NEWS & OPINIONS

Finding diverse talent is easy - there’s a bevy of schemes to help you. But retaining that talent is when it gets hard.  For many agencies, the last few years have seen a (much-needed) drive for greater diversity in their recruitment. Whether they are aiming for more female leaders or to attract junior talent from non-traditional backgrounds, the emphasis has been on moving away from a middle class, white Mad Men image of marketing.Commercial Break was created in 2012 by Susie Burdekin and James Hillhouse to provide a pathway for working class juniors into agencies. In the last 8 years, they have seen a number of Commercial Breakers (some shown in the photo) join agencies of all shapes and sizes. But too many have quickly become disillusioned; plagued by feelings that the industry wasn’t for people like them.Susie and James have therefore shared their experience of where agencies have missed a trick and how businesses can ensure they are more likely to create a truly diverse team that allows everybody to bring their whole self to work.Audit yourself, hardThis all starts with you. Put simply, you have to audit the fuck out of yourselves. Garner honest perspectives and concerns from your staff. Figure out the issues that exist within your operation that are going to make you fail or succeed. It’s a big, time-consuming piece of work. If it sounds too hard, then that might tell you whether you should be doing it at all.How well are you set up for diversity? What do you need to change?Be specificDiversity is a really baggy term. If a client used it, we’d immediately nail them on it. So, what do you really want to do? Do you want to attract more black talent? Do that. Is your focus autistic talent? Great, do that. But don’t ever say, ‘we want more diverse people’, because that’s a group that just doesn’t exist.What do you really mean by "more diversity"?Disband your D&I teamWe might lose you with this one, granted. But unless your D&I team is the most powerful voice in your agency, shut it down. Now. Then put your D&I effort at the heart of the agency, and make it a collective focus. This is no longer an agency initiative, it’s your agency. How powerful a voice does your D&I team have in the business? Recruit bigWe're leaving recruitment to fourth, because it’s absolutely one of the last things you should do. And here’s some advice, when you do recruit, recruit big. Don’t get in one or two people. You’re better than tokenism. Replace your grad scheme. Get in 5. Get in 10. If all you ever get is a drip feed, nothing will ever really change. Jump start it instead.How many people are you going to recruit?Hold yourselves to accountYou are going to get things wrong. But worse, you are going to get things wrong that you think you’ve got right. You need to be held to account. And not by yourself, but by someone independent. Get yourself some hard truths once a quarter. You might not like what you hear, but each review will make you better.How will you track progress? How will you keep each other to account when the pitch deadline is looming? We have a golden opportunity in our hands right now. But if we rush into it without due care and attention then we’ll let it slip through our fingers before we’ve even started. Let’s not just do this, let’s do it right.​Susie Burdekin and James Hillhouse are the Founders of Commercial Break​

Lockdown has created new challenges for juniors looking to join agencies ... but also opportunities to improve diversity.​What the BLM movement started has seemingly morphed within agencies into a much-needed wider question about diversity. In turn, this has highlighted the inherent issues caused by the traditional methods of hiring juniors.In an article originally posted on Little Black Book, Junior Creative Mickey Jones shines a spotlight on the problems many juniors face and how the pandemic may have provided the answers.In London, creative hopefuls can find a plethora of advertising agencies to sink their teeth into. Advertising expects fresh talent to attend portfolio reviews to get a foot in the door. Multiple agencies review their work and eventually they may earn a placement. Unfortunately, the majority of the UK’s hottest talent don’t live in London or have the means to visit regularly. Ironically, COVID-19 has made the advertising industry more accessible for those from a lower socioeconomic background or living in geographic isolation.Despite the surreal scenario, creatives from adland are offering several virtual initiatives. For instance, Young Creative Council’s Covid-eo Crits, The Fellow’s Virtual Portfolio Roster Sign-up Sheet and Virtual Mentorship Schemes created by Sai (the mind behind @Dongtent on Twitter) and Adweek’s Creative & Innovation Editor David Griner. This shows our community is full of compassionate innovators, which carries huge significance for young talent.​The bigger picture highlights barriers of reaching the industry’s doorstep. The sudden arrival of “new” ways to do things, shows how we have previously shunned talent. We've been shouting “open door” from our agency rooftops for a while now. But if you’re from an impoverished background, or even just a rural location, the door, if not closed...has very stubborn hinges.Creatives from these backgrounds can be the poorly represented ethnic-minority, neurodiversity or gender diversity the industry needs, in order to change and modernise itself. After talking to several young creatives here are my findings...Being OutsidersDuring a portfolio review, I was advised to lie about my current address.The Creative Directors offered this advice out of genuine concern, because they know that agencies favour London-based candidates. For young talent commuting to London, travel costs on average £72.14 per visit. Despite every creative dreaming of landing a ‘gig’ on their first round of agencies, they’ll