Aaron Agius is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of the award-winning global marketing agency Louder.Online.
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Whether you have to fire someone on your marketing team or they choose to quit, dealing with turnover is never fun. And it’s a problem that every marketing leader will need to deal with at some point. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an annual employee turnover rate of 47.2% in 2021.
So in a fast-moving world where you could lose almost half of your team every year, what’s the solution? Let’s talk about why reducing turnover in your marketing team is so important, and how to actually keep the right team around for longer.
Reducing Turnover Improves Your Marketing Team
Reducing turnover can help your marketing team become more productive, happy and profitable. Here are some of the key reasons why reducing employee churn matters so much:
• Promotes a Healthier Work Environment: It’s hard to focus on your future with a company when co-workers are constantly disappearing. Lower churn improves team cohesion and confidence in your mission as a brand.
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• Reduces Onboarding Investment: Each time you replace a team member, you need to go through a timely and expensive onboarding process. Long-term employees and contractors mean more resources for existing team priorities.
• Helps Avoid Burnout: Someone has to pick up the slack when an employee leaves. Reduced turnover helps prevent your marketing rock stars from diverting their focus or getting stretched too thin.
• Makes Clients Happier: With high turnover, clients are put in an uncomfortable and time-consuming position of teaching your new employees about their business. Make your clients’ lives easier with consistent, effort-free points of contact.
Now that you understand the impact that turnover can have on your marketing team, it’s time to put a plan into action. Let’s dive into four powerful ways to reduce turnover and enjoy a thriving, resilient marketing team:
1. Acknowledge Remote Work As The New Normal
Your company policy on remote work could seriously affect your turnover rate. According to a 2021 survey by Gartner, 52% of employees surveyed said flexible work policies would affect whether they stay or leave a company. If you’re concerned about letting team members work remotely, don’t prohibit it and risk losing them. Instead, put measures in place to ensure productivity and team unity.
Sure, there’s a lot to like about having your whole team working in one physical location. You can see everyone working hard with just a quick glance. Plus, you can organize a quick all-hands meeting in a few minutes rather than cross-checking everyone’s schedules. However, there’s no reason you can’t enjoy the same kind of personal connection or efficiency with remote team members.
Hold face-to-face meetings over Zoom, create standard operating procedures (SOPs) that make each role simple to execute correctly, and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure your team based on true performance. The lazy, old-school approach of measuring productivity based on “time in seat” never held any merit in the first place. Smart marketing managers do the hard thinking upfront, so they know exactly what their team is—and should be—achieving.
2. Manage With Finesse
From lack of motivation and productivity to two-week notices, the cost of bad management is simply too high. No one wants to dread their boss. If there’s friction between management and other team members, it’s just a matter of time before consequences arise.
There is a skill to managing others—leadership, motivation, empathy and organization are just a few key traits. As a manager, you should also be mindful of your communication style with your marketing team. Your job is to hold them accountable, but it’s also to keep them happy and make sure they’re hitting their own personal and financial goals. Here are some actionable ways to keep your team on track without being a pushover or a drill sergeant:
• Host weekly one-on-ones (in person or over Zoom) with built-in time for free-form conversation.
• Show your team how improved work performance helps them meet their personal goals.
• Provide constant praise and positive reinforcement, even for small wins.
• Make it clear that any and all feedback for management is appreciated and encouraged.
When you make the effort to connect on a deep level with your team, you’ll build a stronger rapport. This makes it easier to hold team members accountable without them feeling intimidated or blindsided.
3. Filter Team Members Diligently
Positivity and effectiveness are contagious. So too are negativity and incompetence. Just as you qualify the clients you want to work with, you need to select your marketing team carefully. But what makes a bad team member, and a good one at that?
The best way to answer that question is to get clear on your company’s values. Then, ensure your new hires align with your values and culture before offering them a position.
Values are unique to every organization, but some common ones include:
• Integrity
• Resourcefulness
• Collaboration
• Drive
• Accountability
Ideally, your marketing team members will align with all of your core values. That means they’ll get along with management and other team members, as well as your clients, resulting in less turnover.
4. Encourage Professional Growth
What happens when someone reaches a goal or a plateau? They get bored and look for the next challenge.
This is the reason why athletes worth $100 million hold out for an extra $2 million on their next contract, and it’s why marketing professionals jump ship to a more exciting role.
How can you challenge and assist your marketing team in continually growing personally and professionally? You may consider offering:
• More money.
• More responsibilities.
• The chance to spearhead the implementation of a new marketing software.
• Time off to attend industry events.
• An opportunity to give input on the direction of the company.
• Set time aside to share goals and progress.
If you’re hiring correctly, your team will thrive in the face of these challenges. By investing in your team, you’re making a long-term investment in your business.
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Author: Aaron Agius, Forbes Councils Member
