Would it surprise you if we said at least 50% of the candidates we are speaking to daily want out of agency?

I’m talking those that have worked in agency for years and have some incredible experience are now deciding they want to leave agency life and move in-house.

Even those who have only worked in the industry a short time, they want out.

Why?

• Work life balance – being expected to be on call 24/7, working long hours to manage way too many accounts. Feeling like they can never switch off, even when taking annual leave.

• Lack of support – managing a large portfolio of accounts with little or no support. Feeling like they can’t do a good enough job because everything is rushed and reactive. They feel like there isn’t the support for them to be able to clearly see how they can progress their career as the focus is always on client delivery.

• Expectations – they are “expected” to do whatever they need to manage their accounts, if this is working with clients overseas, they find themselves having to be available day and night. As you on board new clients they are just added to their already bursting client list and then they spend their time trouble shooting.

We work exclusively with agencies and a huge number of industry professionals that we are speaking to right now want out because they see in-house as a slower pace, less demanding and where they can give their work the care and attention they need.

Is this how your people feel?

When did you last speak to your team about how they’re managing their workload?

There's some great agencies who are really mindful of all of the above and are doing what they can to ensure they have a happy and healthy workforce, not all agencies are the same and we're not suggesting they are but this has to be food for thought for any leader in this space.

This is how people are feeling.

If you’d like to chat through the current market then we’d love to give you some market insights, just drop us a note.