likely have to travel to London dozens of times. This can mean upwards of £288.56 each month solely to reach agencies’ doorsteps. This doesn’t take into account accommodation, food, portfolio website fees and Adobe CC subscriptions (£75.85/mo).Unsurprisingly, talent can and does come from working-class families. For these families, a train ticket to London is the same price as a weekly shop. Talent can also be a student trying to make rent because their loans don’t cover the bills and they have limited financial support from their families. It can be a bartender or your table waiters supporting themselves on minimum wage jobs, whilst trying to chase the advertising dream.Creatives from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and/or living in rural suburbs suffer the most when it comes to pursuing their careers. They’ll be the ones struggling to visit agencies on a regular basis.I declined office work for a lower wage barista job for the flexibility to travel to agencies during office hours (on a four-hour train). When booking extra time off for longer visits, alongside my reduced pay for that week, I’ll still have to manage extra travel costs. My situation is not unique for aspiring creatives living outside London. Is the industry recruiting in a way that is inclusive of untapped talent living in geographic isolation?RelocatingRelocating to London for a placement? Easy! That is, if you haven’t left university with a maxed overdraft and can’t rely on family support. COVID-19 is a prime example of an unexpected problem that is a huge threat for young creatives who may have decided to relocate before securing a placement. They’ve committed to housing contracts based on a plan to gain paid placements and part-time work, but the current situation means both options may not be available. This is a terrifying place to be for those with no safety net - the price of the hustle is financial suicide.Why we need to have this conversation and explore potential solutionsCOVID-19 led Adland to throw a virtual lifeline to young talent during this storm; no longer is the industry untouchable for some. The research from this article has brought to light some solutions that may be the difference between finding your next powerhouse or excluding them.Offer more virtual portfolio reviewsWithout eliminating face-to-face connection completely, let’s encourage the practice of virtual portfolio reviews to become more accepted and regular post-pandemic. The convenience of virtual networking saves time and resources for both professionals and creative hopefuls. Agencies can start dipping into a diverse talent pool forming insightful connections both sides can learn from.Set aside a travel fund to help reimburse struggling creativesPortfolio reviews are similar to interviews in other industries, where 50% of graduates attending them receive reimbursement for travel and related costs, according to media platform NewGrad. Let’s help young talent reach the agency’s doorsteps. Especially for creatives booking cheaper advanced trains and having their reviews cancelled last minute (although it can’t be helped), since they have to bear the financial loss. Reach out to your contacts and ask them to step in to see creatives you’ve had to cancel on. Acknowledge their commitment to the creative pursuit; show them advertising is an inclusive industry - like Lucky Generals - show them how we won’t neglect talent, regardless of their financial circumstance.Donate a desk to creatives coming in for portfolio reviewsSome creatives don’t have the luxury of a work-friendly home environment. When teams have welcomed me into their workspaces after ‘crits’, I’m grateful that they acknowledge workspaces in between agency visits take place in overpriced cafes. If you’re having to push back portfolio review times or shorten them, why not set them a brief and see how they work for yourself? Check back in later once you have time. Or send it over email if you can’t see them and let them share their responses over email or Zoom.Before offering portfolio reviews, be more upfront about the placement situation at your agency.A Copywriter mentioned the start of her career consisted of visiting the same agency over the course of 3 months, before finally having a confirmed placement. This is all a useful experience, but as one creative said, “it doesn’t pay the bills”. Offering virtual reviews can help save time and money for those travelling to agencies that don’t have placements available currently.Moving forwardYoung creatives are trying their damn hardest. They have hunger, it’s the industry that needs to have a genuine appetite for their diverse nature. The quality of creative work depends on this.From a B.A.M.E female perspective, this is what it’s like to crack advertising; I came from a working-class family and first set foot on English soil with only my mother. We are responsible for financially supporting our families as well as being second parents to our siblings. Our families will have reservations because they experienced a different cultural upbringing. My mother won’t be asking if I’ll enjoy advertising as a career, she’ll focus only on the financial viability it offers. Creatives like myself are working against cultural stigma, geographic isolation and financial hardships. We steal time to practice our craft and pursue it, questioning if advertising even has a place for people like us?COVID-19 is an ugly virus but it shows a beautiful side to our creative community. It proves that we are capable of empathy and embracing change. Let’s maintain this positive momentum long after this pandemic is over.If you are intrigued by this article and have ideas or questions, drop me an email at pickme.mickey@gmail.com - chances are I’m planning world domination, so let’s create mischief together.Mickey Jones is a Junior Creative & Copywriter​