Kick Point is Inspired by Others to Share About the Benefits of Paying a Living Wage

Encouraged by the lead of Glass Book Shop certifying as a Living Wage Employer in early 2022, Kick Point, a digital marketing agency, decided to share that they also champion living wage. Says Jen Salamandick, Partner and Co-director of Strategy for Kick Point, “When we saw Glass Book Shop tweeting about becoming a part of this, we had one of those ‘Oh, well of course we do that too!’ moments.”

For Kick Point, paying their employees a living wage aligns with their core values, “We always have, that was never a question. Creative industries sometimes try to get away with lower wages with the promise of valuable experience and ‘exposure.’ We believe that people should be fairly compensated with tangible things like consistent income and good health benefits. Financial stress can have an incredibly detrimental effect on mental health, so it’s important to us to support our team with compensation that is above just a living wage,” says Salamandick, “Paying a living wage was never in question for us, but this process provided a valuable opportunity to evaluate all of our partners and service providers.”

It is clear that their team is a strong, connected and collaborative group of 13 creatives, and that Kick Point demonstrates a high level of care for their employees. In addition to paying above living wage they also provide employer-paid health benefits, a very flexible WSA/HSA, RRSP matching, and a three-week vacation minimum. All of these elements contribute to retention and increased morale.

The Alberta Living Wage Network is very happy to have Kick Point certify as a living wage employer and to champion living wage and help spread the message. So where will they proceed from here? Salamandick says, “We will also be sharing our participation with our clients and encouraging them to take part as well.”