Commentary
Report: Return-To-Office Mandates Driving Employee Churn In Adland
- by Richard Whitman , Columnist, November 8, 2023
Marketing talent platform WorkReduce has issued a report on the outlook for employment in the advertising sector based a survey of over 1,000 ad industry employees in October, interviews with industry executives and other research.
Among the findings:
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Remote employees are less at risk for burnout and churn and there is a much higher likelihood of burnout among workers returning to the office.
in-person employees are happier with their pay and career advancement potential.
RTO drives churn: 52% of employees report that their employer’s RTO policy is causing them to look for work.
And 53% said they did not see opportunities for advancement at their current employer or were not sure about such opportunities.
“In an industry notorious for employee turnover, career advancement remains a key question,” the report concludes. “How do you get ahead and build the skills necessary to grow in an advertising career? Clearly, there’s room for improvement.”
The report quoted one unidentified executive as lamenting, “Where does the next generation of talent come from? The people who used to train entry-level talent are too busy running campaigns now to train anyone.”
The report cites Ogilvy Global Chief People Officer, Maria O’Keeffe, who describes the current situation as an evolving “war for talent.” Her advice to leaders: “Continuously listen, experiment and adapt.”
As the industry continues to adapt and experiment with AI technology, 60% of companies surveyed cited a "lack of skilled people" as the biggest bottleneck in machine learning adoption.
The report also cites research from 2022 that the cost of replacing an employee can range from 50% to 200% of their annual salary, depending on factors such as the employee's job role and the level of training required for the new hire.
Recommendations include:
Communicating a sense of purpose for the organization
Avoiding a “sweatshop” environment by staying ahead of staffing needs
Invest in training and “upskilling” to boost talent retention
Adopt flex and contingent labor practices to boost retention
