The type of agency that you might enjoy working for often changes through your working life as you move through your twenties to thirties and beyond. There is no right or wrong but I thought I’d try and do a bit of a summary of the options that you’ll have. There are plenty of generalisations here and I’m conscious that I don’t want to offend any of my clients. But by and large, these are observations that I’ve gathered over the last 20 years in recruiting in this space.
OWNER MANAGED AGENCIES. These vary widely! They are often small - intentionally so but equally there are those who are start-ups and looking to grow quickly. Often they can be run by Creatives or a Creative and a Suit or a husband and wife (or any combination!). The culture and personality of the agency is very dependent on the ownership and leadership. The plus side of most owner managed agencies is that they are launched by individuals who have come from bigger networks and have wanted to run their own businesses. So most commonly they will have the same processes and structures as the bigger agencies and they generally try to take clients with them so you don’t necessarily end up working on smaller brand clients.
Agencies where the ownership is an individual with a Creative background, they can have superb creative output but feedback is that often the synergy between client services and creative teams can be slightly off kilter. Where there are two partners, one from a creative background and one from client services the balance is much more equal. Process, structure and organisation are important in any busy agency. One of the most common reasons that employees look for a new role is that they find their current agency ‘chaotic’. There is a fine line between fast paced and interesting and chaotic....and chaotic implies that the day to day life is full of firefighting. Too much firefighting leads ultimately to stress and then to job hunting! That isn’t to say that in larger and networked agencies they don’t have these issues but generally there are more ‘systems’ in place to ensure that creative work is scheduled and budgeted correctly. Occasionally I hear the words ‘micro managed’ associated with the smaller agencies too where there is an owner manager who is unable to fully delegate and let go of responsibility. You could counter this by saying the owner manager is ‘mentoring’.
In the smaller independent agencies, I would say that promotions are more forthcoming at regular intervals. These agencies tend to promote upon proof of ability to do the job and do the job well. Business owners are ever conscious that they don’t want to lose staff and the best way to motivate them is to provide ongoing progression and salary increases. Little and often tends to be the best way to retain staff. The smaller agencies also generally offer more recognition of capability and if you have shown interest in doing something a bit different - say, an Account Manager particularly enjoys creative writing. In a smaller agency they’ll be able to incorporate that into the role rather than all the writing going to a ‘Copywriter’. The smaller agencies often appeal to employees in their twenties where ‘work hard and play hard’ is a given. Smaller agencies often struggle to provide the same benefits as larger networked agencies and those benefits (such as maternity leave policy or healthcare) become more important as we move through our thirties and beyond.
Often, the variety of work and ability to work on multiple different clients is more prevalent in the smaller agencies. Yes, the budgets are often smaller but being able to work across multiple channels, to get stuck into strategy, planning and to have a say in the creative process is something that doesn’t always happen with the larger agencies. As agencies grow, the role of client services teams can often be more project management led.
Owner managed agencies tend to either be intentionally small and expertly formed or have ambitions to grow (usually with the intention of selling). The middle ground is an independent agency which has grown to a reasonable size which attracts big name clients but also a senior leadership team/board of directors and more shareholders. This gives employees the option of finding a balance of strong creative output, good processes and employee benefits whilst still with an independent culture. These agencies are not simply an extension of an entrepreneurial owner and their personality but they have grown beyond that - usually still retaining a little of the original culture but with a solid and professional gloss that occasionally (not always!) is absent in the very small agencies.
At the other end of the spectrum is the networked agency. Network does not always mean huge. There are several northern agencies who are part of a network but are a small regional office rather than 300 staff. Big name clients and projects tend to be the main attraction in a networked agency and potentially more global projects too. Budgets of projects tend to be larger and give more scope for learning new skills and personal growth. However, in the really big agencies, no matter what your discipline, you can end up being a small cog in a big wheel. Small cogs are essential but it can lead to monotony in a role and boredom is another key reason why an employee might brush up their CV. Processes and systems are generally very efficient and employee benefits are extensive. We’ve seen a real shift in employee benefits in recent years - previously, it was the main reason that agency folk went client-side. But contributory pensions, healthcare, gym memberships and the ability to buy more holidays are now much more available (As a rule of thumb, the bigger the agency, the better the benefits). Larger agencies often appeal more to those in their forties and beyond. These agencies have always been more able to accommodate shorter working weeks for working mums (working dads seldom request a 4 day week) and they also provide the ability to flex management and leadership skills as the teams that they will manage will be bigger. Equally, the networks are great for a recent graduate to get a 'name' on their CV and increasingly it's the bigger agencies who are offering apprentice schemes - after a couple of years at a network, you'll be attractive to a lot of other employers. If you are a Creative, you’ll likely work with some great leaders and the mentoring opportunities are great but as I have said previously, for those in client services, the roles can often be very delivery and project management focused and that might not suit you if you enjoy getting stuck into the creative process and a bit of strategic planning (these agencies also tend to have large brand planning teams who do the exciting stuff). Salaries do not tend to be better in the networks - with more staff, the salaries are benchmarked and there is an absolute hierarchy to ensure that individuals at the same level are paid equivalently. Whilst there is generally a more formal HR led culture with annual appraisals, promotions can take longer to be forthcoming than in a small independent agency.
So what’s the answer? There isn’t just one. The life equation changes as you move through life. Horses for courses - it’s a moving feast. I’m always happy to chat through options and I’m very objective about the recommendations that I make. Whatever your priority - salary, hours, flexibility, remote working, pension, healthcare, we can work with your requirements. Covid has obviously changed a lot of things in our industry but whatever you are looking for in your new role, there is somewhere for everyone!
fiona.christian@perfectmarketingpeople.com