 |
May 2024 | ||
 |
|||
|
|||
Identifying a Great Place to Work in 2024 (five minute read) Unsure about your job security, I always say, ‘follow the money!’ And it’s usually thrown in large dobs at new business activity. ‘Yes,’ that’s where people are most likely to hear your cry for work, particularly if you have experience in the sector they’re pitching. And why so much money thrown at new business? Because agencies are not good at holding on to clients!
He continued, "It’s an older concept. It’s amazing when clients [stick with one agency]. It’s just not the way the world is now.” Why? Because of a lack of what clients are asking for? Client beliefs – How to Maintain Client Relationships I recently conducted a straw poll of US, UK and European based clients asking, ‘What factors damage a positive view of your agency killing your chances of longer-term relationships.’ ‘The agency isn’t seen to have expertise and knowledge.’ (About the client’s business, exactly how they make money) ‘Agency personnel appear to have a lack of genuine curiosity for a clients business, meaning your interaction is more presentation versus conversation mode. ‘Patterns emerge of non or sub-optimal delivery of expectation.’ ‘The agency fails to communicate understanding of commercial benefit’ (For instance, how precisely is a creative recommendation going to impact specific business objectives) ‘The agency isn’t up-to-date (or communicating they are) with the latest trends.’ ‘The agency isn’t transparent.’ ‘We feel we are being taken advantage of.’ Encapsulating much of what was said above one client directed, ‘If you want to sustain our relationship, don’t wait for a brief to offer up a great idea. Be proactive with points of view, with cultural trends, with competitive moves, with new consumer understanding.’ It’s clear, there is a desire to see agency personnel get on the front foot/to be more proactive. As one respondent to this summary added, “That’s exactly right. Then we know the agency is thinking about us after they have left the room.”
To be clear, the stakeholder priorities are shareholders then clients then employees. The holding company reaction (of the last 20 years) to shorter client tenure. Cost reduction as a way to increase margins.
And because of this, there are regular client losses and with them reductions in job numbers. While the industry still believes in the importance of client relationships, it continues to undermine the ability to deliver them. Whilst 100% allocation of staff is good for book-keeping it isn’t ideal if agency personnel are to get beyond a largely overburdened and ‘reactive dynamic’ to their work. Along with regular job cuts, there has been a pernicious reduction of investment in the development of people, knowledge and culture. And, a greater focus of time and investment in chasing new business, which is more expensive to acquire than organically building existing business.
Incentivizes CFO’s and key executives differently – It pays annual bonuses to staff but offers significant bonuses for KPI’s with a 3-5 year horizon encouraging investment in the business…in people. Doesn’t 100% allocate staff – This agency allows bandwidth for the proactivity needed to sustain and build client relationships. In so doing it retains clients for longer. Has Client longevity – This agency has more continuity of finance and therefore ability not only to retain staff but to invest in them too! New Business Selective – Pitches new business very selectively and can because it reliably increases revenue each year through organic growth of existing clients. Devoted Proactive Resourcing – This agency has a devoted ‘client building strategist’, (that used to be ‘pulled in to’ new business pitches) – This person’s role is to provide business building thinking/ideas each month, which are shared with clients, in so doing, changes the agency interaction from a reactive to a proactive dynamic. What do you think? Is what I've written 'pie in the sky'? Love to hear your thoughts, Stuart
|
Articles and commentary that might be of interest...
The 8 elements of great company culture How to manage conflicting stakeholder interests |
||
www.sparkinsearch.com |
     |
||