If you’re a fan of Broadway, you know about the saga surrounding the recent revival of Funny Girl. The casting controversy reads like a tale of aptitude and ambition, happiness and heartache. A similar story plays out in IHAF’s latest research—all about people and the prospects they face with three key themes taking center stage.

Strategy. It’s the missing link in-house agencies crave. That’s why a number have taken to staffing their own strategy teams. And while some are doing it to bolster their capabilities, others are doing it to fill gaps in corporate marketing. They’re staffing a team of understudies. But instead of stepping in when competent leads are out, they fill a void as the lead simultaneously acts. The understudy model works on Broadway, less so when duplicating headcount to accommodate a talent deficiency in another part of the organization.

Development. The IHAF report reveals that real-time coaching is happening 46% of the time. While most companies require annual goal setting and performance reviews, there’s no requirement to actively coach people in the moment. Read further and you’ll see that while Compensation ranks number one in employee retention, the number one reason those with fewer than 10 years’ experience stay is Career Advancement. Dynamic development is vital to shape and retain our brightest stars.

Values & Culture. When it comes to corporate values and culture some companies declare it; others do it. At a certain point, if we trumpet a set of values but don’t embody them, they become nothing more than lines in a script. In-house agencies are highly skilled in crafting the narrative around corporate values. Are we equally adept at living those values and holding team members accountable to do the same? An honest reconciliation of the two is essential to foster authentic cultures and boost job satisfaction.

So, how do we arrive at our own happy ending? Well, that depends on the degree to which we listen to, recognize, respect, and nurture the talent on our teams—the degree to which we value people. After all, “people who need people are the luckiest people in the world.”

IHAF’s 2022 field study, People and Our Priorities, is available for members to download directly from our website. You can access this report along with our archive of benchmarking data here. Not an IHAF member? Contact our team to learn more and gain access to all of our research and resources.