What are the best ways to hire and keep top marketing operations talent?

The potential for marketing operations to transform business is immense. By leveraging data, these professionals can identify trends and insights that lead to more effective targeting, personalization, and customer engagement strategies. The role of marketing operations is poised to become even more central to organizational success. As companies increasingly rely on data analytics and AI to drive marketing strategies, those with expertise in these areas will be invaluable. Marketing operations professionals will be expected to not only manage and analyze data but also to provide strategic insights that can shape the direction of marketing campaigns and overall business strategies.

Find the ones who are incentivized by performance and reward them based on results. The best ones have an entrepreneurial mindset, and without addressing and rewarding that, you will demotivate them. One size fits most comps will do more harm here than good.

Before hiring any professional for Marketing Operations, it is important to assess the basic knowledge of the department concerned . If the marketing professional is hired for a Chatbot Company and told to pitch software as a service (SAAS) then the professional shall have a basic working knowledge of how Chatbot works, what are the technical features of the Chatbot and what will be the actual pricing of the Chatbot usage.

Highlight and deliver growth opportunities. Operations, by nature, tends to be very process oriented. Most team members seek growth, including upskilling or reskilling in a role. While they may not be able to step right in a develop or configure how things are done, provide them with guidance and constant feedback. In my experience, everyone needs education, goals, and incentive to succeed. These components must be personalized.

To assemble a Marketing Operations team effectively, it's crucial to define roles clearly and seek specific technical skills, relevant experience, and analytical abilities. Adaptability, a willingness to learn continuously, effective communication skills, and a results-oriented mindset are highly valued. Cultural fit and job references are also pivotal considerations. A structured interview process addressing both technical and behavioral skills completes the selection, ensuring a strong and efficient team.

I was recently asked by a Top Exec from a top-tier firm "Sanyam, what do you mean by a fitment when you are looking for a job?" My answer was simple - "When your(Top Exec's) vision for the product/service is what I can align my experience, my knowledge, and my skills to, that's fitment and a win-win for everybody." This way the employees will be able to align themselves with the vision and once that happens, there's no stopping back.

An example I have seen practically ,in this regard is that a Marketing Professional with non technical background was pitching IT products to a big Multinational Company. 8 out of 10 times he failed to convince the MNC to buy the product. The Marketing Professional was changed with a person having a Master's in Computer Applications and additionally, a MBA in Marketing . The conversion and sales increased by 60 percent than usual .It was not because of the personality of the individual, it was mostly because of expertise of the technical domain which the marketing Professionals was pitching. Hence, domain knowledge is important for a marketing Professional.

Top notch marketing professionals are very fluid. Seeking their own level, means that if they aren't challenged, they move on. Case in point is a top notch local marketing executive who moved from one mobile phone brand to another over a period of eight years, spending about a year and a half or so in each of his jobs. The reason for leaving? "There isn't any challenge anymore." And in every brand he moved into, it was top of its game while he was there. Many MOPs who are driven by challenges don't want a desk job. They want to be in the field, strategizing. Like the great generals of wars that were actually won, they rarely use binoculars. They are in the trenches too. The challenge is also the reward, that is where the fit is.

When seeking the perfect fit, it's not just about finding candidates with the right tools knoweldge or technical skills; it's also about identifying those with the potential, motivation, and adaptability to align with your company's culture. I once hired a MOPs professional who had less technical knowledge compared to another candidate. However, I chose them because their eagerness to learn and their drive to succeed were exceptional. This decision proved valuable as they quickly adapted, learned, and made significant contributions to our team.

Pay them fairly. Offer educational budgets and opportunities. Create transparent career paths and opportunities for promotions (career paths are not often obvious for ops). Unrelated to rewards but definitely related to retention -- Don't treat them like servants of the marketing team. Make sure their work and roles are valued and recognized in the company, and they are not just thought of as the marketing tools admins, the button pushers. There is a lot of other good advice in this article, too!

One can not be untouched by the competition and what competitors are offering to poach MOPs team members. To keep the team together for a longer term, create an environment of reward and recognition. One may get a tangible reward or a credit which they can redeem in order to gain any related skill in the same field from any online/offline options available. Try to have an open discussion, be open to ideas and plan things in advance.

Performance based rewards are a regular feature in any company. However, you also need to understand the need of technical skill upgradation of the marketing professionals . If the professional chosen is not so well versed with technical expertise of the department domain, however his communications skills and personality is very much effective , the company can invest in upskilling him via certification programs from reputed organizations. It will not only boost his morale, but will also enhance his technical pitching capabilities and make him sound more confident. Ultimately, the idea of reward based on performance shall also apply on exploring hidden gems of their organization who need a little bit of polishing to become stars.

