OPINION: Fostering great digital talent

I’ve spent the last few weeks meeting senior clients, discussing their needs and current market trends. And it’s very clear that both agencies and clients are facing a major issue – a shortage of great talent.

Clients want agencies to have a holistic view of their businesses, but they also want strong skill sets that ensure that they as clients are pushed, that their communications are innovative and that their offering meets the fast-changing needs of their target audiences.

Do we need a TVC, can our online production go offline, what about mobile? Can I leave that for a few years? How do I get into e-commerce? What about systems integration? With everything moving so quickly, can we have a long-term strategy or should we just test, adapt and optimise in a short-term framework? Where do I find a great community manager?

Great questions. And exciting times for those with the right talent pool. But jeez, those guys are becoming harder and harder to find. Why? Because everyone wants them.

Agency networks are rapidly changing their service models, media companies are rapidly changing their service models and clients are changing their view of marketing. New media and new platforms are seen as the innovators and leaders, and they are also chasing great talent to help them speak directly to clients and agencies, not about sales, but about new ways to market and about innovation.

So what do we do? Well I believe we need to start looking at the likes of Google, Facebook and Baidu. These are the real innovators and thought leaders. They attract the very cream of the crop, they inspire and they invite and reward creativity of the mind (don’t think sales, think product development).

I love the Google Science Lab, the simple concept of play.  Inviting young minds to come and play with their creations, to invent further creations. And of course Google keeps a very watchful eye out for those that excel and show a natural inclination.

So from an agency point of view, I believe we need to open our doors more and foster young, uninhibited talent. I’m not talking about trainee programmes, where some poor graduate does everything to earn their stripes. I’m talking about creative workshops and practical open days, where real issues are put on the table and talent from any and every background is invited to solve them. Not through a tried and tested strategy toolbox or process, but through real talent, intuition and creative thinking.

Let the young be inventive. Let the savvy show their cunning and let’s observe how those with no constraints of industry boundaries create solutions with the use of today’s technology. I think many of us would be blown away.

Later on we can train them to 'walk this way'.

I’ll let you know how we go.