8 Retention Strategies to Keep Your Best SEO Talent From Fleeing

If you've ever tried to hire an SEO professional, you know how difficult it is to find good talent. High turnover in SEO agencies hits hard and fast, bleeding resources and destabilizing your team's core. When experienced SEO professionals walk out the door, they take invaluable skills and insights with them, leaving behind a costly void.

The constant churn strains your hiring budget, disrupting ongoing projects and negatively impacting your overall agency's performance.

But it's not all doom and gloom. In this article, I'll share the retention strategies we've implemented at Hallam to reduce turnover rates.

In 2021, Hallam was recognized as an outstanding place to work and became a Times Top 100 employer. We worked hard to achieve this, and I’d like to share a little of how we did that to improve work for SEOs worldwide.

I manage the middle managers at Hallam, who, in turn, manage specialists across our different teams, including the SEO team. That means I, directly or indirectly, manage about two-thirds of the agency. I’ve been a people manager for 15 years and am both a founder and an operating director.

While I may not claim to know everything about retention, my journey has been filled with lessons that have sharpened my understanding of what employees, particularly SEO professionals, seek in their careers.

Chima Mmeje from Moz asked 168 SEOs why they left their roles, resulting in the following answers:

1. My manager sucked (50%)

2. Better pay and benefits (47.6%)

3. No career progression (47.6%)

4. The culture sucks (37.5%)

5. I wasn’t learning anything new (34.5%)

6. I got bored with SEO (10.7%)

7. I didn’t get on with my team (9.5%)

Contrary to the common assumption that salary is the primary reason for job changes, poor management emerged as the top reason, closely followed by better pay and career advancement opportunities. These findings align with what we observed during The Great Resignation, highlighting the importance of management quality and career growth in retaining SEO talent.

Promoting top performers to management roles without adequate training can lead to poor leadership, a common mistake. Suddenly, the person who’s spent their career building one set of skills now requires an entirely different set of skills to succeed.

As exemplified by elite programs like the Navy Seals, effective leadership is built on trust rather than just performance. Trust fosters a psychologically safe and high-performing team environment. Without trust, teams become demotivated and lack the drive to excel.

Changing a company’s culture is challenging and time-consuming. A toxic culture can undermine even competitive salaries. Fortunately, most issues leading to employee turnover, except for boredom with SEO, are within the direct control of C-Suite executives, HR, and SEO Managers. This blog aims to provide strategies to address these challenges effectively.

1. Understand individual needs and motivations

It's a common mistake among senior teams to view employees as a homogeneous group with identical needs and wants. My experience managing diverse teams has taught me that while there are commonalities, it's a mistake to assume that what retains one person will keep another.

Take Charlie and Robin, for example; they might do the same job, but their motivations and needs are unique. As senior leaders, instead of asking, “What will help retain our employees?” consider asking, “What will help us retain Charlie?”

Understanding that retention strategies are unique to each individual is the key to keeping your team intact.

Tailor management to individual employees

To effectively retain someone, you must first understand what motivates them. The classic question, “Where do you want to be in 2 — 3 years?” is cliché but essential.

Responses vary; one might aspire to only do keyword research with a balance between family and work life, while another might aim to become the manager of the SEO team. For the former, job security, a predictable routine, and flexibility for family time are crucial. Training, new challenges, and opportunities to grow are essential for the latter.

Equally important is understanding what demotivates your SEO team members. Ask them what would upset them, and commit to avoiding those triggers. You create a tailored environment conducive to retention by directly addressing both motivators and demotivators.

What do they actually want?

When training managers at Hallam, I emphasize specific questions to help understand what an individual seeks from their work. Having recently trained two new managers in our SEO team, I'm reminded of the lasting relevance of these questions.

We've identified that employee desires often fall into these categories:

• Job title: The most common response, as many aspire to a better title and the perks it brings, which often includes aspects of other categories.

• Money: A classic response, but not usually the first one mentioned.

• Responsibility: The opportunity to work on different internal projects.

• Status: Similar yet distinct from job title, it's more about the sense of importance than the title itself.

