Like many sectors, the marketing and communications sector is experiencing major challenges in attracting, nurturing and retaining talent.\u00a0 Statistics and commentary on skills shortages, capabilities gaps, churn and dramatic salary increases have been widespread.<\/p>\n
The Observatory International recently met with senior representatives from ISBA\u2019s membership to discuss these issues.\u00a0 This article builds on that conversation to highlight key initiatives to attract, motivate and retain employees.<\/p>\n
During the pandemic the Marketing function achieved increased recognition for its role in supporting brand and business growth.\u00a0 Yet at the same time there was a growing tension between Marketing being perceived as a force for good to drive change and responsible consumer choices vs being perceived as a driver of excess consumption and waste.<\/p>\n
Within the sector a lot of work has been done to address Environmental, Social and Governance factors, for example through The World Federation of Advertisers\u2019 Planet Pledge, the Advertising Association\u2019s All-In Campaign and the ISBA\/IPA Pitch Positive initiative.\u00a0 Individual brands and companies need to work on not only how they are perceived by consumers but also their employees or potential employees, if they are going to attract the best talent.<\/p>\n
High churn, talent shortages and salary inflation, all exacerbated by the pandemic, have meant that senior management are now having to devote an increasing amount of time to build and motivate their teams and retain staff, which has now become management\u2019s number one issue.<\/p>\n
The time taken to recruit people is extending too, particularly for more senior roles where the risk to change is greater or is more complex, particularly if there are other considerations such as childcare.<\/p>\n
Finding the right balance of office and remote working is also absorbing a lot of time.\u00a0 Finding an appropriate balance between these and the needs of different groups and people at different stages in their career also vary in this mix.\u00a0 Being in the office is extremely valuable for new appointees and less experienced members of the team to support training, learning from others, and also provide a sense of community, whilst more experienced members of the team, especially those with multiple demands on their time may be able to work better and be more motivated in a hybrid model.<\/p>\n
So what are the solutions?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Attracting talent<\/strong><\/p>\n The perception of a brand\/company is equally important to employees as it is to consumers.\u00a0 The business needs to be appealing to candidates.\u00a0 When thinking about how to communicate and promote job opportunities, the name of the brand, not just the parent company, needs to be obvious. Clarity on Environmental, Social and Governance policies and practice is also important.<\/p>\n Hybrid working models are now the most common format and have the benefit of opening up a much wider pool of talent \u2013 geographically, and in terms of life-stage and experience.<\/p>\n Thinking outside the usual recruitment paths to extend the talent pool, for example engaging with 16- to 18-year-olds to offer them work experience and build a career path can have significant benefits, as can initiatives to work with organisations supporting under-represented groups.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nurture and retaining talent<\/strong><\/p>\n According to Marketing Week\u2019s Career and Salary Survey, 40% of companies are turning to external hiring and only 20% are looking to train staff.<\/p>\n Looking to external rather than internal resource is a missed opportunity because the institutional knowledge and network of an experienced employee can help to solve problems faster.\u00a0 Add to that the time taken to recruit and then bring a new starter up to speed in their role delays the ability of talent to make a positive contribution to the business further.<\/p>\n The Management Consultancies Association has identified that training and development is in the top 3 factors to attract and retain talent.<\/p>\n With financial constraints and cost freezes due to the economic context, there will be even greater risks to training and development budgets.\u00a0 This has significant implications for marketing and communications teams.<\/p>\n Briefing is one of the cornerstone skills of a marketer.\u00a0 During the pandemic, and the associated period of remote working, junior members of the team will not have had the benefit of working alongside more experienced members of the team to hone this skill.<\/p>\n There is now a whole tranche of employees potentially lacking in this core skill.\u00a0 Great briefs and great agency relationship management lead to a frictionless and enjoyable process which is good for client teams and the agency partners they work with, and which will invariably be reflected in the quality of subsequent outputs.<\/p>\n So, training and mentoring is essential, not just as a motivational factor to attract and retain staff, but to ensure operational and creative excellence.\u00a0 Training budgets and development programmes need to be protected at all costs.<\/p>\n One route for talent development is to ensure planned career paths for employees to build their skills and maintain interest, effectively planning job moves every two to three years.<\/p>\n While this is another drain on management\u2019s time it is a worthwhile investment to avoid churn in the team, while at the same time supporting and building expertise of individuals.\u00a0 And if there aren\u2019t immediate opportunities to develop and move people, or they are averse to change, involve them in specialist projects to widen their experience, knowledge and maintain their interest.<\/p>\n The continuation of hybrid working is another strongly motivational factor, but with appropriate guardrails and \u2018incentives\u2019 in place to ensure optimal working.\u00a0 For example, creating an atmosphere of community and belonging rather than \u2018cliques\u2019 to encourage people into the office.\u00a0 Arranging regular in-person team meetings possibly with guest speakers \/ senior management – all to encourage attendance in the office.\u00a0 But at the same time enabling the flexibility to manage a work\/life balance for those that want\/need it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The talent crisis is real but it provides an opportunity to reinstate or reemphasise good people management and behaviours.\u00a0 We live in a world where talent has reimagined what it wants \u2013 to make great work, for great brands that are proactive in looking after the people that work for them and with them, and are a force for good in society and the environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Like many sectors, the marketing and communications sector is experiencing major challenges in attracting, nurturing and retaining talent.\u00a0 Statistics and commentary on skills shortages, capabilities gaps, churn and dramatic salary increases have been widespread.\u00a0This article highlights key initiatives to attract, motivate and retain employees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[121,120,127],"class_list":["post-5201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-en-ea","tag-marketer-capabilities-en-ea","tag-observations-en-ea","tag-ways-of-working-en-ea"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n