Nearly half of employers in digital marketing say they don’t prioritize building and maintaining workplace culture, according to a new report from the Digital Marketing Sector Council (DMSC).
“It’s the most shocking finding,” says Lindsay Richmond, senior manager, online education at Hootsuite and DMSC board member, “and I wouldn’t work somewhere where they don’t.”
The recent DMSC survey on hiring and retention practices for digital marketing roles in Canada was commissioned to identify emerging challenges and provide employers with actionable strategies to retain talent on a long-term basis.
Retention’s on the move
In this fast moving space, employees typically only stay in the role for one to three years or less. But this survey shows evidence of further reduction in retention, with 29% of respondents noting a downward trend in the length of tenure.
The joint equal reasons for leaving a role are landing a similar role elsewhere, and increased pay or benefits at another company, cited by 39% of respondents.
Culture & compensation
As a line manager in the sector herself, Richmond believes it’s her responsibility to “manage” the culture in her team, by creating a positive, psychologically safe environment such that team members want to stay in their roles - almost regardless of salary. “If an employee feels challenged, supported, seen, recognized and valued, that goes a long way,” she says. “There are ways to do these things that aren’t compensation.”
While 20% of respondents say hybrid and remote work may be contributing to difficulties with workplace culture, and 25% say this is “somewhat” true, Richmond doesn’t agree. She believes this isn’t a problem when “the right tools and systems [are] implemented”.
Hootsuite’s working norm has become increasingly remote since the Covid-19 pandemic and Richmond’s team itself is 100% remote. “There’s no reason why you can’t create a really strong culture remotely,” Richmond says. “It’s important that managers create opportunities as a team to connect. We do this twice a week. We also have a team social once a month. Then I have weekly one-to-ones with each team member where we discuss any red flags, big picture questions, how they’re doing, their engagement levels and their workloads, so we can work out what they need from me.”
That’s not to say that fair compensation isn’t “critical”; respondents named it as the most important factor in improving retention at 45%. But it’s only one part of the mix.
And competitive compensation is not just about fair pay but also benefits like flexibility and resources for physical and mental health.
Room to grow
Another powerful factor in maintaining loyalty among talent lies providing them with internal growth opportunities, as identified by 39% in the survey.
“Managers should be curious about uncovering their team’s strengths and looking for opportunities for growth,” says Richmond. “They should be great at connecting their team with other people and departments across their entire business because that’s where new opportunities for growth could come from.”
Richmond has never conducted an exit interview at Hootsuite because no-one has left her team - a fact she attributes to “working really hard to create opportunities and fairly compensate for growth when I see it, as much as I can.”
Learning & development
When compensation and/or promotion is not in her control and she can’t greenlight a raise, Richmond actively seeks other rewards in terms of professional development, such as attending a conference, taking on a speaking engagement, leading a new project, embarking on a “stretch” task or undergoing leadership training. As the report recommends, it’s better to focus on these types of long-term retention drivers rather than short-term perks.
“Purse strings are tightening,” Richmond acknowledges, “but there are often many things you can do that don’t cost much money, if at all, which still make people feel they’re getting new responsibilities and that you believe in them.” These things can also bolster employees’ resumés.
With digital marketing evolving at such a rapid rate, any training on the latest trends or skills is a particularly effective way to drive loyalty. Yet the survey reveals that only a quarter of companies currently offer internal growth opportunities and many organizations have no formal structures in place.
Jump on onboarding
Onboarding is another area of weakness identified in the DMSC research. Three quarters of respondents say that onboarding and training processes for new hires predominantly happens on the job. Richmond believes that for too many companies onboarding consists of giving a new recruit a laptop and wifi password “and expecting them to hit the ground running”.
Rather, she urges, onboarding should be taken seriously, giving the best chance for the employee to succeed and the employer to retain talent. Becoming proficient in a new role should be expected to take at least six months to a year.
“Employers need to ensure that timelines and support are realistic because the cost of churn, as the report makes clear, is extremely high. It’s worth taking the time to get onboarding right,” Richmond says. “My experience is that very few companies in this industry have a robust long-term onboarding plan.”
Supporting employees from diverse backgrounds is especially important, and this is borne out in the survey which shows that DEI is becoming a greater priority. More than half (59%) of respondents now offer DEI training, either formally or informally and 26% have practices in place for retaining individuals from underrepresented groups.
Richmond welcomes this recognition but warns that recruiting from diverse groups isn’t enough. It’s essential to advocate for diversity and inclusion in the hiring process but then “we must be prepared to nurture [these employees]”. Regular feedback and opportunities to share experiences, such as in Employee Resource Groups, are key, for example.
Make the connection
Regardless of background, however, the universal driver of staff retention is the sense of connection an employee has with their employer.
Richmond recently conducted her own audit on her team’s attitudes. “I asked what it would take for them to leave,” she says. “Again and again, consistently, from all the team, I heard that connection and the support they feel from our team, even as the company changes, is the biggest driver of retention.”
