This month we interviewed our Managing Director, Paul Allen, about what a typical day steering the Kanga ship looks like…
What enticed you to become MD at Kanga?
I’ve worked with Kanga since our founder Kay Wesley invited me to join her, to explore an opportunity to create an online patient support platform for what became our first client. I remember feeling like I was part of something very exciting, that we could deliver something exceptional and make a genuine difference to the lives of people living with a difficult condition. From Project Director to COO, and more recently to MD, this feeling has never left me.
Why is Kanga different to your previous workplaces?
I’ve worked for a variety of digital agencies over the years and feel very fortunate to have worked on amazing projects, learnt a huge amount, and met a lot of exceptional people across them all. But if there were particular distinctions I would draw out as being quite unique to Kanga in my eyes, I would say they are: the depth and breadth of knowledge and experience in the health and pharma industries across the team; our unwavering commitment to removing barriers between our clients and their patients and customers; and the collaborative, compassionate and progressive culture of the company itself.
How would you describe the Kanga team?
An exceptional and varied group of experts who are a joy to work with.
What is your typical working day like?
I’m not sure I have a typical day haha! But I suppose the common threads are making sure everyone has what they need to do their jobs in the best way possible, whether this is connecting people, helping understand requirements, feeding into strategies or ensuring solid delivery processes.
So, how do you manage a healthy work-life balance?
I have a young family who keep me in check! In all seriousness though, having worked both client and agency-side, both demanding long hours, I have seen the negative impact that this can have. Kay and I have always considered work-life balance extremely important, and as such take it very seriously.
What does Kanga do to support your work life balance?
With good planning and communication across the team we can allow a flexible working environment that supports a healthy work-life balance. But ultimately we recognise the importance of this balance to people’s health and well-being – it shouldn’t be a surprise that happy and healthy people do better work.
For example we provide the autonomy, solutions and support to choose where and how people want to work – remotely, from the comfort of their home, in our modern office, or a hybrid of the two. We support their choice and actively empower them to create their own schedule depending on their team, project needs, childcare commitments, family responsibilities, health conditions, professional and personal development, and life-stage evolution needs.
This flexibility means our people can manage their life without having to compromise on the quality of their work output.
What would be the one thing you’d say to future Kanga candidates?
Kanga’s ethos is very much based on trust… if you love what you do, want to be part of an amazing team, can balance hard work with a flexible working schedule, and have the passion to help our clients deliver a real impact on healthcare, then Kanga might be the place for you.
How do you like to spend your free time?
When I’m not spending it with my family I enjoy cycling, walking and hiking. Living in Cornwall there are miles and miles of wonderful coast to explore, so I’m spoilt for choice in that regard. I like to surf when I get the chance too.
Would you rather travel to the past or to the future?
The future. I’m fascinated by history, and so read a lot about it. But the future is tantalisingly unknown.
