Future-Proofing Your Agency: Accelerating Your People Strategy

Tweet it:'Increasing revenue for today’s agencies will involve making some serious decisions about how they operate, how they hire, and whether they can keep the best people on their team.'

It’s no surprise that talent attraction and retention tops the list in terms of creative agency operational priorities. Almost 60 percent of agencies recently surveyed by Deltek and Campaign Magazine anticipated an increase in staff over the course of 2022.

Industry expert Vince Dong, founder of Ad-Vice Software and Consulting agrees with this assessment. We recently talked with Vince on our webinar: Future-Proofing Your Agency - Accelerating Your People Strategy. He discussed top challenges facing agency leaders around talent and retention.

Growth is Good, But…

An optimistic takeaway from the webinar was the consensus among agency leadership that income is expected to increase for the year. A full 90 percent of shop decision-makers are predicting improved revenue. Major factors contributing to this positivity include:

• Investment in improved operational efficiency including better project scoping
• Clearer and more timely communication within and among creative and client-service teams
• Deeper scrutiny and refinement of existing client service agreements
• Serious evaluation as to whether or not an agency needs a brick-and-mortar office

While that optimism is good sign for agencies as a whole, not all of that growth can happen without employee forecasting. As Vince explained, if you are not accurately tracking your utilization rates, you will not have a good idea of where you need to allocate more people, and where you may need to watch for burnout.

Top Challenges with Talent

During the webinar, Vince asked agency leaders what their biggest challenges were with respect to talent management. More than 75% agreed that finding qualified candidates was by far the biggest concern followed by retention and employee salaries. To combat these challenges, Vince explained that agencies must spend money on their employees. Those who are leaving voluntarily are expressing a desire for flexibility, additional benefits, and more professional development options.

Adaptability is Key

We recognize that agencies are in what amounts to an all-out war for talent. According to Vince, winning this war requires agencies to adapt. Salary demands are soaring, and talent expects to be able to work remotely. Shops that offer the most competitive compensation along with hybrid work options are going to be the most attractive. And while some may think the challenge of attracting staff would be something easily outsourced to a recruiter, Vince was quick to note that recruiters themselves have never been busier, so creative shops either need to address these issues themselves or stay behind the curve.

Teach Me!

Exit interviews from employees leaving agencies show that professional development options go a long way towards decreasing company turnover. Agencies who are able to develop and implement professional development plans for their employees receive better marks for employee satisfaction. Bonus! Those companies also get a more skilled workforce.

So What’s Next?

It’s clear that hoping for an increase in revenue for today’s agencies will involve making some serious decisions about how they operate, how they hire, and whether or not they can keep the best people on their team. To learn more smart ways to make all of that happen, watch our on-demand webinar with Vince Dong where he discussed the top challenges facing agency leaders today.

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