Many agencies in Japan build their business around their big billers and their fear of losing them. They will tell you they don’t, but one real honest look will reveal this This is a big mistake and leads to a lack of scale, lost revenue, and the eventual loss of those very billers they tried to protect as they move onto to other agencies or more likely start their own business.
Successful sales managers also fall into the same category as the top billers. The upper management wants to keep the revenue flowing and doesn’t want to do anything to upset the apple cart and so will put all its eggs in one basket… The opportunity cost lost is usually huge but gets hidden.
This pattern is repeated time and time again almost like groundhog day.
The culture of the organization is also impacted as new AC’s join and they don’t get a fair and reasonable desk and client portfolio to work on. They invariably get the leftovers, the ones that the top biller doesn’t want. This leads to poor results, resentment, and a high attrition rate of new joiners along with a negative impact on the culture and future of the company.Structure and planning come’s first, always first and then when agencies have clarity on their structure only then should they review and analyze how their best people fit into those plans.
If agencies don’t do this, then in my experience they will never truly build a team, division or business to its full scale and potential and equally important create those exciting career opportunities for their next generation of recruiters and people managers.
