Agency Certifications: Are They Worth It?

• The journey to accreditation can be a long one…
• … but do the benefits outweigh the obstacles?
• Come along to hear Gail Hoban’s experience of gaining B-Corp status as a small agency and listen to Molly Johnson-Jones explain how certifications can help you find the right talent.

Certifications can be great tools in your agency’s armoury, but are they worth all the effort?

And what exactly does it mean for your business when you’ve finally got one?

“People generally think it’s just about sustainability, but it’s about so much more,” says Gail Hoban, co-founder of GAS Studio.

GAS Studio completed their accreditation in January, just three months after submitting. As a two-person agency, Gail and her co-founder Steve were eligible for a micro-business route, which had been introduced the month before they applied.

“Our clients are non-profits, so B-Corp status really helps demonstrate that we’re serious about the field we work in,” Gail says. “There’s also a community of other like-minded people, which we can network and partner with.”

And the cherry on top?

“It’s another recruitment tool as well. Gen Z are definitely interested in knowing whether agencies have got the right credentials,” she says. “If you don’t influence the grassroots, how are you going to make change anyway?”

B-Corp isn’t the only accreditation agencies can earn – and it’s not the only one that can bring value either. 

Molly Johnson-Jones started Flexa Careers with her business partner in 2019 after noticing a huge gap in the market.

“We just thought, ‘Why aren’t companies publicising their flexibility to attract great talent? Why is it kept behind the scenes?’” she says. “People would love it if they knew.”

They decided to use that information to create a verification process for flexible companies – they then display them on the Flexa website. 

Jobseekers can use different filters to find the best fit for them (for example, dog-friendly, or flexible hours).

“Flexible working is the most useful employer brand tool you can possibly have – and yet most companies will just pop it on their careers page on their website,” Molly says.

“We enable companies to get discovered by their working environments, which may be seen by hundreds of thousands of people – we now have 400,000 people on the platform.”

Join us as we discuss the benefits of agency certifications, and the realities (and pain points) of the accreditation process.