & Wellbeing: Every team member has access to 24/7 online GP, counselling, and wellbeing services via WeCare and MyStrength. We also offer two gym membership discounts (to cover a wider variety of gyms), as well as our premium Bupa healthcare plan and a Calm mindfulness app subscription. Four trained mental health first aiders also support the team.
• Flexible Working: The whole team has adopted hybrid working, with just under a fifth of the team working remotely full time. All team members have flexibility around working hours to fit their personal needs. In 2024, team members were fully supported to go on ‘workcations’ in locations like Thailand, Rome and Greece.
• Training and Development: We provide each employee with a £1,000 external training budget each year and provided 316 hours of formal internal training sessions in 2024 (a 25% increase on 2023, when we first began tracking this KPI). External mentoring sessions and individual training programmes ensure tailored professional growth.
• Fair Remuneration and Financial Extras: As of 2024, salaries are now being benchmarked every six months against seven different industry sources, and they currently sit 10% above the averages. Recent financial initiatives include offering an employee savings portal and we also match pensions up to 5% of salary and offer spot-bonuses for outstanding achievements.
• Corporate Social Responsibility: Our CSR taskforce leads a range of initiatives throughout the year. We now have six employees helping primary school children develop their reading skills via the Bookmark Reading charity. So far, they’ve given 60 hours of time to eight children. The team also run events to support other charities. In 2024 our annual Bake-Off raised enough donations to fund a Macmillan Grant to help a family affected by cancer, and to run Macmillan’s online community for over three hours. The team collectively walked over 10 million steps in June in support of Kingston Hospital Charity, raising £500.
• Diversity & Inclusion: Spark fosters an inclusive environment with a diverse board (50% BAME, 50% LGBTQ+), comprehensive support for neurodivergent and disabled employees, and state-educated representation across the team. In 2024 we continued to secure additional Access to Work funding for dyslexia coaching.

If you think this sounds like a place you would fit in then please do get in contact with us.