Agency life has shifted dramatically in the last 2 years since the pandemic. Did it take your company by surprise?
Even 2 years into changes like remote working, some agencies, and employees are still getting blindsided by constant changes.
Agency leadership: how many of your full-time staff do you feel are working 40 hours a week, 48 weeks a year? How many are perfectly paired based on expertise for each job that comes in? What if there was a way for you to cut overhead while delivering smarter, more creative work? Would you be in?
Agency staffers: Were you just laid off? Did you move to a freelance position for more work/life freedom? Are you looking for a change where you can really focus on the things that you love doing every day?
As the industry has evolved, it’s more clear than ever that curated teams are not the wave of the future, they are the successful teams of the present.
Over the past two years, we have worked silently with our agency partners on thousands of projects, curating some of the most talented teams in the business. We’ve had a unique, front-row seat to the inner workings of over 45 agencies. With that inside look, we’ve made some groundbreaking observations about the current agency model and how companies can evolve to maximize results.
Here are our Top5 Key Learnings
22% of your non-client relationship staff should be fractional
In today’s project-based environment, forecasting is for fortune-tellers. Agencies that are thriving are keeping their relationship people in-house while at least 22% of their non-client relationship staff are fractional. Agencies that are utilizing the 78% FTE to 22% fractional model are putting anywhere between 20%-30% back to their bottom line while keeping their work and cultural integrity intact.
Insert fractional talent into your RFP process
Agencies that infuse fractional talent into their RFP process are seeing an 83% win-rate. These projects range from $50K to $50M. The biggest difference in the creative deliverable is a fresh perspective, integrating true category experts, and infusing the agency with new ideas.
The ability to say yes more
A deep bench of fractional talent allows agencies to say “yes” more…from a place of confidence as opposed to fear. When you know you have the right talent at your fingertips, the “yes” is easy.
Better retention rates
When teams are not overworked or burned out and have the opportunity to work with new people who bring in great ideas, high energy, and category expertise, it boosts morale. Gone are the days of “same stuff, different day.”
Diversity
Agencies with more culturally and ethnically diverse teams are 33% more likely to see better-than-average profits. (McKinsey, Delivering through diversity)
Those who adjust their legacy internal structures and acknowledge this dynamic will be positioned to leapfrog agencies that insist on the traditional, old-school model of talent acquisition and retention.
Agencies that embrace the 78% | 22% model will be more likely to overcome a downturn by running lean and tapping into the right talent when needed. You, in turn, can “pay as you go” for the right talent when needed, vs. paying someone on staff to be there if you need them.
Remote teams get more done in less time allowing them to start new projects, spend more time doing what’s working, and ultimately improve your bottom line and are all usually a little happier!
The future of agency life is here.
