Design Industry Voices 2010, the second report on what people in the UK design and digital industry really think and feel about the agency they work for, has been released by Fairley & Associates, Gabriele Skelton and On Pointe Marketing. Research for the report was carried out online between October 15-25, 2010.
Over Half of Respondents Intend to Change Job Within a Year
The report reveals that more than half of respondents (56%) intend to change job within a year, compared to 38% in 2009. In 2009, 95% of respondents were in permanent employment, 5% freelancing and 0.4% out of work, while this year 69% of respondents are permanent employees, 26% freelancing and 5% currently not working.
"With over half of respondents considering a move, it has never been more important for agency management to engage all staff to build reputation, retain talent and protect client relationships," said Stef Brown, Marketing Consultant at On Pointe Marketing. "The increase in freelancers means more people are regularly working at different agencies and these people can create or break agency reputations through word of mouth, potentially impacting on future recruitment."
Staff Discriminate More About What They Expect From Their Agency Than Last Year
In the survey, respondents were presented with a series of attributes listed as statements. They were first asked how important each attribute is to them personally.
This year there is a 43% difference between the highest ranked, most important, attribute (82% for 'values ideas and opinions') and the lowest ranked, least important, attribute (39% for 'helps employees manage stress'). In 2009 the difference between the highest and lowest ranked attribute was only 11%, with the highest ranking at 100% for 'has a management team that demonstrates strong leadership skills' and the lowest ranking at 89% for 'focuses on farming existing clients' (not included in the 2010 survey).
"Last year everything was considered important," commented Rachel Fairley, MD of Fairley & Associates. "This year respondents seem more realistic and discriminating, with a focus on being able to make a contribution to stimulating work in a team environment, where there is a strong leadership that rewards people for going the extra mile."
Perceived Delivery Gap Widens in the Past Year
Respondents were also asked how well they feel their agency is currently performing against each attribute. An agency delivery gap is defined as the difference between the perceived importance compared to perception of how well an agency currently performs.
Perceived agency performance is poor. At best, just over one third (36%) and at worst, only one in ten (10%), rate their agency as performing 'very well' for any single attribute.
This year there is a wide range between the attribute with the smallest perceived delivery gap and the highest gap: -15% for 'a brand that is compatible with my own values' to -56% for 'rewards people for going the extra mile.' The most important attribute ('values ideas and opinions') has a large delivery gap of -46%, while the lowest delivery gap of -15% is for one of the least important attributes ('a brand that is compatible with my own values').
In 2009, the lowest and highest delivery gaps were also for 'a brand that is compatible with my own values' (-6%) and 'rewards people to go the extra mile' (-39%).
Finally, the number of employees writing their thoughts about work online has increased from 19% in 2009 to 27% in 2010.
"While respondents may be more realistic about what is important to them in an agency, their perception of how their agency actually performs has got worse and is generally poor," added Rachel Fairley. "Rewarding people for going the extra mile remains the biggest concern. Agency bosses should take heed that their employees feel their ideas and opinions are not valued, with a high delivery gap of -44%. It's also worth noting that being new to an agency, or a freelancer, doesn't mean the person will have a different point of view of how well the agency is performing compared to long-term staff. This matters all the more because more people than ever are sharing their thoughts about work online, shaping agency reputations."
Age Has Impact on What's Important and How Actual Performance is Perceived
Age affects importance ratings by respondents in four specific areas:
- Importance of doing 'work that is stimulating' decreases with age.
- Under 30s rate 'supporting professional development and growth' as more important than other age groups.
- Importance of 'clear strategic goals' increases with age.
- Over 50s perceive 'holding people accountable for the quality of the work they produce' to be of higher importance than other age groups.
Age also affects respondents' perception of actual agency performance in seven of the fifteen attributes.
"We think there is likely to be a link between seniority and age," said Karina Beasley, MD of Gabriele Skelton. "Perhaps it's not surprising that certain areas such as supporting professional development and growth becomes less important as people grow older because they will have more years of experience. What is more surprising is that the importance of doing work that is stimulating decreases with age. In a sector often cited for retaining employees because of their love for creativity, agency management may need to reconsider how staff motivations have changed."
Owners and Executive Teams Disagree That Their Agency "Has Good Pay and Benefits Package"
Owners and executive teams perceive a difference in their agency performance in relation to 'has good pay and benefits package'. The average ranking is 18%, while owners' ranking is 22% and executives' is 13%. Not only this, but owners perceive performance to be better than the average for seven of the fifteen attributes and executive teams do so for five of those seven.
"Agency leaders believe performance to be better than the rest of staff for almost half of the attributes," concluded Rachel Fairley. "There appears to be a disconnect between senior staff and the rest of the workforce. Despite this difference of opinion, performance for all attributes remains poor. But perception is reality, and leaders need to share their vision for the business so that all staff may have a common view."
Further information about the report will be made available on www.designindustryvoices.com from December 15, 2010.