Compensation, Payroll and Benefits for Marketing, Advertising and Creative
Salary structure, payroll inputs and a month that closes on time.
What this looks like in marketing, advertising and creative
The parts of compensation, payroll and benefits that are specific to this sector, rather than general.
Pay in a Billable Business
Where cost of people is most of the cost base.
What this coversHide
Pay in a Billable Business
Where cost of people is most of the cost base.
What this coversHideAn agency's salary cost is its principal expense and its pricing basis, so the pay structure and the rate card have to be designed with reference to each other.
- Salary bands by level, defined and defensible
- Relationship between salary cost and charge-out rate understood
- Performance and increment cycle aligned to the business year
- Bonus tied to agency and account performance, defined in advance
- Freelancer and contractor rates benchmarked against staff cost
- Counter-offer policy decided in advance, in a poachable market
- Transparency about bands sufficient to answer the question
- Total cost visibility per account for resourcing decisions
Deciding the counter-offer position in advance matters in a market this fluid. Agencies without one make inconsistent decisions under pressure and create a structure nobody can defend.
The general method — what compensation, payroll and benefits covers, the questions it answers and what an engagement produces — is the same whatever the sector, and is set out on the compensation and rewards strategy page. What is above is the part that differs for marketing, advertising and creative.
Other HR topics for marketing, advertising and creative
Where to start
Most engagements begin with a review of how this runs in your business today, then a written process and the sequence to implement it.
See all HR topics for marketing, advertising and creative, or another industry.