Attracting and Retaining Talent; Q and A with Meta

From Andrew Kletzing, Director NA Partner Management, Meta  

As agencies have faced recent financial hardships due to the current climate, how do you think they can make hiring new talent a priority?

Attracting, developing, and retaining great talent should always be a priority – and there are effective ways to do this that don’t create a financial strain. Empower your people to own important pieces of the business – and give them the autonomy to make important decisions. Connect their work back to your company’s mission. Increasingly, we all want to feel our work is contributing to making a difference in the world – so help your employees to see that. When a client sees success, grows revenue, and hires more employees – make an effort to share these successes with your team.

How should agencies address the issue of lack of Black employees in mid-to-senior to C-Suite roles?

Our industry needs to do better on Diversity & Inclusion. This is a real problem that requires companies to adopt comprehensive D&I plans with clear goals and accountability. At Meta we have committed to have 50% of our workforce be from underrepresented communities by the end of 2023, and we have committed to increasing the number of Black people in leadership positions by 30% over the next five years. This should not just be a HR or Recruiting priority – it should be a priority for the entire company.

How do you think the new class of talent can reshape the agency landscape?

The complexity of the digital ads ecosystem is only increasing and agencies need newer classes of talent to keep their thinking fresh, to move fast, and to innovate.

What advice do you have for the next class of talent entering the workforce?

Take the time each year to write a vision for yourself. Where do you want to be in 5 years? What job do you want 2 jobs from now? These are hard questions to answer – but they are important to your long-term happiness and fulfillment. “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”

What does the conversation around talent look like one year from now?

Expectations around remote work are changing and companies will need to
rethink their approach to hiring and developing talent in a world where more employees may be working remotely. Embracing remote work will also enable companies to tap into new pools of diverse talent that they may not have had access to previously.