We are an IPA People First Promise agency

To receive the certification, agencies must show measurable activity in three core areas:

Support

We’ve put in place a range of wellbeing initiatives to support our team both professionally and personally, from regular check-ins to dedicated mental health resources. Our culture is built on listening, understanding, and offering meaningful help when it’s needed most.

Empower

At Hello Starling, everyone’s voice matters. Whether it’s shaping how we work, influencing our direction, or suggesting new ways to grow, we make space for people to lead, learn, and challenge with confidence. Empowerment isn’t just encouraged, it’s expected.

Prevent

We don’t wait for problems to arise. We take active responsibility for protecting mental wellbeing, whether through our workload planning, flexible working model (including our four-day week), or embedding open dialogue across all levels of the agency.

Why does this matter?

The agency world can be fast-paced and high-pressure, but we believe those things don’t have to come at the cost of mental health. Being recognised with the IPA’s People First Promise reaffirms our belief that people perform best when they feel supported, valued, and safe.

This certificate is just one milestone on an ongoing journey. We’re constantly listening, learning, and adapting to ensure Hello Starling remains a brilliant place to work, not just for now, but for the long term.

A word from our Managing Director, James Robinson:

“We’re thrilled to have received this recognition. It’s a reflection of the care and thought we put into how we treat each other and the kind of agency we want to be. People-first isn’t just a nice slogan, it’s a standard we hold ourselves to every day.”

We’re grateful to the IPA for championing this work, and most importantly, to our team, who make Hello Starling what it is.