High churn rate alarms Aussie industry

<p>SYDNEY: Employees in the Australian advertising and media industry </p><p>are resigning at an alarming rate, according to a new report by </p><p>PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and the Media Federation of Australia </p><p>(MFA). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>PWC and the MFA surveyed 900 employees in the industry regarding </p><p>benefits, salaries, performance-related incentives, training and staff </p><p>retention issues. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The results reveal that although employees enjoy high salaries and cash </p><p>incentives, staff loyalty is dwindling. The lure of cash bonuses is </p><p>doing little to convince employees to stay, leaving managers at a loss </p><p>to figure out how to hold onto their staff. Turnover is particularly </p><p>high among junior staff and middle management, with a 25 per cent </p><p>turnover rate among middle managers, 50 per cent for junior media </p><p>assistants and 38 per cent for junior strategic planners. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The attrition rate lowers further up the corporate ladder although chief </p><p>executive officers and managing directors are still jumping ship quite </p><p>frequently - at the rate of 10 per cent and 17 per cent </p><p>respectively. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The survey results do not bode well for the future of the industry, and </p><p>the recent collapse of Ansett is expected to put further pressure on </p><p>turnover levels. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>MFA president, Peter Cornelius, said one reason for the high turnover is </p><p>a lack of employee training programmes. "Most agencies don't train </p><p>staff, which is an area for the industry to focus on." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He suggested employee share offers as an option in reducing turnover, </p><p>given the apparent unsuccessful attempts to woo staff with cash </p><p>bonuses. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Melbourne and Sydney boasted the highest average salaries in the </p><p>industry. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>