Offering competitive rewards is pivotal in not only attracting but also retaining top marketing operations talent. Competitive compensation, including salaries, bonuses, and benefits, signals that your organization values their contributions. Beyond recruitment, it fosters a sense of evolution – as MOPs professionals see their hard work translate into tangible rewards, it motivates them to continuously improve and innovate, aligning with your company's growth trajectory.

Obviously MOPs professionals will be looking for a competitive salary and benefits package. But beyond that, showing that your company offers true career growth possibilities is motivating in the beginning and being actually promoted within reasonable time periods can keep the job satisfaction level higher. Another important factor is allowing MOPs team members to not only have input on tools, processes, and strategies, but to also ensure that their valuable input is listened to as well as actually implemented over time.

Creating a community benefits both, the employer and the employee. Community means that the organization has a great environment where ideas can thrive and ideas are received in a positive notion. Anyone would love to be a part of such an organization. Also, whenever needed, the alums of one's organization can refer new candidates and LOB experts to the company and that will reduce the pressure on the hiring team.

MOP community building can also be done via various activities such as regular sports activities, and other activities such as skits.

I suggest that building a community should be a key objective for Marketing Operations (MOPs). Identifying champions, facilitating knowledge sharing, and fostering collaboration among colleagues can greatly benefit everyone on this journey. Based on my experience, here's a valuable tip: consider leveraging platforms like Trailhead to create a dynamic and engaging community. By encouraging healthy competition through point systems, tracking progress, and ranking participants, you can motivate members to actively contribute. Recognizing and rewarding top contributors further fuels the spirit of engagement and knowledge exchange within the community.

Marketing Ops is so vital for true success in B2B setups, and yet remains one if the most undervalued roles. Why? Because they don’t score the goals, aka salespeople, like a Messi or Ronaldo. But they don’t let opportunities go through unnoticed, and therefore build the game. I wish there were more accolades for MOPs, and communities may be the right way to go.

Fostering unity in the Marketing Operations community involves organizing events and conferences, creating online forums and social groups, engaging in professional associations, forming study groups and mentorship programs, utilizing online collaboration platforms, hosting hackathons and challenges, sharing resources, and promoting awards. These strategies encourage collaboration, knowledge sharing, and professional development, thereby strengthening cohesion and effectiveness within the community.

It's important to listen to the day to day users of Marketing Operations technology. If a form is difficult to fill out, or a platform slows down the creation of emails in it, it is going to remain a problem multiplied by the amount of times they have to encounter it a day. Improvements in Marketing Operations technology take time and are not cheap, but with well collected requirements and modernized platforms they can enhance productivity and MOPs job satisfaction.

Constant skill upgradation of MOPs by exposure to new technology new CRMs , add on technical courses and certifications can be a big help.

I think we cannot separate Marketing Operations from actual marketing itself. In smaller economies or enterprises, this role is usually done by one person. Technology is a tool to make work easier. Simple math with tell you that over a period of time (say, the layout of a 3-year marketing plan) it is cheaper to invest in tech that makes the job easier for the MOP and his team, to come up with quicker, more accurate decisions, than relying on manual encoding and analysis. This way MOPs and their teams can focus of finding and solving challenges.

Investing in advanced Marketing Operations (MOPs) technology is not only a strategic move to retain top talent but also a key driver of efficiency in marketing efforts. Modern marketing operations rely heavily on technology to streamline processes, analyze data, and optimize campaigns. By providing your MOPs team with cutting-edge tools and platforms, you not only empower them to work more efficiently but also enhance their job satisfaction. Talented professionals are more likely to stay and contribute their best when equipped with the right technology, enabling your organization to achieve marketing goals more effectively.

For me it starts with the leadership team. If company leadership doesn't understand marketing operations it's going to be a hard uphill climb. The role won't be valued if nobody understands or takes the time to learn what a MOps professional does. Opportunities to define strategy. MOps teams are often a team of 1. Provide a path forward to leadership opportunities and team growth. Pay. Marketing ops will elevate the whole marketing and sales orgs. Make sure the salary represents the value they will bring to the team.

In this HR-Tech age, where most of the hiring is done via references and referrals, the Top Execs need to be active on LinkedIn. So, if a company's CMO/COO/CEO's profile is loosely created or managed, top-tier candidates might not get that Vibe(Yes you read that right) for the whole organization. So, from top to bottom, create a culture that nurtures and attracts talent. Be it internally or externally on social channels. Rest connect with me if your thoughts differ, so that we could learn a thing or two from each other.

One of the key means of retaining Marketing Operations team members is to ensure strong alignment with Sales Ops. If those two groups have conflicting priorities and processes, it wears on the team members from both teams, increasing the probability that they’ll listen when an external firm reaches out about a job.

MOP Work Life Balance should also be taken care of by Companies so that they donf get burnt out on the pressure of achieving KPIs .