Live Issue... Agencies face tough choices to maintain talent base

Talent - or lack of it - has been a recurring issue in Asia’s marketing industry over the past few years.

Agency heads have repeatedly complained there has not been enough talent to go round. But that was in the boom times. Now budgets are being cut and agencies are laying off staff, what will be the effect on the industry’s talent pool?

Privately, several agency heads agree that the recession has presented an opportunity to retrench poorer performers; only in the direst circumstances will the top talent be forced to find alternative jobs. “No one in the industry is going to cut their good talent, they hang on to their best people,” says Michelle Kristula-Green, who is leaving her role as Asia-Pacific president of Leo Burnett to take up a global talent management post at the network. “They cut roles of people who can be replaced later or that don’t fit into the business model.”

That view underlines a quiet confidence that this recession should not hit the talent base too hard. Sapna Srivastava, chief talent officer, JWT Asia-Pacific, argues that agencies can get through the current downturn by adopting a two-pronged approach.

“During an economic downturn, all budgets are scrutinised, including training and hiring,” she says. “We will continue to invest heavily in our stars. If teams get leaner, retaining the performers will become increasingly important. And graduate programmes will continue to keep the pipeline stoked.”

Indeed, leaner agencies may be able to service clients in the current climate. But the big question, however, comes when growth returns and agencies face the issue of staffing up.

Joanne Lao, managing director of TBWA Hong Kong, acknowledges that widescale cuts in training can store up problems for the future. “There is a risk that if agencies stop developing talent there will be a talent shortage. It is important to continue to develop people.”

The signs so far are that training is being maintained, but that agencies are prioritising more than ever the areas in which staff gains skills. “The key will be in the ability to retain and continue to develop talent in strategic areas that will be important to the future growth of the agency, without compromising the ability to deliver quality work in the short-term,” Lau adds.

Ultimately, that means digital. Digital staff and digital training remain in high demand despite cutbacks elsewhere.

Jason Kuperman, vice-president for digital development at Omnicom, says he has even seen a few examples of agencies cutting back more than they had to in certain areas in order to hire digital talent. And with layoffs much more acute in Western markets, he has noticed more top-level digital talent seeking a way into the Asian industry.

Omnicom recently unveiled a tie-up with Fudan University to offer an open executive training programme to delve into platforms, technology and applications that will be relevant to the future of digital marketing. Kupeman points out that digital training can create efficiency. “Rather than pay to hire digital staff, you can just train the ones you’ve got to do two jobs,” he says.

Tony Prehn, chief executive officer of Lowe Thailand, says that agency managers need to look into all aspects of their operation to see where efficiencies can be made.

“The key criterion is, where is the value being added into the agency and on the client’s business? At the end of the day our deliverables are brilliant creative ideas and that’s the same in good times as well as tough times,” he says.

“It’s never difficult to hire people, especially after a downturn. What is difficult is hiring the best. That doesn’t change whether times be good or bad.”

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