It’s an understatement to say that the advertising industry is undergoing a period of profound change. Take a look at the digital landscape as one example—it’s completely different from what it was just five years ago.
Driving this change is the fact that today’s online audiences place high demands on the brands trying to get their attention. Consumers want messaging that’s engaging, relevant, and custom-tailored to their exact needs. It’s this demand that has generated the creation of new technologies for native advertising and cross-channel targeting.
As a result, the advertising industry is undergoing a period of extreme growth that is leading to a competitive hiring landscape. Compared to the number of ideas and ambitions that companies have to achieve, top talent is in short supply.
“It’s very hard to find talent where the level of expertise and level of experience match – and even harder to entice those employees to stay put,” explains Lindsay Boesen, Vice President of Marketing at the global advertising technology platform PulsePoint.
To establish a leadership stake in digital media’s promising future, companies need to hold on to their best team members. Here are 3 employee retention tips to guide you.
1. Give people room to grow
As the advertising industry grows, new types of roles are emerging. It’s natural for top performers to want to explore these opportunities in furthering their careers—which sometimes means that they’ll need to part ways with their employers.
Companies can fight potential attrition by facilitating more movement within their own organizations. One strategy that Jay Stocki, Vice President of Digital Services at Experian Marketing Services recommends is to encourage team members to explore existing roles within their organization.
“We encourage team members to learn more about the space and how it’s changing,” says Stocki.
Experian, as an organization, is undergoing a significant transformation in its product lines and services as it enters the new world of digital media. As a result, roles are changing within the organization, too. Rather than leaving, however, employees are sticking around to further their skillsets.
“There are hundreds of anecdotes where a team member who had zero digital experience two or three years ago is in a digital role now,” says Stocki. “On our ad operations team, for instance, we’ve had zero turnover for two years.”
2. Empower employees to be leaders
Experiencing rapid growth and change, ad tech is an industry that’s highly conducive to innovation. As a result, leadership opportunities are evolving within multiple organizational levels—anyone ranging from VPs to entry level specialists have the opportunity to bring new ideas to market and to bring new clarity to the future of digital media. One way to encourage retention is to give employees the opportunity to become leaders.
“You need to give clear direction and set expectations upfront, but once you do that, step back and let them figure it out,” explains Boesen. “Be there to offer support, but don’t take over – it will deflate their confidence and prevent them from really, truly learning.”
The opportunity to learn will give employees the power to define the future of the ad tech industry—an incentive that will keep them engaged within your organization.
3. Provide formal training
Employees need tangible resources to further their success. In addition to giving them space to grow and empowering them as leaders, organizations need to create structured development plans.
Experian, for instance, relies on the IAB Certification Program to bring new skills to the organization and facilitate a sense of camaraderie among team members.
“It’s an exam that makes our team more valuable to the industry,” says Stocki. “Our people know that it’s an investment in them.”
With formal training, team members will feel confident in their roles and learning opportunities.
“We have a talent base that continues to feed upon itself,” says Stocki.
Final thoughts
The ‘secret’ to employee retention is no secret. It’s empathy. Empower them in their roles, and live up to your promises to help them grow. They’ll want to stick around to reciprocate—to support you too.
Learn more at https://www.iab.com/topics/certification/
