A recent study reveals that the majority of creatives and marketing professionals don’t stay in roles longer than five years, with lack of work-life balance and career progression topping their list of concerns.
Creative industries typically experience high turnover, making it harder than ever in the war for top talent. Recent research reveals 96% of the surveyed group will choose to leave within five years, and half within two years.
“The research was conducted by creative recruitment agency Aquent/Vitamin T in January this year, and saw 229 people working in creative, marketing and digital jobs surveyed, including permanent employees and freelancers. 155 of these were creative professionals. The majority were aged 26-34, and there was a split of 54% women to 46% men.”
So, what are the main reasons causing these creative professionals to leave their roles?
Longer working hours
Half of the employees surveyed work outside their contracted hours.
“Half of creative and marketing professionals say they work longer than their contracted hours; 50% of those surveyed work out of hours, with creative professionals working 40 hours a week on average, which is three hours more than the national average. Marketers work more than this, at 43 hours a week on average.
It’s no wonder this negatively impacts work-life balance, with a quarter stating they are concerned about having enough time for parenting or caring duties. Approximately three quarters of creatives left their positions for this reason.
Low pay and lack of career progression
More than one third state their primary reason for leaving was due to a lack of career progression and low pay.
So, how can you encourage creative professionals to stay with your organisation?
Despite the above dissatisfaction about longer working hours, the majority of creatives are happy in the roles and feel supported at work. Only a small number stated they experienced poor management or felt underappreciated.
“Companies need to find an effective way of not only developing but retaining good people… Ensuring staff can move along the career ladder and receive structured training development is key to keeping people on board.
“Employees want to be recognised for their work and effort. If employees feel valued, their job satisfaction is more likely to increase, along with their job tenure.”
Have you utilised strategies to retain creative talent in your organisation? Let us know in the comments.
Source
Creatives do not stay in a job for longer than five years, research shows
Sarah Dawood
Design Week