• Learning: Opportunities for professional growth, like attending conferences or developing new skills.

• Bigger or different clients: This is particularly crucial for agency SEOs, especially those progressing from smaller to larger clients.

Understanding the stated desires, their true meanings, priorities, and how they evolve over time is critical. For instance, technical SEOs with a dev background might initially prioritize learning, but as life circumstances change, such as starting a family, financial aspects could become more significant.

If someone expresses a desire for a promotion, probe deeper. What exactly do they seek from it – the title, the pay, or added responsibilities? One of our SEOs explicitly wanted a higher salary, not for luxury but to achieve salary equity with their partner.

You can better support each team member's career path by grasping these motivations and goals. However, it's also crucial to recognize when you cannot fulfill their ambitions and communicate this transparently to maintain trust, a critical component in any relationship.

2. Create a positive work environment

At Hallam, we’ve found that the additional benefits, the culture, and the working environment are far more important to SEOs than their salary (as reflected in Chima’s poll). No one enjoys mundane tasks, chaotic surroundings, or feeling unfulfilled at day's end.

During exit interviews, we ask, “What did you enjoy about working here?” In 95% of cases, the overwhelming response is “the people.” People yearn to collaborate with colleagues who enrich their work lives — those who offer support during challenging times and managers who empathize with personal struggles.

Our workplace ethos

We have a poster in the office — right next to where the SEOs sat pre-pandemic. It reads: “Don’t work for assholes, don’t work with assholes.”

This message resonates beyond its bold language, emphasizing our commitment to a harmonious work environment. In an agency setting, where ‘battles’ with clients are common, fostering internal unity and avoiding unnecessary conflicts is crucial.

We prioritize employee wellbeing

Our guiding principle is that work should enrich life, not consume it. We offer comprehensive support to our employees, including:

• Mental health resources

• Opportunities for learning

• Community volunteering

• Free therapy

• Flexitime

• Generous parental and compassionate leave

We aim to create a workplace where staff feel valued and leave each day with energy for their personal lives. Although we may not always hit the mark perfectly, our SEOs know we have their back and their voices are heard and valued.

3. Empower through leadership

As with all hierarchical organizations, there are fewer leadership positions than specialist positions. Typically, you have one department head or director, a few middle managers, and multiple consultants and executives under each manager.

This pyramid-like structure can create competition among team members for the same leadership positions, necessitating thoughtful strategies to retain SEO talent.

The solution? Embrace diverse career aspirations

Not every SEO specialist aspires to move into management; understanding this is crucial. If you've followed the guidance above, you should know which team members are eyeing managerial positions.

For those interested in leadership, here are two strategies to consider:

1. Manage expectations: It's important to have early conversations with those competing for the same role. Be transparent about their suitability for leadership positions and discuss alternative career paths that could fulfill their professional aspirations.

2. Offer alternative responsibilities: Find ways to empower your team members with different responsibilities. For instance, involve them in creating new processes and templates or allow them to participate more actively in strategy development and client pitches. These opportunities can provide the growth and challenge they seek without necessarily stepping into a traditional managerial role.

4. Leadership must set the tone

The C-suite is pivotal in establishing and maintaining the company's culture. Hence, the top leadership must have shared ideals and alignment on retaining SEO talent. Effective retention starts at the top; if there are issues, it's the leadership's responsibility to address them.

Changing a company's culture is a slow and deliberate process. If personal habits take about 21 days to form or break, this process can take six months or more in a corporate environment.

Here are four straightforward actions to initiate this change and inspire your SEO team:

1. Clear job descriptions: Ensure you have clear job descriptions and expectations for each role. Role ambiguity is one of the biggest causes of stress and burnout.

2. Define KPIs: Every SEO team member should have clear personal objectives and KPIs. This clarity helps them understand their goals and track their progress.

3. Benchmark compensation: Regularly benchmark your compensation packages to ensure competitive and fair pay. However, focus on more than just monetary aspects. Explore additional benefits that can aid in retention.

