Hiring challenges facing brand agencies as they expand

As the spring workload intensifies, Ali Wallace, Founder & CEO, DNA Recruit, discusses how to secure the right expertise.

Scaling an agency is exciting, but it also presents you with a unique set of challenges. You’ve got the work, the clients, you’re pushing into new markets, new service lines, and maybe even new countries. But without the right people in the right roles, it can all start to wobble. And I’ve been seeing the same recurring issues crop up for growing agencies.

The big one? Building teams that are both flexible and specialist. Agencies are looking for talent that can pivot across projects without dropping the ball, but also bring deep expertise in a specific channel, audience or format. That’s a tough balance. The speed at which campaigns need to be delivered leaves little room for on-the-job ramp-ups, and this is where things inevitably fall down.

Then there’s the leadership gap. Agencies often scale faster than their internal culture or management capability can handle. We’ve had clients come to us after hiring brilliant creatives or strategists, only to realise they weren’t quite ready to lead others. There’s a difference between doing the work and enabling others to do it well. The top-performing agencies are addressing this by investing earlier in training and internal coaching than they used to, and by being clearer on what “leadership” looks like for them.

A few key things I always advise: stop rushing to fill gaps without thinking long-term; align your hiring with where you’re actually going, not where you are right now; and don’t underestimate the value of a proper hiring process, even when you’re busy.

Our role at DNA is to help agencies stop making the same hiring mistakes over and over. We work closely with leadership teams to identify the gaps, define what good looks like, and build hiring strategies that keep pace with growth. Because getting it right isn’t just about finding people with strong CVs. It’s about building teams that actually work.