Fighting Agency Employee Poaching

Remington Begg, founder and “Chief Remarkable Officer” of Impulse Creative, a Florida-based inbound marketing agency, joins the show to discuss a painful reality for growing agencies - employee poaching.

Losing Key People

Impulse Creative lost two key employees within two months, and the experience prompted Remington to think deeply about retention, culture, and how agencies can protect their teams. His view is that poaching is unethical, and he advises against hiring competitors’ employees. When departing employees come to him, he encourages them to discuss their concerns with their current supervisors first.

Building a Process-Driven Culture

On the operational side, Impulse Creative takes process documentation seriously. They have a standard operating procedure for creating SOPs - a meta-approach that creates a self-reinforcing culture of documentation. Employees document processes involving three or more steps on an office “process wall.” Weekly meetings provide a forum for team members to share and critique procedures.

Client Success Story

Impulse Creative worked with a hurricane window manufacturer who initially wanted an informational website. The agency convinced the client to use it for lead generation. Within 18 months, organic leads grew 20-30% monthly, organic traffic increased from 10% to 80%, and over 50% of leads converted to customers. The client eventually gave Impulse a “blank check” for a new venture.

Retention Strategy

To combat talent loss, Impulse Creative offers expanded benefits including unlimited vacation and comprehensive health coverage. Looking forward, Remington planned to build relationships with local colleges to promote inbound marketing careers, predicting that talent poaching would decrease as the supply of inbound marketing talent increased.