You talk a lot about talent. You talk less about the thing actually deciding who stays and who leaves: benefits. Second Wind's own 2025 Annual Agency Survey shows most ...

Every small and mid-sized agency owner has said some version of the same thing this year: there is no time to slow down and teach people how to do the ...

There is a version of the talent conversation that sounds like a crisis. Enrollment in advertising and communications programs has declined. The junior hiring pipeline that once fed agencies a ...

You can feel it before you can name it.

The work is fine, the team is capable, but something’s… off. Projects take longer, meetings feel heavier, and energy is ...

Succession planning might not be the most glamorous part of running an agency, but it’s one of the most critical, especially for small shops where leadership transitions can make ...

Let’s face it—hiring in a small advertising agency is tough. You’re juggling client deadlines, pitches, and production calendars, all while trying to find that one unicorn who ...

Using monetary incentives to motivate employee productivity or increase performance is a tried and true practice. The question is, how effective are monetary rewards?

Incentives in Ad Agencies

Agency principals ...

Hate is a very strong word but sometimes it’s a fair word… especially when applied to performance reviews. The thought of spending valuable agency and employee time on something ...

In the world of smaller agencies, the battle for talent is as intense as it is in many large corporations. However, the stakes can feel even higher when your team ...

We’ve written a lot about finding the right people to fuel creativity in your agency, and working with those people to ensure they have all of the skills, tools ...

An important step in the hiring process is testing. This is especially true for design and copywriting positions. Many a creative has been hired by on the basis of a ...

One of the best things we’ve seen at smaller agencies in recent years is the advent of stakeholder programs. These programs engage key agency employees who are not currently ...

Looking back over the past decade, the advance of technology and changing face of media has been astounding. And as marketers, the speed at which we as an industry have ...

Crunch time! You have been through the laborious process of recruiting, interviewing and selecting a new hire. Now you need to make that all-important offer. Many agency principals treat this ...

Managing people can be the most difficult part of owning a small agency. Most agency owners are not trained in human resources management, and far too few understand the legalities ...

Employee reviews are a huge headache for most smaller agency owners. Yet, employees expect them; and they can be useful tools for giving feedback and direction to your staff. They ...

A number of years ago, there was a very interesting article in the New Yorker. The article reported that when you are a contestant on the game show, “Who Wants ...

No matter how you attract, recruit, or stumble upon a potential new hire, the real trick is learning to know one when you see one. Here are some points to ...

With the unemployment rate at 3.7 percent, and the labor force participation rate at 62.9 percent, businesses are finding it challenging to recruit good employees. Competition for the ...

Recruiting, interviewing and hiring is a big investment for your agency. Doesn’t it justify a good orientation process to ensure that each new hire succeeds? Even if (especially if ...