Episode 71: Nyree Ambarchian- Co Founder of Trailblazing Comms Agency Jack & Grace
Description
Come and join the conversation with the INCREDIBLE Nyree from Jack & Grace. Jack & Grace is a communications, marketing and PR agency- but with a difference! It's breaking the rules (throwing the book out of the window infact) in the most refreshing and employee centric way.
Nyree's self titled Squiggly Time during her journey starts with her career in working with charities, then transitioning into a corporate background, backed up with her inherited hard work ethos that was instilled in her by her family.
We chat about the rules that we are given in every aspect of our lives, starting with school years and into our professional working lives. She shares such fascinating insights into the governance that we all just adhere to, without even stopping for a moment to question why...
After having her daughter, Nyree found that with the new dynamic and her new role as a Mum, those rules that she had always been taught to follow were becoming increasingly challenging to be able to sustain. Juggling nursery drop offs, pick ups and everything in between got her to the point where it was difficult to navigate the demands of working life alongside this.
Nyree openly shares the impact it was having on her mental health, the feelings of isolation and the worry of the years of hard work and sacrifices she had made were potentially crumbling beneath her. Returning to work after having her daughter was actually the catalyst she needed to leave.
This experience sparked something in Nyree where she knew she had to not only make a change, but make a difference for others too. Met with feelings of frustration that her working pattern just wasn't infact working for her anymore, she decided to set up on her own with a friend of hers that had been experiencing the same issue.
The early stages of Jack & Grace were full of coffee shops and values checks (love this so much!) The company was launched rooted in similar values that the women both held, and the driving need to rewrite those unwritten rules!
We discuss what success looks like, the expectations that we put on ourselves from the get go, but also the beauty of everything happening for a reason (true right!) Nyree tells me about building policies within Jack & Grace, thinking outside the box in terms of what they wanted to offer their team, things that are integral to their company ethos with focus on mothers, carers, and people with neurodiversity, and ways to make their work work for them.
Balance is a big driving force within their company, trying to get the sweet spot when it comes to giving their employees a place to work that is an extension of the way that they live their lives already, facilitating that balance to get the best out of their team.
We talk about the benefits of flexible working and how "bendy" Jack & Grace are. The upsides to working this way and also the potential pitfalls that have been navigated along the way. With the new proposals of "return to work" conversations being had at the moment, Nyree credits the incredible work of Anna Whitehouse, The Flex Appeal & Pregnant Then Screwed for their tireless campaigning for a fairer way of working.
Such a beautifully refreshing approach to working, Jack & Grace prides itself on being truly purpose led, heart led, people centered and most of all flexible.
What a wonderful conversation with a lady that is breaking down barriers in her field, challenging what has always been considered the "norm" and really being led by her purpose to want to do better for others. Absolutely true to their tagline "communications for good"!
An absolute pleasure to chat with you Nyree, true definition of Yes SHE Can!
You can check out Jack & Grace here:
https://www.jackandgrace.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/jackandgrace/https://www.instagram.com/jackgracecomms/