OFFICE PARTY

Medical Marketing and Media, Sep 2008 by Lewis, Tanya

"[The recruitment division] partners more effectively with internal clients and is therefore better able to both assess candidates and to represent positions accurately," says chairman and CEO Ed Wise. "We participate in job fairs, diversity recruiting events and have better outreach to colleges than in years past. Our referral program has also been formalized and expanded. Over 35% of all new hires come from employee referrals."

New recruiting technology provides metrics that help ensure CDM invests in sources most likely to produce results. Wise says getting the right fit is always a priority, and CDM won't rush the process.

"The goal of our recruiting team is to constantly build a pipeline of the best people who would also be great contributors to our culture," he adds. "Last year, a few people left CDM only to return a few months later. When questioned about what they experienced, they told us about what we do right: significant personal contact; sense of team; shared ownership of client work; the opportunity for input and innovation; our value of people; and our commitment to learning."

Digitas Health has grown significantly, and CEO and co-founder David Kramer, notes that while it's been difficult to find talent, the agency has been successful drawing from employee referrals (53% of this year's new hires were referrals) and seeking off the beaten path.

"We live at the confluence of marketing, technology and healthcare," Kramer says. "People need one or two of those skills. We're not above teaching people healthcare. We go to college campuses, watch media carefully and look for markets. The internet has made posting resumes and jobs a global concept. We've hired employees from England, Peru, South Africa, Puerto Rico. You have to be prepared that these people don't necessarily live here in Philadelphia or New York."

Kramer has found good people to work on delivery from a variety of other industries.

"It's rare to find people who have experience as deliverers of healthcare marketing," he says. "Delivery is about looking at and driving all components of client engagement. We've found people in the construction and filmmaking business often have tremendous skills in that area. We just have to teach them to adapt to agency services. It's the same with creative-they don't necessarily need Healthcare background."

Digitas will move its Philadelphia headquarters to a much bigger space in the Wanamaker's department store building later this year. Kramer notes that culture is vital in attracting and retaining employees -particularly in a rapidly growing agency. He feels culture accounts for the agency's "extremely low" attrition rate of 7% over the last year.

"People leave jobs if they don't feel supported or understood by managers; they don't clearly see a road for success; or they're not given meaningful work," Kramer explains. "People also leave quickly if they don't make friends, so we try to [provide] things that help build friends."

Managers are tasked to ensure that employees are always aiming toward their next career step. Digitas also provides many group activities, including critiques, learning sessions, contests, and celebrations of employees' outside interests. A lobby cafe is a hub for daily interaction, and it will be "bigger and better" at the new location.