Once again, managers of ad agencies are up in arms over salaries
spiralling out of control (MEDIA, June 23).
Executives seem to have tried everything; salary capping, career path
mapping and some have even taken the radical step of looking to training
programmes.
Still, those ungrateful youngsters, who obviously don't appreciate just
how lucky they are, have the audacity to ask for more money, better
career opportunities and more training.
Some are voting with their feet and jumping on the dotcom bandwagon.
Just who do they think they are?
Well, they know exactly who and what they are. They know that they're
the lifeblood of our businesses.
They know that they're the reason we exist and the source of energy
driving our success. They know that they are the only point of
difference any of us has, and as such, that they're our competitive
edge.
They know they are our assets, our goodwill and the creators and
maintainers of our company's brands. They know that they are the present
and the future.
What's more, they're absolutely, totally, unquestionably right.
The real tragedy isn't that many of the people moving jobs are not just
leaving from one agency to go to another and so causing salary
inflation, it's that they're leaving the industry altogether.
And they're not leaving ad agencies just for money or better career
prospects.
Often, their motivation is simply that they've had enough. It isn't just
about some pot of share option gold.
It's to be rid once and for all of having their time abused by companies
who survive in Asia exclusively on the goodwill of their employees.
Employees that work excruciating hours often for poor short-term
remuneration, little long-term investment and virtually no meaningful
sharing of the success that they are responsible for generating.
They are tired of the outdated Western-based business model of the
advertising agency and the inevitable stresses this causes.
They are tired of having crazy decisions imposed upon them from HQ;
they've had enough of working 16-hour days, six days a week in order to
feed the ever-increasing profit demands of distant chiefs.
And then to add insult to injury, to be informed that the sages at the
4As have ganged up and decided to cap their salary increments at three
per cent.
What were they thinking?
Did they really believe that this attempt to deal with the symptom
rather than the cause was going to help retain and attract top talent to
our industry?
If anything, the effect has been to drive more and more people away and
to make any new talent thinking of entering the industry think
again.
During the recent recession, the industry culled staff at an
unprecedented rate. Many hardworking, loyal people were fired. Others
had their salaries slashed. Disillusioned, they sought employment in
other industries, never to return.
No new young talent was hired. The few training budgets that existed
were frozen.
Is anyone really surprised that we now have a people problem? And it's
going to get much worse.
The "New Economy" is not about dotcoms, it's about wealth-sharing and
human development.
These companies recognise that to get the best people out of the ad
industry, all they have to do is to share a little success, pay a little
more and show a tad more respect for people.
With this simple formula, they can attract pretty much anyone they want
away from the dinosaur agencies. It's rich hunting ground.
It's easy to see why we're in a vicious circle. The more people that
leave the industry, the more inexperienced, lower quality people will be
hired putting even more pressure on those seasoned executives that
remain.
The more their time will be demanded, the more disenchanted they'll
become, the more clients will be dissatisfied, the more the reputation
of the industry will be damaged (if that's possible).
We are only experiencing the tip of the iceberg.
To deal with these harsh realities, we have to look in new
directions.
The industry has shot itself in the foot so many times that we mustn't
look back if we really want to see the way forward.
While it may be difficult to see just now, all this presents a fantastic
opportunity for those people and organisations that wish to challenge
the old order and that believe that genuine, constructive change in our
industry is long, long overdue.
What's more, now there is no choice.
