Learning on the job with Hip Hip Hooray

Learning and new experiences can come at any stage or life and many of our social enterprise brands work with disadvantaged people to give them opportunities for training and new chapters. One such brand is Hip Hip Hooray, an ethical stationery brand that supports women who are rebuilding their lives. We wanted to learn more about their training programme and how exactly their illustrated stationery products are helping women in recovery and rehabilitation gain new opportunities. So we invited one half of the wife-husband co-founder team Jenny Adjene to fill us in.

Over to Jenny…

When we turned our business into a social enterprise in 2020, our goal was to start an employment programme for women overcoming serious hardship – namely women in recovery from addiction and stuck in that cycle of harmful substance use, offending and criminal convictions and homelessness. It was built on the premise that meaningful employment – being a valued member of team, learning and contributing skills and having a completely fresh start can help women draw a line under the sand and start building a better future.

We are almost a year in now and the journey our colleagues are on, their progress, renewed confidence and successes would appear to confirm that this model of employment programme really can work.

Who does Hip Hip Hooray stationery support?

Women are referred to our programme by organisations in the community such as; a drug and alcohol recovery support service, a charity supporting women who have sadly had their children taken into care and the prison service. They start a journey of 12 months’ worth of living-wage paid employment, training and studying towards qualifications. 

Something I observed while working in the criminal justice system and in rehabilitation settings (which was my career prior to starting the business) is that many people who overcome addiction tend to want to pursue a career supporting others in recovery. While this lived experience makes many people an incredible asset to this community, naturally job vacancies in the field are limited. Furthermore, often it’s one of the only positive references of professionals that people have in their mind. Women who were failed by the school system, care services or other authorities, and who have been marginalised in society for a very long time may not have had positive role modelling from other professionals, yet once their experiences start to widen – when good things start happening for them, often they might discover something they love, something they are so gifted at – and it could be a total surprise.

As such, our approach to training, accreditation and qualifications is 100% personalised and based on the woman as an individual. If a woman wants to pursue self-employment, we might come up with an extensive personal development plan that fills in all the missing parts to get her to her destination. That could look like lots of short courses, mentoring specific to a certain subject, workshops, certificates and more. For another woman who wants to go into a certain sector one day (let’s say for example – working with children), she’ll need a certain set of qualifications and a host of training to prepare for that, so that’s what we’ll set in motion.

Sometimes women aren’t quite sure which direction they want to go in, which can actually be a great advantage if it means you’re open minded and looking out for possibilities in unexpected places. For women in this bracket, we usually base their personal development plan on their gifts and interests. For example, we currently have one woman on our employment programme who is extremely gifted at supporting others, and is a great listener and encourager. The first accreditation she’s doing is a ‘Mental Health First Aid’ qualification, learning about mental health and how to support others in the workplace. This kind of versatile qualification is a great step back into learning and study, and will be useful in any future working environment.

What’s it like working at Hip Hip Hooray?

Working in any small business involves wearing many hats, and for the ladies on our programme this is no different. The job involves a variety of different things including preparing and packing stationery orders – it could be notebooks, calendars, cards, invitations or any type of printed goods.

We pack on average 50-100 orders a day, so speed and precision are essential but not at the expense of presentation, which is very important. It’s also something our colleagues take a great amount of pride in, and every woman has her own illustrated sticker to show the customer who has packed their order. These little touches help women feel like part of the team from day one.

The work also includes creative product planning, which we do as a group once a month via our popular and fun ‘team days’.

Our staff team is made up of women from all walks of life, and all very supportive – so we come up with the best ideas for new collections (usually centred around women’s empowerment) when we all sit down together and share thoughts and ideas. Other roles within the job include learning about customer service, admin, printing and many more skills besides.

The impact Hip Hip Hooray has for women

“Before joining the programme, I didn’t feel able to find employment because of my physical and mental health. I didn’t believe there was a company or a boss that could support me in a work placement. I never really had people to say I’m good enough and I never even believed in myself,” comments one of the women on Hip Hip Hooray’s training programme. 

“Since I started working at Hip Hip Hooray, I have registered for two courses based on my interests and ambitions: Mental Health First Aid and Health and Social Care & Children and Young People’s Settings. I’m really grateful for these opportunities because my dream is to work with children – it always has been my ambition. I want to help them understand their minds, their way of thinking and be a guide to them to change the world. I know doing this mental health first aid course will help me to know more about me so then I can past all my knowledge on to those who need it.  

I’m now looking forward to life in general and Hip Hip Hooray has really helped me. As a team they’re all lovely and I love working with them all and absolutely look forward to our group team days. Hip Hip Hooray has given me a base. As long as I have them, I’m ok. I look forward to going to work without judgment and if I get something wrong I know they won’t go mad. It’s a safe space that comes with new challenges every time I’m there, but I see it as growth and it has given me so much more confidence. I just love it.”

Another woman on our employment programme who is in recovery from addiction is incredibly passionate about social justice, equality and mental health, and has plans well under way to become a trainer and deliver workshops to employers around these topics, using her own lived experience. We are supporting her through the programme in a variety of ways, including around public speaking, confidence building, being self-employed and through a course that upskills people to deliver training.

Since starting the social enterprise I’ve glimpsed the true value of businesses to community, and even more so, the true value of people in our business. For many years, charities have raised up the communities which have been left behind in one way or another, and now I believe it’s time for business to step up too. As small business owners, we are incredibly well positioned to effect positive change in communities and give life changing opportunities – and I truly believe our businesses will be better for it too.

The beauty of this journey for me, is witnessing women rediscover themselves outside of the labels and boxes society has confined them to for years or even decades.  Every woman can and should experience life in all of its fullness, and within that, women should know they are valued, know they have so much to offer, know that there is a good life waiting for them. We believe meaningful employment is one of the main ways women get to claim that life as their own, and it’s a joy and a privilege to run a business that can make that a reality.

Feeling inspired by Hip Hip Hooray’s story and impact? Check out their full range.