How To Build A Powerful Agency During Tough Times

By Roberto Orci

What’s Going On?

Workplace dynamics have shifted dramatically since COVID. We have fewer face-to-face interactions and more of us are working from home. Employees are reassessing their personal situations which has resulted in decreased loyalty with firms struggling to retain staff. This is especially true for advertising agencies.

A common complaint from agency heads is that they are short staffed, putting additional strain on an already overworked team. And executive recruiters tell me that the people they are helping place are increasingly more demanding of their potential employers while exhibiting less loyalty.

Staff retention problems do not bode well for agencies, since firms that hire them have high expectations that their agencies will not only produce best-in-class work, but that they will provide best-in-class service. That high level of service from a seasoned team is what strengthens relationships leading to client longevity and agency success.

What Can You Do?

Attracting and retaining the best talent is, therefore, job one. McKinsey & Company addresses how to play the new talent game in their recent article. The rules have changed and employees want more than simply better compensation. They want more flexibility, community and an inclusive culture. Otherwise, they are likely to move on because they know that other opportunities are out there.

McKinsey suggests investing in creating a “sticky workplace” which begins by better listening and anticipating employee needs. This advice is particularly relevant to agencies where having a strong culture helps differentiate one agency from its competitors. Having the right leaders focused on building and retaining your team will increase the likelihood that you can build an agency for the long haul with a strong sense of community.

If you want to future proof your agency by building a best-in-class team, you will need to start at the top. Here’s how.

1. Start with your vision: What does your agency stand for and what capabilities do you provide that make you unique and competitive? Are you a creative boutique? More about performance marketing and analytics? Is your focus on experiential? Whatever your specialty, you will need a broad range of leaders in their fields, such as strategists, channel planners, creators, analysts, producers and more, to accomplish your overall mission. It has never been more true that the role of an agency head is that of the conductor of a fine tuned orchestra.
2. Build your leadership team first: Often agency heads try to manage the bottom line by hiring department heads with less experience to save money. But having a strong leader for each key discipline will improve agency performance, and the bottom line, in the long run. Advertising is a team sport, and the best teams have the best coaches. If you put your attention here, you will be off to a good start.
3. Good leaders have networks and can attract the right team members: Your department heads are your best recruiters. The unemployment rate is at historic lows. That means your pool of potential hires is small. But chances are that your head of strategy knows some smart planners, and that your head of media knows great media planners and buyers. This networking dynamic in most fields increases your chances of identifying, recruiting and retaining the right professionals for your agency. If you did a good job of putting together a strong leadership team, you have increased your chances of building a strong agency.
4. Good leaders build loyalty and help retain staff: Give your team leaders the support they need to build a climate of trust and respect. Employee experience has always shaped how employees think about why they come to work, according to McKinsey. Employees with an overall positive experience are eight times more likely to stay and four times more committed than those with a negative experience. The strongest predictors of a positive experience were social aspects, including quality relationships with leaders, trust, caring teams, and organizational social climate (e.g., respect and inclusion). Recruiting a diverse workforce is a strategic imperative, followed by creating a truly inclusive workplace culture which is the shared responsibility of the leadership team.
5. Foster a collaborative culture: The COVID pandemic has severed the socio-emotional ties that create the right connections that fuel organizational growth, create a feeling of community and promote creativity and innovation. If you acknowledge that the future workplace will likely be both virtual and in-person, you can develop strategies to strengthen workplace culture and create a sense of belonging resulting in a “sticky workplace.”

There is no better time than now to take an inventory of how well-tuned your workplace is for the new economy, and answering that question will help you create a competitive advantage for your agency and a better environment for your team.

About Roberto Orci

Roberto is a marketing and advertising executive who provides leadership and guidance to take companies to the next level. He is a recognized leader, having acquired the know-how, the tools and the experience turning around firms across numerous industries, segments and geographies. He can be reached at do************@gm***.com