MARKETING TALENT

European CMOs lament the challenge of losing their employees

By our News Team | 2021

Chief Marketing Officers say losing good staff to their competitors is proving to be a major concern in recent months.

More than a third of Chief Marketing Officers based in Europe report that losing talented employees to their competitors has been a significant workforce challenge in recent months.

This is according to a report in the industry publication Marketing Week, quoting new research from the social media platform LinkedIn.

Another 35% of the 263 CMOs surveyed say they are receiving fewer applications for vacant roles, while 32% report finding it difficult to recruit people with the right qualifications, Marketing Week said.

As a result, marketers are casting the net wider when it comes to recruitment, with more than a quarter (26%) now looking overseas for the right people, while more than three-quarters (76%) believe offering hybrid working is one of the key ways to attract the best applicants.

Photo by Alena Darmel from Pexels

Having a strong employer brand is also rising in importance as companies try and stand out to candidates that are in short supply. Thus, almost three-quarters (73%) say investing in their employer brand is an important priority over the next six months. This is partly because more than a third (35%) admit they feel prospective candidates are put off by current workplace policies.

Flexibility and professional development are key

“Companies will need to focus on building an employee experience that puts flexibility and professional development front and centre, and CMOs will need to demonstrate they are finding ways to help employees nurture their creativity and continually develop their skill sets in a hybrid working reality,” Tom Pepper, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions EMEA and LATAM senior director, is quoted as saying.

Recently, M&C Saatchi, the giant UK-based advertising and marketing agency, said it was so concerned about losing talented employees that it has begun a programme of ‘stay interviews’, as opposed to the common ‘exit interviews’ when people leave.

“It goes without saying that the ‘stay interviews’ will only be effective if talent feel they can be truly honest; as such we recommend those conducting the interviews are not line managers of those being interviewed and ideally not in the same department to enable objectivity and a degree of separation,” M&C Saatchi’s Managing Partner, Annabel Mackie, explained in a joint interview with two other experts for the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA).

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