Statistically, it was already underway by the time the COVID-19 pandemic hit, with employee quit rates at their highest point since before the Great Recession in 2008. But ask anyone about the Great Resignation, and you’ll discover the biggest influence was the pandemic. Initially, as layoffs and furloughs drove unemployment rates sky high, employees clung to their jobs for stability, with quit rates dropping precipitously. As the pandemic continued however, employees began to reevaluate their jobs and their priorities; soon quit rates climbed again, exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

By the summer of 2021, Bankrate’s August 2021 Job Seeker Survey revealed some eye-opening trends:

• 55 percent of Americans in the workforce say they’re either somewhat or very likely to look for a new job in the next year.
• 28 percent of working Americans who currently say they’re not looking for a new job are still expecting to search for a different position at some point in the next year.

As we emerged from the pandemic, employers became desperate to fill open positions. Briefly in 2021, the number of job seekers overlapped with the number of jobs available, but they proceeded on opposite trajectories. Currently, with 12 million job openings and fewer than 8 million candidates available, job seekers own the market. They have new demands (greater pay, better benefits, flexible schedules, remote work), and are willing to wait for employers to meet them. 

Impacting marketing departments large and small

A search on Indeed.com for the term “marketing” returns nearly 160,000 job postings in the United States. A search on ZipRecruiter.com with the same parameters returned almost 950,000. Since these searches are specific to individual job boards, they aren’t an exact stat on the number of marketing jobs to fill, but they provide a good indicator of the volume out there.The Great Resignation impacts marketing departments large and small.

Large marketing departments have more staff to lose and more roles to fill. The many specialized skill sets they cultivated over the years are now hard to come by. This puts them at increased risk of extended candidate searches and often requires longer training periods should they find suitable replacements.

Small marketing departments need good people with broad skill sets, but competition for these candidates is fierce as demand soars. Small marketing departments have fewer people to lose but can also ill afford to lose them. These marketing teams risk losing team members to larger marketing departments where they can choose to focus more on a single marketing discipline that particularly interests them.

Neither type of marketing department can afford to dedicate the time necessary to the hiring and training process, which takes them away from their primary work. Extended candidate searches create lost opportunities both by reducing the output of the department with unfilled positions and distracting from critical work to hunt, review and interview potential candidates and train new employees.

Dept. 11 lessens the burden

A unique partner, Dept. 11 can lessen the burden on marketing departments. Dept. 11 curates exceptional talent and always onboards talented and reliable marketing individuals and teams who match your needs. With a staff augmentation approach, we scale and pivot with your business in real-time; as projects grow and evolve, so does our talent to support those needs. We can provide the right expert to support your department until, and beyond, you find your dream candidate, eliminating the need to settle for the wrong fit.

As Christina K. shared in our testimonials:

“Working with the Dept. 11 team has been a huge help in augmenting our marketing team and bringing in pinch hitters for projects. The ability to choose a curated team to work with (vs. choosing an agency) is highly valuable in our fast moving, high velocity world.”

Should you prefer a more traditional approach, we’re also  a full-service marketing agency. We can undertake any project your marketing needs an assist with, either on a one-off or ongoing basis. During times when departments are understaffed, we step in quickly and fill the void to ensure you don’t miss a beat. Tell us about your needs, and we’ll meet them with the highest quality. Ask Red D.:

“Not all agencies are able to be as nimble and flexible to accommodate our current technology needs and Dept 11 is one of those places you can truly rely on to adapt to the landscape we have today. They provide a great environment for creative problem-solving at every level and scale.” 

‍Contact us today to see how we can help lessen the burden of the Great Resignation.