How long have you been at your current job? And how long were you at your previous gig for? According to John Steedman, chairman of GroupM, in an article forThe Age, he reported that the advertising and media industry was experiencing “an abysmal average staff churn of 36.5% last year”.

With the industry constantly pursuing digital-savvy Gen Y employees, Steedman believes that local advertising and media companies are not doing enough in convincing their existing employees to stay.

Looking at the recent BRW’s 50 best places to work, only three of them were media agencies, with no sight of any major creative agency. Steedman believes that a defined career path and valuable trainng opportunities are what’s missing in the mix, causing creative talent to be on the constant look for greener pastures. Steedman advises that for Gen Y, appropriate training and development are a major incentive and they are attracted to companies that offer opportunities for personal and career advancement.

“Unfortunately the industry has not always been a leader when it comes to training and career development,” says Steedman. According to his research, Steedman reports that in the US, the average barista receives more training than most agency staffers.

“Nurturing staff is crucial in helping the career development of the industry’s young stars but it is also an important incentive in hanging on to them. Happy employees who feel valued, listened to and appreciated are more likely to love their job and build better relationships with clients. Their employers reap the benefits of a motivated workforce with fresh thinking”.

David Mattingly, Australian advertising guru and inductee of the US retail advertising Hall of Fame supports Steedman’s point of view. In an interview with Marketing, Mattingly said that he felt the Australian advertising industry, in particular the retail sector, lacked talent creativity minds.

“All the creative talent are being lost to digital agencies,” said Mattingly. “That’s the reason there aren’t many good ads on TV these days – all the talented minds have left traditional agencies to work for young digital agencies”.