The market is growing quicker then the talent pool

As any one that works in the industry will tell you, there is a shortage of good digital people. The industry has gone through a huge period of growth,  and the talent pool simply hasn’t been able to grow with it.  As more and more agencies try to take a slice of the digital pie, it’s liable this situation will get worse before it gets better so what does it mean to agencies and clients?

For the agenices, the problems are clear; if you have good staff, producing good work, you’re going to have to work hard to keep hold of them  and if you’re an agency wanting to grow your digital department you’re going to work even harder to bring suitable people in.  With this in mind, factors other than money are going to come into play. We’re an industry full of creative people, and creative people need a stimulating environment;  It’s all very well taking on huge, dry, corporate projects which  have great margins, but you can’t then be surprised if the guys who’ve been slogging their guts out every day (and often night) whilst slowly dying inside creatively up and leave. Particularly if there’s little else to motivate them.

I spend my time meeting and talking to agencies and those that really invest both time and money in their staff’s well being have noticably less churn than those that think throwing a summer and christmas party is going to hold onto their most prized assets.

For the client, the danger is that the team that wooed you at the time of appointment might be entirely different 6 months down the line,  which can understandably cause problems, particularly if the change of personel also brings a change in creative direction. With this in mind, it’s important you look behind the slick presentation and showreels when you coming to appoint your agency partners. Don’t be afraid to ask difficult questions about staff turnover and the internal culture of any prospective agency; those who have really made the investment will jump at the chance to talk about it.

(Andrew Allen. September 31/09)

Filed by sam.brownfield on October 1st, 2008 under Rant or Rave?