Overstretched team? Here’s how to persuade your boss to start recruiting

They’ll add to your payroll though and that's proving difficult during a time when costs are being scrutinized everywhere. Last week, we reported on a study that found in-house agencies didn’t have enough planners or strategists to reach their lofty goals. One source suggested they struggled to justify hiring those positions because their own bosses worked outside advertising. It was difficult, they said, to persuade top execs at those organizations of the value of those hires.

But that’s not an issue strictly confined to in-house operations – every team has to bring their bosses around to sanction reinforcements. So, how do you explain to superiors the need for them to extend budgets and spring for a new addition to the team?

How do you solve a problem like… getting bosses to buy in to new hires

Claire Douglas-Pennant, chief people officer, Omnicom Media Group UK: ”New thinking, fresh energy and different perspectives are the lifeblood for any organization. Getting buy-in begins with building trust at the top and ensuring that the benefits of new hires are consistently played back to the business. Then you can focus on being brave when hiring and welcoming diversity of thought from talent across different industries and sectors.

”While they may not have the industry experience, they often have transferrable skills and can bring an invaluable new perspective. Hire for attitude and values, as context and industry knowledge can be learned, but be open to a longer onboarding process. We have targeted out-of-sector talent for a number of roles at OMG UK, and we have seen the benefit this brings to innovative thinking and challenging the status quo.”

Guy Whiting, chief operating officer, Brandwidth: “Justifying new hires to augment our team can be something of a high-wire act as there are often multiple competing demands within the agency. Strategically, we’ll predict a medium-term view based on aligning forecasts to skills at the start of the year to define any ‘always-on’ recruitment activity.

“However, this changes almost daily, so the most crucial factor is knowing which metrics to use when triggering approvals and having real-time access to the data and tolerances that can help automate business cases. This enables very fast decisions when pivoting or justifying additional talent, mitigating against knee-jerk reactions to noise and oiling the wheels for sign-off.“

James Hoxley, executive creative director, Live & Breathe: “For me, having a clear plan is essential to unlocking recruitment budgets. A plan that strengthens the creative department and is aligned with the overall growth of the agency. The people on your team are your most valuable asset. Make sure your bosses understand that. Keep your bosses informed about the process, the talent you are looking for, the reason why and the role they will fill. Update them on the process as you get closer to a decision. This will make internal negotiations around salary easier.

"Finally, we sell ideas for a living so don’t be afraid to use your skills to sell a candidate to your bosses. Make them want the next member of your team, as much as you do.”

Chris Ridley, paid media manager, Evoluted: “First off I use a resource forecast sheet to determine whether we have the pipeline work to justify a team expansion and if so, the type of role we want to recruit.

“Ideally, I want them to have at least 50+ hours of client work in their first full month, and to get them to 80-100 hours by month three. Besides capacity, I also take into account other benefits including knowledge sharing, new tools/platforms/service skills, the ability to contribute to Evoluted’s marketing through personal brand/thought leadership, and risk mitigation for sickness, holiday cover and future staff turnover.“

Want to join the debate? Let me know and I’ll clue you in: sam.bradley@thedrum.com.