06/09/2010ARCHIVEDThe future of work: the challenges for adland in 2020

Ad agencies need to adapt to a changing world of work to ensure it continues to attract the right talent. With an ageing workforce, different attitudes amongst new recruits (Gen Y), and technological advances, management should look at new ways of working to retain their people. This is according to The Future of Work, a new report published today by the IPA (Monday 6th September 2010), in association with Working Families; the leading work-life balance charity.

Discussing with employees how they want work to work, letting them have a say in what hours and days they want to work, looking at working patterns to provide clients with 24/7 service,  ‘virtual working’ and redesigning the client-agency contract are just some of the measures the report suggests.

Based on workshops and roundtables with 150 people across the industry including clients, agency CEOS, HR Directors, new recruits (Gen Y), and middle managers (Gen X), The Future of Work is the fourth in a series of IPA reports on workplace issues produced over three decades.

Says Liz Nottingham, Chair IPA People Management Group, HR Director, Starcom MediaVest Group and Country Talent and Transformation Officer, Vivaki “Adland cannot be transformed over night, but with these findings we have the opportunity to start the journey now by offering step changes that can make a real difference to the  workplace going forwards, by listening to the needs of Gen Y; the idealistic tech-savvy generation who are the managers of the future. Getting the workplace right matters to all of us, and the challenge to management is to balance client pressures with the priorities of the people who work for them.”

Says Sarah Jackson, OBE, CEO, Working Families “This report presents an opportunity for agencies to think about how they deliver work from scratch. The key issue and starting point must be: how do we deliver for the client, meet our own business goals and meet the desire from within for better work-life integration in a way that enhances our business?”

The report can be purchased by clicking here and is free for IPA members, (£50+VAT for non-members). You can also be part of the conversation around this on Twitter by using #ipafuture.