The existing staffing model is frustrating, inhumane, and exploitative toward creatives. From the agency side of things, we’ve seen creatives freak out when they discover they were making 20 cents on the dollar for their efforts. Paying creatives as contractors vs. employees takes away their safety net should they lose their jobs, and also abdicates responsibility for health insurance and retirement savings.

The problem is that staffing agencies are largely focused on sales, not talent. This intense focus often leaves the actual creatives - the cornerstone of these agencies - feeling neglected and undervalued. Creatives are frequently treated as mere numbers, a resource to be allocated rather than talent to be nurtured.

Once creatives submit their portfolios, they often face a black hole in the process. There’s a glaring lack of visibility and feedback, which contributes to a feeling of being disregarded. This absence of engagement or personal touch leads many creatives to feel that agencies don't care about their career growth or individual needs. In a world of AI and remote work, the need for skills training is already massive, and dehumanization is huge and growing. This needs to be addressed now.

The broken model of today:

I. Lack of Candidate Development
The focus of staffing agencies is historically limited to placement, neglecting the ongoing development and career progression of candidates. There's a need for agencies to invest in skill development and career counseling to ensure long-term success for their candidates.

II. "I Did It For The $$$"
A major pain point for creatives is the predominant staffing agency financial model. Creatives often receive only a fraction of the bill rate, and discovering the disparity between their earnings and the agency's cut can be disheartening to say the least. Of course, the agencies’ services cost money, too, but this level of imbalance raises serious questions about the fairness, ethics and sustainability of how the industry’s finances are structured.

The current perceived value proposition of staffing agencies is not rosy from the business perspective, either. Clients point out the predominance of junior talent. Skilled professionals who deeply understand their craft often move away from these agencies to build their own client base, leaving a gap in expertise. But for those creatives, too, there is value in the business and back-office services an agency can provide.

III. Gatekeeping Regional Talent
In the present day world of digital nomads, staffing agencies with locations in multiple cities disregard the out-of-market remote model and ignore other locations’ candidates. Placing a candidate from another market means the in-market office will receive smaller (or no) commissions. Because there is no collaboration between cities, the best candidate for the role may be two states away, yet will not get submitted. The clients and candidates both suffer while the agency is the only one that “wins.” Opportunities abound for agencies whose networks span both geographic and cultural divides.

IV. Ouroboros of Quantity Over Quality
Overall, the approach to staffing in most agencies feels like a numbers game. Clients are often presented with the same pool of creatives, lacking tailored or strategic recommendations. This shotgun approach leads to mismatches between client needs and creative skills.

Put another way, in the one-size-fits-all approach, staffing agencies continually use a generalized approach to recruit for diverse positions. This can overlook the unique needs and cultures of different organizations. The absence of personalized service can lead to a disconnect between the skills and personality of the candidate and the ethos of the hiring company, leading to mismatches. There's often a lack of follow-up or support after a candidate is placed, which can affect the long-term success of the employment relationship.

We’ve seen it happen that a staffing agency will build an advertising agency’s team for a corporate client, the creative output may later become stale, the agency loses the client and terminates the candidates only to have another ad agency pick up that corporate client and build their team with the same freelancers from the first agency. This doesn’t serve the corporate client.

How to build a better staffing model:

Drawing from our firsthand experiences as both creative professionals seeking opportunities and as an agency staffing roles, we understand the challenges from both sides of the equation. The goal is a new paradigm, founded on fairness, transparency, diversity, and a holistic approach to talent management.

I. Financial Fairness

· We commit to a revolutionary low markup policy, ensuring that high-tier creative talent is accessible to a wider range of budgets.

· The lion's share of project fees will be allocated to the creatives, recognizing their invaluable contribution to the success of every project.

II. Comprehensive Benefits for All Creatives

· Acknowledging the instability often associated with freelance work, we will extend benefits to all our represented talent, including those working on a freelance basis.

· These benefits will encompass health, financial planning, and professional development opportunities, supporting our creatives' overall wellbeing and career growth.

III. Representation and Diversity

· We pledge to represent a diverse pool of creative talent, embracing fresh cultural perspectives and unique creative voices.

· Our matching process will be meticulously curated and enhanced with AI, pairing clients with creatives who not only meet their skill requirements but also resonate with their brand ethos and project aspirations.

IV. Creative Advisory Board

· The Creative Advisory Board will consist of diverse professionals who have firsthand experience with the limitations and challenges of traditional staffing agencies.

· Through regular meetings and consultations, the board will provide insights and recommendations, focusing on enhancing the overall experience for both creatives and clients and helping shape our practices.

V. Streamlined Communication and Processes

· By leveraging cutting-edge technology and clear, efficient protocols, we aim to eliminate communication barriers, ensuring that project objectives and creative visions align seamlessly.

· Our digital platform will be intuitive, fostering easy collaboration, transparent project tracking, and swift resolution of any obstacles.

VI. Client Satisfaction and Creative Fulfillment

· Our mission transcends the mere completion of projects. We strive for the highest degree of client satisfaction and creative fulfillment.

· Regular feedback loops and continuous improvement processes will be integral, ensuring that we consistently adapt to the evolving needs of our clients and creatives.

Commitment

This is our commitment to revolutionize the creative staffing industry. We stand for equitable treatment of creatives, exceptional service to clients, and the creation of a nurturing ecosystem where creative endeavors and businesses thrive together. In this new era, creativity is not just a service; it's a partnership built on respect, innovation, growth, and shared success.

We recognize that recruitment, temp, and staffing agencies are inherently vicarious; our role is to act as a connection, a bridge between creative talent looking for work and those with work to do. We support, we do not exploit. We platform others, not ourselves.

By embracing these principles, we not only transform how creative staffing is done but also foster a community where creativity flourishes and everyone, client and creative alike, achieves their fullest potential.

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And we are not done. We recognize that there is more work to do. We are working with other philosophically aligned agencies and clients to co-author a more formal version of the manifesto that we hope to use to gather signatories and change the industry, and we invite you to reach out to us if you’d like to know more.