📣 Please note, these events are for Agency Hackers’ members only.

If your agency isn’t a member yet, get in touch with Anne or sign up here.

Hiring junior talent should be a long-term investment – not a short-term headache.

But too often, agencies find themselves with juniors who aren’t quite at the level they thought they were, or without the right structure in place to nurture them.

So, how do you get it right?

Emma Krall, finance director at Athlon, has seen firsthand the challenges that agencies can face when hiring at the junior level. From role inflation to unrealistic CVs, hiring juniors isn’t an easy task.

“We’ve had juniors who arrived, and only after they walked through the door did we realise, they weren’t really at the level we thought,” says Emma. “You have to be rigorous in how you hire, just as you would with senior talent.”

Emma will be sharing how Athlon restructured its team to ensure junior hires don’t get left unsupported, and how they’re thinking about the next generation of agency talent.

We’ll discuss:

• How to hire more rigorously,  even at junior level. CVs don’t always reflect reality. You need a process that properly tests skills and filters for role inflation.
• Why structure and support matter more than cost. “Hiring juniors has never been about cutting costs. It’s about shaping the team properly,” says Emma.
• Why nurturing talent isn’t just about juniors. Investing in a coaching culture benefits all levels of the business – and creates a resilient team in the process.
• How to succession-plan for stability and growth. “Every time someone leaves, we have a plan in place. No panic stations.” Emma will share how Athlon creates continuity in its team structure.

“Every generation starts thinking, ‘Oh, they’re lazy,’ about juniors,” Emma says. “But we need to work with them. We can’t fight a new workforce – they’ll be the ones running our companies in the next 10 years.”

If you want to attract, retain, and develop junior talent in a way that actually works, and keeps them on the journey with you, this is the one for you.