Why is my Company Having Difficulty Finding Senior Brand Talent?
By Rita Armstrong, Recruiter, Roz Goldfarb Associates
 |
 |
| Rita Armstrong |
First of all, realize that you are not alone. Eighty percent of my current search work is for design talent at this level. Whether you are a corporation looking to expand your design management team by adding someone to the “innovation” side of the business, or you are a consultancy looking for a Design Director to service a corporation, you are finding the pickings to be slim.
The shortage of talent at this level is the result of several market trends. A slow economy didn’t provide opportunities for professional development into these senior level positions. Over the last three years, Senior Designers and more junior talent have not been promoted as quickly as they were during the boom years. In addition, the economy’s recovery has influenced how we work. Smaller pools of people have been handling larger workloads. In the last six months it has become clear that this trend is not going away anytime soon. Now, new hires need to happen… and they need to happen yesterday. The problem is that there aren’t enough talented people with the level of brand experience to fill these needs. It is essential that new hires take place.
New hires are necessary, but it is also imperative to hold on to the experienced brand leaders already on staff. The competition is willing to lure away your talent with very appealing packages. The fact that we are experiencing a twofold increase in counter-offers makes it clear that companies are recognizing the need to hold on to their talent, even as they grow their ranks..
What can a company do to draw in the type of talent it needs, and how do I hold on to my staff without going broke?
Take a cold hard look at your hiring practices. The hiring issues I see on a day-to-day basis include: A lack of current employee evaluations, poorly written job descriptions, and interview and review processes that need to be streamlined.
A business’ greatest asset is its employees. Providing an atmosphere that promotes personal and professional development is key to retaining personnel. Before deciding to make a new hire, determine if this would be a good opportunity to promote someone from within the organization. If a promotion is in order, make that staff member an active part of finding their replacement. Not only does this promote goodwill within the group, but also it is an excellent public relations move. Remember, the design community is tight. It is not unusual for me to know how candidates perceive a company by my third call on a search. There is an immediate reaction by the candidate when I mention the name of a client, be it a corporation or a consultancy. They will, in many cases, know the names of the people they would be reporting to, or working with at a given firm. Often, prospects specifically ask why a certain person within the company was not promoted into the position I am proposing, before they will commit to being presented to a company.
Job descriptions need to be interesting and accurate. They also should reflect a bit about the company’s personality. If these criteria are followed, not only will you get a nice response to your postings, you will draw the appropriate candidate, and waste less time reviewing under or overqualified prospects. Use your current employees to describe what they do on a day-to-day basis. Candidates will want to know, for example, if their job is 60% managerial and 40% hands-on creative or if they will be traveling one third of the time. Set the parameters by speaking to those who hold positions with this same title and level of responsibility within your organization and you will save yourself a lot of heartache. How many times have you read a resume, gotten to the end of it, and still had no idea what that person did? You don’t interview that person. The same holds true for your job description. Why should a savvy design manager respond to a listing where the responsibilities of a job are not clear? There are plenty of jobs out there, in great places to live, with good salaries, and descriptions that list clear-cut objectives for the company and individual. Candidates will not respond to a bland job listing that sounds as if it was written 20 years ago and pulled out of a file cabinet every time the job was vacated. Quite honestly you don’t want to hire the kind of person who would respond to this type of listing.
Finally, the interview process itself can kill a hire. Move quickly if a prospect is in line with your needs. Quickly means that the first phone interview or in-person interview takes place within a week of receiving a resume. The second interview or grouping of interviews should take place no later than two weeks after the initial interview. I have had clients draw out this process for three months or more for and then seem surprised when the candidate is no longer interested in pursuing the situation. Another client of mine waits weeks before responding to a portfolio. In this case it is not the in-house recruiter’s fault. The Creative Director is so busy that he just can’t review the work and move the process along.
We devised a review document that allows the CD to check off a list of possible feedback options on each book or set of samples, which enables the recruiter to set up meetings quicker, and get a better idea of what type of candidate is “a fit”. Additionally, it is as important to quickly say “no thank you” as it is to say, “yes please” to a prospective hire. Letting someone down in a gentle, professional, and timely manner leaves the candidate with the perception that your company is a well-run organization.
What do Brand Managers and Design Directors want?
Over the years I have interviewed thousands of people, and I usually open our interview with the same questions: “What do you want to change?” Followed by, “What responsibilities do you find are the most enjoyable to you, and which ones would you love to leave behind?” The goal that each candidate seems to rank number one is growth. It is what they strive for. Now, this means different things to different people. Is it creative growth, is it managerial responsibility, or is it a financial matter? Surprisingly creative and managerial issues usually tie for first place. Candidates believe that the financial rewards will come if they are taking on more responsibility. They are more concerned with what they will be doing, rather than how much more money they will be making doing it.
Take advantage of the buzz word “innovation.” Innovation is defined as “the act of introducing something new.” It happens to be what every motivated individual is looking for when changing jobs. Hiring these people means that you need to offer not only the opportunity to be innovative in designing and producing brands, but that the very process of designing and managing the brand stays fresh. Flat organizational charts leave little or no room for professional or personal growth. I guarantee that I will hear from a candidate after being placed in a company that uses this structure within two to four years. They will once again want to move on citing the need “to grow” as their reason. What they mean is that they are bored.
To keep creatives fresh, they need to have their clients, responsibilities, and projects change. The most successful companies with the most “innovative” brand ideas rotate their staff and responsibilities. These companies also provide mentoring programs, and allow some of their staff to take on part-time teaching jobs. All of these programs keep people motivated and attract the attention of prospective employees.
Endgame
Clearly, hiring senior design talent in the current job market is a challenge. However this challenge can be overcome by applying the same methods Designers and Design Managers use to develop brands. First, establish who you are as a company or branded work environment and promote that personality in your job descriptions. Design a process that is clear, quick, and efficient for determining who you want to hire. Keep your current staff involved in the hiring process by promoting when possible and utilizing their experience when writing job descriptions. Most of all, keep the whole process fresh by encouraging professional growth and thereby creating a buzz-worthy environment that draws the type of talent you are looking for.
Rita Armstrong has been a recruiter for Roz Goldfarb Associates since 1986. RGA is a full-service recruitment consultancy and executive search firm that assists creatively focused businesses in finding the best available talent to meet their goals. Rita recruits Creative, and Design Management candidates for Packaging and Consumer Branding.
This article appeared in the June
2006 eBulletin.
Feedback on DMI Viewpoints and article proposals
are always welcome! Please email jtobin@dmi.org.
All articles reflect the opinion of the author and not the Design
Management Institute.
 Email this page to a colleague
|
