A client recently told us “You guys care!” – and it stopped us in our tracks. In a world where box-ticking can be the norm, we’ve built a culture where caring isn’t just a nicety, it’s the foundation of everything we do.
It was a passing comment from a client that stuck with us.
“You guys care!” they said, reflecting on the difference they’d noticed after switching from another PR agency. We thought caring was a given. But the more we thought about it, the more that simple piece of feedback resonated.
Because, at SE10, caring really is what makes the difference.
Not just caring in the sense of being polite and professional. But caring enough to think critically, to dig deeper, to challenge a brief if we think there might be a better approach. Caring about the long-term relationship, not just the short-term win. Caring about doing the job properly — not just ticking the box.
It turns out, that’s not always a given.
What does it mean to care?
To us, it means being genuinely invested in the success of our clients. When you care, you don’t do the bare minimum. You pursue the right strategy, not the easiest one. You sweat the details. You keep asking questions, looking for better angles, clearer messages, sharper stories.
It’s something we hear often from clients who have previously worked with larger, more generalist agencies. They describe a revolving door of staff, a lack of continuity, and the exhausting need to keep bringing new team members up to speed.
At SE10, we work differently. We’re a small, specialist industrial B2B PR agency of just 13 people, spread across the UK, USA, and Singapore. But we’ve never let our size limit our impact. If anything, it sharpens our focus.
Creating a culture of care
So how do we create a culture where people genuinely care?
It starts with hiring the right people. Many of us are former journalists who get a buzz from uncovering a great story. Others are linguists who love the nuances of language and cross-cultural communication. We also have seasoned PR professionals with a long-standing fascination for the inner workings of media and reputation. What unites us all is a real curiosity and pride in the craft.
Then it’s about giving people the right environment to thrive. We don’t micromanage — we can’t, and we wouldn’t want to either. Our team leads accounts with autonomy and ownership, with support when they need it and space to run things their way.
Employee retention helps too. Over half of our team have been with us for more than five years and four have been here more than a decade. That means we get to know our clients deeply — their products, their people, their culture — and we carry that knowledge forward year after year. We’re not starting from scratch every quarter. We build momentum.
And we’re invested. Literally. SE10 has a shared ownership scheme. Many of our team are stakeholders in the business, which means we’re not just showing up for the paycheck. We’re showing up for each other, for our clients, and for the long-term health of the company.
A reflection of our values
When we thought about it more, we realised that ‘caring’ actually sums up all five of SE10’s core values:
- Curiosity: caring enough to ask the right questions
- Creativity: caring enough to craft an appealing story
- Reliability: caring enough to deliver, every time
- Accountability: caring enough to own the outcomes
- Humanity: caring about people, not just performance
That client’s offhand compliment gave us a moment to reflect. It reminded us that what we’re building at SE10 is special. Not because we’re perfect, but because we’re purposeful.
So if you’re looking for a PR partner who genuinely cares about the work, the strategy, and the people involved, please get in touch.
