AdBridge caught up with this Recruiter to talk about interdepartmental collaboration and how his HR department is adapting to the generation gap in the workplace:
On collaboration…
- It depends on the client and the holding company more than anything else. Two agencies will struggle to collaborate if they are owned by competing holding companies or if the client has multiple people managing multiple agency relationships.
- Internal collaboration between departments is tricky because employees are over-extended. When departments fail to collaborate, everyone loses, but it happens mostly because people are too pre-occupied with their own projects and deadlines to be able to contribute to a colleague’s as well. Territory battles are a reality, but stress is the bigger factor.
On Millennials…
- They tend to do well in digital because their co-workers are closer in age.
- HR departments really are actively working to adapt agencies to generational differences
- Millennials want everything too soon. They expect to get promoted quickly because they perform their duties well, but don’t understand the other factors at play.
- Millennials tend to “top out quickly” because they lack management skills and have a hard time delegating day-to-day responsibilities. Promotions are about putting employees in charge of people, not just projects.
- Ad agencies are structured with intermediary job titles (Assistant Planner > Planner > Supervisor > Director) so that employees can gradually prepare for management roles. Hierarchy is an unfortunate side-effect of that model.
On what he looks for in new hires (Digital Media Planning/Buying, Search)…
- Likes to see that applicants not only use digital media, but create content themselves. People who manage their own online content (webpages, blogs, podcasts, etc.) tend to have a stronger understanding of digital technology, take less time to train, and come into the job with a point of view.
- Wants to see internships on a resume, but prefers digital media experience over general media or ad experience.
On skills that are lacking in new hires…
- Excel proficiency. Most people he interviews have only basic Excel skills, and have little experience with large numerical data sets and computation.
- Experience with presenting over the phone. In conference calls, the presenter has to work harder to communicate information, since he/she can’t read visual feedback from the audience. Most new hires have to learn how to act in conference calls.
-Kelly Eidson
Having a road to constant authorities dealing with this is amazing.
It is important that you track down the dominant web pages.