Agency check: Hinderling Volkart

• Address: Badenerstrasse 415, 8003 Zurich
• Date of foundation: February 17, 2007
• Founders: Michael Volkart, Michael Hinderling and Michael Bischof, Iwan Negro and David Lüscher, Gérald Marolf and Till Ramstein
• Number of employees: 59
• Current clients: United Nations, Public Eye, Eurowings, Edelweiss, Monocle, Hiltl, VZ ,Swiss, UBS, Postfinance, Switzerland Tourism, Swiss Re and many more.
• Hinderlingvolkart.com

Which campaign from the past twelve months are you particularly proud of?

To the relaunch of Switzerland Tourism - a long, very intensive collaboration in which half the team was involved, which demanded a lot of sweat and heart and soul, and of which we are proud of the result.

The most important campaign in agency history to date?

We received the nicest compliment for "Lost in Val Sinestra" for Swisscom TV - the performance was praised as "Double Rainbow Awesome" by Tech Crunch. The most important award ("Site of the year" at Awwwards) was won by 360langstrasse.srf.ch for Swiss TV.

Hinderling Volkart successful at Best of Swiss Web

The most offbeat place your creatives retreat to be creative?

The roof tent of Till's Range Rover - at least rumored.

What do you do when you have thought blocks?

A short bike ride to the Letten or a walk to the Rheinsprung or to the Nydeggbrücke and a swim in the cool water helps with almost everything.

What is your agency philosophy?

We do it right or we don't do it at all.

The partners of HV Italic - immortalized in an oil painting.

Why should talented people definitely come to work for you?

Because they can develop optimally in the best team with the most exciting and varied customers and projects.

How long do employees stay with you on average?

Long enough for a familiar team spirit to develop, and short enough for there to be a good mix. In our young teams in Basel and Bern, we have had practically no departures. What's exciting is that most of those who leave go on to start their own business, take a trip or start further training. Employees who change agencies are very rare.

How old is your youngest employee, and how old is your oldest?

Ruedi, our copywriter and concept developer, has long since retired, but still works passionately for us three days a week. Lior, who is currently doing a frontend internship with us, is 18.

How high are the wages you pay compared to the industry average?

Our employees should be valued and fairly compensated for their work, have exciting work, be able to develop themselves further and find a great and stable working environment. We think we're doing a pretty good job of that. Probably no one comes to work for us because of the money alone.

What is the ratio between the best and the worst paid employee?

About 1:9 if you take our apprentice into the equation.

Do employees know among themselves who earns how much?

Our team in Bern recently introduced a transparent salary system. That is actually our goal in Zurich as well. But who knows who's salary should be left up to the employees.

How much overtime do you work on average per week?

We very much appreciate the willingness of employees to go the extra mile and work beyond the agreed hours. The idea is that this can then be compensated again naturally in quieter phases. Overall, overtime is kept very much within bounds.

What benefits do you offer to compensate your employees for this overtime?

Assignments on days off can be compensated, and if weekly overtime becomes the rule due to the system, we try to find a fair solution. One of our guiding principles is: We give a lot and demand a lot - in addition to many benefits and team activities, we offer, among other things, five weeks of vacation, and on your birthday you have a day off with us.

How long do you get maternity leave and how long paternity leave?

Mothers receive sixteen paid weeks, fathers two. This is then often supplemented with unpaid leave.

Is home office allowed - and if so, how often?

Our HV-Italic team only meets every Wednesday in the Basel office, for the rest of the week the working location can basically be chosen freely - this recently led to the Italic staff from St. Gallen joining forces and now often working from the container in Lattich.

In Zurich and Bern, home office is possible according to need and individual arrangement.

What is the current quota of women?

Our team in Bern is now 50 percent female. In Zurich and at Italic, it's even lower. It is still difficult to achieve a good mix, especially among the developers.

Do you employ interns?

Anytime! jobs@hinderlingvolkart.com

Do you organize team events?

Our four-day ski weekend has cult status, each area has a nice budget for trips of several days (mostly as a city trip), in Sihlsports we regularly battle it out in racket sports, and this summer we're going down the Aare in rubber boats, including food, drinks and an overnight stay in the Jugi.

The best activities are always those that are spontaneously organized from within the team.

Beach fun with the Zurich frontend team

Team outing at Hinderling Volkart Bern

Summer party of Hinderling Volkart in Zurich

Do you have an agency dog or other mascot?

Our agency unicorn.

The Agency Unicorn by Hinderling Volkart

Where do you drink your after-work beer?

You are most likely to meet us at "Volver" near the Rathausplatz, in a Buvette on the Rhine, gaming at the Playstation and playing Ping Pong at the headquarters in Zurich.

The team of the Basel offshoot HV Italic while gaming.