Over the last decade, brands across the world have begun to realise the benefits of moving their marketing operations in-house. Companies like Unilever, P&G and Dyson have opted to axe their agencies in favour of in-house departments.
In fact, a recent report by Bannerflow supports this action. It found that hybrid models where marketing responsibilities are shared between an in-house team and agency are now increasingly popular.
An in-house marketing department has several benefits. An in-house team is already familiar with your business and tone of voice. They know your business objectives and offer the critical eye that any business requires.
Of course, a move in-house isn’t without issues. Fundamentally, your business must adapt to a new operations process. However, the various benefits that come with it far outweigh the short-term disruption it causes.
The benefits of moving in-house
Before you begin, it is important to get a picture of what you can gain by moving operations in-house.
Complete transparency
Not only will you know where your money is being spent, but you will also have control over your data. In-house teams will be the first to act on first-party data.
Post-GDPR, it is important to have ownership of your data and to know how and where it is being used.
Institutional knowledge
People who work solely for your business develop in-depth knowledge and experience of the trade. This is a process that only improves with each passing day.
Long term relationships with agencies go some way in offering this. However, it does not come close to the same level of insights offered by those working in the trade.
Focus
People working in-house work only for your business. All their insights and time will be applied to resolving your business’s issues. When the entire team is positioned in such a way, work gets done much faster and problems resolved sooner.
Competitive advantage
It’s quite obvious but if you hire good candidates, you’re depriving your competition of good talent. At the end of the day, these are people hired to create value for your company.
The more talented employees you put together in a room, the more likely you will have winning results.
Tips for a successful recruiting strategy
The key to a successful in-house model is getting your recruitment and hiring right. To get your recruitment and hiring right, note down all the business’s requirements.
Are you looking to scale your business? Are you hoping to streamline operations? Will you be expanding overseas? What will be your marketing channels?
When you are done, divide your pointers into “Nice to Haves” and “Must Haves”. This is a good springboard to begin.
Remember that you don’t need to hire everyone at the same time. You may find it better to prioritise roles and add candidates accordingly. This may require you to continue working with an agency for some time.
Promote employee referrals
The first step to a well-oiled recruiting machine is to make every employee a recruiter through the use of referrals. 96% of companies that employ more than 10,000 employees say referrals are their biggest source for hires.
Opt for quality over quantity
There is no doubt that a top performer will produce better results than anyone around them. Focusing on quality as opposed to volume is a tried and trusted recruiting strategy.
It is also easier for the business. Fewer interviews, less onboarding, and lower overheads with two great employees than five average employees.
Embrace the gig economy
The gig economy is growing but many companies are still hesitant to dip into that market. If good full-time employees are too expensive or difficult to find, consider multiple part-time employees.
It’s not always about flexibility.
Sometimes talented candidates may have life circumstances that affect their ability to work full-time in an office space. From being sole caretakers to limited mobility, there are many reasons why a candidate needs flexibility.
Additionally, offering remote work flexibility makes your business instantly a more attractive and modern choice for candidates.
Use a scorecard
Today, many hiring decisions are still done on “gut instinct.” Unfortunately, these aren’t as accurate as the corporate world will have you think.
Staying objective during a selection process is tough so a scorecard can help make it easier.
Using quantitative data will help temper gut reactions and make recruitment more inclusive and effective. Additionally, you will see fewer good candidates slipping through the net.
Finally, it is important you have a clear roadmap. Recruiting good candidates takes time and is often longer than people expect. A good candidate may entirely give up if the process seems to be taking too long. Therefore, it is best that you share two things early:
- When will you be making your final hiring decision?
- How much of the candidate’s time will you require?
Finding good talent is no easy task but the above tips should leave you well-positioned to do so.
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