Podcast Episode 27 is out: Sally Pritchett from Something Big

Podcast

By Lukas on 6 Dec 2023

a secret husband, being asked to make the tea, creating comms to span 220 countries…

Sally runs Something Big, a B Corp, employee-owned agency based in Surrey that punches above its weight. Having won briefs against agency heavyweights like Ogilvy, Something Big specialises in employee communications with a particular focus on DEI initiatives. Clients include DHL, Telefonica, and IAG. In this conversation we discuss:

How she’s always been the ‘odd one out’ from her school days
Her experience of being the only female in a team of 24 men
Why she had to keep her relationship with her husband secret for over a decade
How she’s embraced being uncool in an agency world of cool people
The significance of turning 50 for her
Her work at Something Big and their specialism in employee comms, workplaces, and DEI
Her personal connection to DEI through her experience as a woman in a male-dominated workplace
How the Barbie movie signifies a huge amount of progress in gender equality, but also highlights how there’s more to do
How to run DEI programmes in a huge company that spans 220 countries
How to build a client relationship 25 years long
What it takes to be the world’s best workplace
The problem with agencies who are ‘in it for themselves’ rather than for the client
Winning a brief against Ogilvy
The piece of work she’s most proud of
The nuts and bolts of employee ownership
Building psychological safety in her business by example
Dismantling a blame culture
The potential commercial windfall from looking after people properly
How community building could improve our society through citizen engagement