4. Empower SEO managers: Your SEO managers are the lifeblood of your company. They ensure the company's culture and values are embraced at all levels. Remember, as the Navy Seals say, "There are no bad teams, only bad leaders."

5. Pay is hygiene, and satisfaction drives retention

A colleague from Philadelphia aptly described pay as "hygiene," which is a spot-on analogy. In the workplace, pay is a fundamental expectation and a necessary condition for employment. It's the fair compensation an SEO professional receives for their skills and contributions. However, it’s not necessarily perceived as a benefit unless you pay substantially above market rate, and pay is important to the SEO in question.

A good salary package isn't the sole reason for most SEO professionals to jump out of bed each morning. Yes, it's the 'hygiene' factor — essential for their sustenance in today's world. However, what truly drives employee satisfaction and retention include:

• Finding fulfillment in their work

• Enjoying the company culture

• Collaborating with colleagues they respect

• Appreciating the unique benefits their job offers

6. Active listening and feedback

If you’re in a C-Suite role, you’ll probably notice that everyone has an opinion during leadership meetings. The team will be full of people who have learned on the job, risen through the ranks, and have a wealth of experience to share. The challenge is discerning whether these opinions are relevant or practical for current needs.

To ensure new retention strategies are on point, actively ask questions and listen to your team. This involves creating a psychologically safe environment where SEOs can speak honestly.

Here are three tools I recommend:

• Skip-level meetings: Remember Charlie from earlier? Rather than talking to Charlie’s boss, talk to Charlie directly. This method ensures you receive unfiltered insights and perspectives.

• Anonymous feedback: Not everyone is comfortable sitting with their CEO and telling them what makes them feel unfulfilled at work. Listening doesn’t always have to be in person or on a call. There are basic survey tools like Typeform and Survey Monkey that you can use to gather anonymous feedback.

• Retrospectives: Implement retrospective sessions, which offer a non-judgmental platform for team members to express their feelings and drive actionable change. It empowers your SEOs and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.

For these tools to be effective, they must be part of an ongoing, iterative process. Embrace agile methodologies not just for project management but also for nurturing and retaining your SEO talent.

Regularly benchmark your progress to measure improvement over time. Tools like the Gallup12 survey can be particularly effective, providing a comprehensive, anonymous way to understand employee satisfaction levels.

7. Thoughtful hiring and firing processes

Hire slow, fire fast. At first glance, this expression may appear quite heartless, but it emphasizes empathy for the individual and your SEO team. Beyond the emotional aspects of retention discussed earlier, it's crucial to consider the financial implications of hiring and firing. Every hour spent in these processes equates to a tangible cost for your business.

Consider the process of hiring an SEO executive: posting the job, screening CVs, conducting interviews, and finally onboarding. The collective hours spent by your team during this process can easily surpass 100 hours. This time investment is substantial and precedes the new hire contributing to revenue.

If you realize you've made a hiring mistake, the financial impact can double if you have to restart the hiring process. It may appear harsh, but swiftly moving on is more beneficial for both the individual and the team.

A person who can't thrive in your environment is better off in a setting where they can excel. This approach also shows empathy towards the rest of your team and their management by not prolonging a situation that isn't working.

For those in the C-suite focused on financials, hiring is expensive and something you want to get right. Once you find the right fit, investing in their well-being and addressing their concerns is relatively inexpensive compared to the costs of losing them and restarting the hiring process.

The initial investment in bringing someone like Charlie on board and providing the subsequent support they may need is far outweighed by the cost of turnover.

Retaining top SEO talent is rooted in listening to their needs and aspirations. Your business is unique, so craft a retention strategy that resonates authentically with your workforce.

For SEO professionals, if something could enhance your work life, don't hesitate to communicate with your boss, HR, or CEO. Your input is valuable and helps your leaders to learn the art of listening.

For C-suite and HR managers, initiate a retrospective and dedicate time to listen to your team's feedback. When employees like Charlie feel heard and see tangible outcomes from their suggestions, their commitment to your organization strengthens, fostering a culture where the business and its people thrive.