Over the past year, we've consulted agencies of all sizes, along with the people working inside them, to understand what actually creates a healthy agency culture and to gain insights into the real, lived experience of working in a fast-paced, high-pressure, and often remote environment.

There are plenty of employee engagement surveys out there, but most were never built for the agency world. And if you work in the agency space, you know agencies don't operate like traditional companies.

• The workflows are different.

• The client pressure is different.

• The timelines are different.

• The demands on creativity and context-switching are different.

A generic corporate survey simply wouldn't capture that reality or complexity.

That's why we’ve invested time and resources into surveying and reviewing pooled data across teams, roles, and agency sizes. One truth became clearly evident: while agencies may have different niches and clientele, the strongest agencies share the same five cultural dimensions.

Here's what they are and why they matter inside every modern agency:

1. Satisfaction & Workload

Agencies move fast, often faster than any other industry. Tight deadlines, shifting priorities, and client demands can energize a team… or completely exhaust them.

That's why we measure:

• Energy levels

• Role satisfaction

• Workload sustainability

• Burnout indicators

• Creative & emotional fulfillment

When employees feel balanced and fulfilled, they produce better work, stay longer, and build healthier client relationships. When they're overwhelmed, creativity, morale, and collaboration suffer as a result.

2. Compensation & Benefits

Agencies need to reward niche talent with fair, competitive compensation. And while we may not have the margins of massive tech companies, we do have the ability to expand the benefits we can offer. When agencies take care of their people, those people take better care of customers, creating a healthier, more sustainable business in the long run.

This dimension measures:

• Perceived fairness in pay

• Clarity in compensation structure 

• Promotion opportunities and desire

• Benefits that support well-being (PTO, healthcare, mental health, parental leave)

3. Collaboration, Team Dynamics, & Fulfillment

Agency work is hard enough, and doing it remotely for some teams adds another layer of complexity. Without hallway conversations or in-person collaboration, teams have to communicate better, check in more often, and build connections intentionally. Strong team dynamics can only be created through consistent effort, clarity, and trust.

This dimension evaluates:

• Communication and clarity

• Team trust

• Cross-functional collaboration

• Pride in the work and quality they deliver

• How teams support each other in high-pressure moments

4. Leadership, Innovation, & Vision

Leadership shapes everything inside an agency. And we've already said it: people don't quit agencies, they quit their bosses.

That's why this dimension measures leadership clarity, consistency, and accountability. When leaders communicate well and stand behind their teams, everything else in the agency improves.

We assess:

• Leadership communication

• Decision transparency

• Strategic direction

• Support for remote/hybrid teams

• Openness to innovation and new ideas

5. Culture & Wins Celebration

In agencies, culture is the glue - the moments in between the deadlines that give people energy and belonging.

This dimension analyzes the following:

• How teams bond

• How wins (big or small) are celebrated

• Inclusivity and belonging

• Social connection

When wins go unnoticed and connection fades, the workplace becomes transactional. But when celebrations, rituals, and belonging thrive, people stay through tough sprints and hard times.

Why These Five Dimensions Matter

Most corporate employee surveys from companies run on predictable schedules, stable workflows, and neatly defined roles. Agencies don't.

Our world runs on tight turnarounds, changing scopes, evolving client expectations, cross-functional chaos, and remote teams who sync constantly to keep work moving. Measuring culture here requires a totally different lens.

That's why our surveys are intentionally built for agencies: to capture the nuances of workload, compensation, collaboration, leadership, and culture.

Ready to level up your agency culture with us?