ID Comms: talent churn is now biggest issue for advertisers
Talent churn is now the biggest concern for marketers and media leaders when it comes to having the right teams in place in-house and at agency partners, according to new research by ID Comms’ 7Ts Global Research Project.
In 2016, talent churn was only the fourth-highest concern among advertisers, while in 2018, it was third, with quality of talent and advertisers internal media/marketing structure preceding in importance. For agencies, ‘paying the right amount for talent’ is now the second-biggest concern; an issue likely to become worse as inflationary pressures increase the fees that advertisers are expected to pay agencies for such talent.
Even before the pandemic, the advertising industry had above-average turnover rates. In 2022, advertisers are more pessimistic than agencies about being able to find the right talent over the next 12 months, with 90% suggesting it will get harder.
The findings are based on responses from media, marketing, and procurement professionals with a range of global, regional and local market responsibilities. Advertiser respondents have a combined annual global media investment in excess of $10bn and include representatives from FMCG/CPG, retail, pharmaceutical, food and drink, entertainment, automotive, luxury, finance, energy and telecommunications.
Data and ecommerce are particular areas of concern. 80% of all respondents selected data as an area where additional capabilities would be required over the next two years, closely followed by e-commerce (73%) and measurement (68%).
“The current talent crisis is an opportunity to reflect on the hiring practices in advertising writ large. Within the last couple of years, we have seen numerous commitments from advertisers and agencies to improving diversity, equity and inclusion.
ID Comms senior consultant Paul Stringer says: “While this is important for numerous reasons, expanding the current pool is likely critical to solving current gaps and shortages in the marketplace for talent, even if we have to wait to reap the benefits of the changes we start to implement now.”
