The cooperative model is rather rare in the field of marketing, where large, highly hierarchical agencies dominate the market. But the people behind MamboMambo, a Quebec cooperative specializing in branding, decided to do things differently. And it works.
“There were five co-founders at the start and we had all already worked in agencies and we did not find the experience very rewarding,” says Zorani Sanabria, co-founder and co-creative director at MamboMambo. We all had a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and were treated like graphic designers. We wanted a business model where we would be more equal, with a horizontal leadership model. »
“Everyone we talked to at the time said we had to create an Inc. company, with a boss,” adds, laughing, Guillaume Beaulieu, also co-founder and co-creative director.
“We chose this model because we wanted to hire, have a salary scale, group insurance and this model allows that,” explains Guillaume. To be a member, you have to be hardworking. We can also have employees who are not members, but at least 50% of the work completed must be done by members. Normally, quite a few of our employees become so after their three months of probation. They can thus vote at the general meeting on the various decisions to be taken. Our annual report and financial statements are presented to all our members. They also receive a rebate if our results are positive. »
“Very often, there are rebates, but we can decide not to pay any, or to delay the payment to keep a bigger cushion,” Zorani explains.
“Nine at the moment,” says Guillaume. There are still quite a few of us between eight and ten. We do not want to grow at all costs. We have a very strong core of experienced people and things are going really well like that. We want to remain a company on a human scale. »
“As we are a small company with no hierarchy and we do not have project managers, we talk a lot among ourselves and directly with clients,” explains Zorani. We are therefore very agile and this also ensures that our projects move forward more quickly. »
“Staff retention is also an advantage,” adds Guillaume. Our employees are members, so they really participate in the management of the cooperative and in decision-making. We don’t have a lot of turnover. In addition, the cooperative is a model that appeals to young people. »
“We need very autonomous employees who want to get involved,” says Zorani. There are people who dream of autonomy, but once they get it, it doesn’t work because they are used to having a rigid framework and people telling them what to do every day. We give our employees the freedom to manage their schedule as they wish, as long as they respect the deliverables. »
