HR Strategy and Workforce Planning for Marketing, Advertising and Creative
How many people, in which roles, by when — and what they will cost.
What this looks like in marketing, advertising and creative
The parts of hr strategy and workforce planning that are specific to this sector, rather than general.
Capacity Planning Against Billable Hours
Where the plan is utilisation arithmetic.
What this coversHide
Capacity Planning Against Billable Hours
Where the plan is utilisation arithmetic.
What this coversHideAgency workforce planning is a capacity calculation: forecast revenue divided by achievable utilisation at a given rate, with enough slack to pitch.
- Capacity planned in billable hours, by discipline and level
- Pyramid shape planned rather than accumulated
- Pitch and new-business capacity held deliberately
- Freelancer versus permanent mix decided by account stability
- Attrition assumptions by level, in a poachable market
- Lead times for senior creative and account hires
- Cost per billable hour by level
- Scenario planning for account wins and losses
Holding pitch capacity deliberately is the planning decision agencies most often skip, which is why pitches are consistently staffed by overloading the team already at capacity.
The general method — what hr strategy and workforce planning covers, the questions it answers and what an engagement produces — is the same whatever the sector, and is set out on the hr strategy and workforce planning 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.