Deutsch LA Finds Mass Exodus Amongst Workers In Ad-Agencies

According to a report by Deutsch in Los Angeles, every year, more than 33 percent of workers in ad agencies leave their jobs and go out in search of not only more lucrative pastures but also those were work pressure is considerably less.

Every time an ad company loses an employee, it will cost them time, money and effort to replace them and with the reports projections that one-third of them could be leaving, it’s hard not see why employee retention has become a major priority for the agencies.

So how can the industry arrest this exodus? Deutsch LA thinks it has the solutions and has convened a forum in Cannes next week, where these solutions will be presented.

To promote the session, the agency shot three hilarious videos that are full of expletive-filled ranting by disgruntled employees, who bitch about their jobs, venting out their frustration, their vituperative explosion, triggered by a simple question, like how it’s going?

The language is too explicit to be mentioned here, but it captures those deep-seated agency moments, when creatives, accounts personnel and the producers, unhappy by the dictatorial attitudes of those above them, abuse everyone and everything about the place. They say that they are trapped in the vicious game of work – work – work – work – burn out – go back to work round the clock and get no appreciation for it. Moreover, the remuneration is peanuts, they fume.

The grumblers rant that they hate coming to work, that their bosses are morons who don’t understand a thing about advertising. That they are miserable and it is affecting the quality of their work and that unless the management sees sense, they are planning on exiting.

Although the efforts of Michael Sheldon and Kim Getty from Deutsch LA, deserve praise, people who have in-house knowledge of the advertising world, feel that it’s not going to work, because nothing is going to change as most agency care a little for their employees all they are worried about is their profit line.

However the agency is optimistic that their forum will yield the desired results. They say that they were alarmed by the results of their survey and the harsh affects it was having on the ad industry.

On their site they wrote, “We teamed with the 4As on a study that examines the brand health of the ad industry and why people stay or leave. What are the expected reasons people leave (83% want more compensation), but also the unexpected (Two-thirds say it’s harder to make great creative)? This session helps you learn what your people really want and how to keep them under your roof.”

Deutsch LA says that they recognize, “this agency talent rotisserie has real costs, on recruiting, creative excellence and business development.”

The videos are therapeutic and healing viewing for any employee trapped in a job that he does not like and under an overbearing domineering boss. The videos are guaranteed to assuage such pained souls.

It’ll be interesting to see what Deutsch LA proposes and what they share about their “ownership culture” during next Monday’s (June 18, 2012). One prays that all the talk at the forum results in some constructive action and the employees and employers shake hands and are back at their desks again, happily may we add.