Market Leader article on the 20th Anniversary of the WPP Fellowship Program.
The partnership between the Fellowship and TIE is highlighted, as a platform to develop the Fellows, broaden their perspectives, heighten their confidence and enhance their sense of the value and potential of communications. All this while doing some good in the world.
Título original
Needed: A Jack of all trades and master of everything
Market Leader article on the 20th Anniversary of the WPP Fellowship Program.
The partnership between the Fellowship and TIE is highlighted, as a platform to develop the Fellows, broaden their perspectives, heighten their confidence and enhance their sense of the value and potential of communications. All this while doing some good in the world.
Market Leader article on the 20th Anniversary of the WPP Fellowship Program.
The partnership between the Fellowship and TIE is highlighted, as a platform to develop the Fellows, broaden their perspectives, heighten their confidence and enhance their sense of the value and potential of communications. All this while doing some good in the world.
WPP's Fellowship
Programme is no
easy ride but its
positive effects
are far-reaching,
writes Jon Steel
Aa eee
JON STEEL
Needed: a Jack of all trades
and master of everything
THERE was 9 cime, not too long ago, when the
people who ran advertising agencies had usually
‘worked in such agencies for their entire careers. The
same was true ini PR, media, research, and design
companies. Ageney leaders tended to be lifer, who
wore masters oftheir discipline.
‘More than 20 years ago, Martin Sorrel (he was
not yet Sir Martin) predicted that in the focure, such
‘people would be regarded as dinosaurs. His ambition
{for WDD was to work with clients across national
boundaries, and in every marketing communications
discipline, And this, he realised, would require a
new kind of agency leader: person able to move
seamlessly between different disciplines, and also
between culeures, A Jack-of-ll-tades, and master
of everything.
TThe problem as, our industry stil tended to hire
and train young recruits in single agencies, in one
specialist area, in one city. If Martin was going to
find the kind of people he wanted, he was going t0
have to try something different.
Tn 1995, four young university graduates were
hired by WPP as the first members of a unique
recruitment and training programme: the WPP
Fellowship. They worked for a year in each of
three different WPP operating companies ~ each
ina different discipline, and each on a different
continent. With each year came a new, front-line,
client-facing role, and the kind of responsibilty that
frightened both them and their host company. Te also
offered a fast tack into management positions.
“Two decades later, 530 WPP clients are served in
four or more disciplines, accounting for more than
553% of group revenues; group companies also work
with around 430 clients across six or more countries
(Current and former Fellows now work on every
continent (except Antarctica), in every part of
‘WP's business. Many — even those hired in recent
years — now occupy senior management positions.
In total, around 170 Fellows have joined WPP since
1995. And as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of
the programme, the majority of those recruited
zemain with WPP.
‘There is no such thing es atypical’ WPP Fellow.
Bach year the aim is to reeruit people who are both
different from previous Fellows and different from
‘each other. As might be expected, many are arts or
social science graduates, but many others come from
‘engineering, law, medicine, music, biochemistry,
mathematics, and numerous other academic
backgrounds, The subject itself doesn't matter ~ the
‘objective is simply to find interesting, interested
people who are good at whatever they have studied,
and now want to apply their skis ro marketing
Market Leader Quarter 4, 2015
‘communications. What all have in common isa
fascination witha business that applies creativity to
solve business problems. Fellowship recruitment
lierature has always asked for ‘ambidextrous
brains’ - rains that have the logical, analytical sills
to understand a problem, and the intuitive, creative
skis to suggest solutions. Such people are a rare
breed. Irs why, each year, we hire only eight to 10,
Fellows from a pool of 1,500 to 2,000 candidates.
“There is also na such thing asa “typical”
Fellowship journey. After the first year, when the
company matches them to the most suitable and
useful roles, Fellows make their own choices
‘They are assisted in such decisions by senior
parent company mentors, and by the widespread
network of former Fellows. While most spend
their three years in WP operating companies,
some take on bronder parent company roles,
while others have been seconded t0 special
assignments beyond the boundaries of WPP, such
as placements with the bid teams for the 2012
London Olympics and the 2018 Football World
Cup, and 2 communications role in 10 Downing,
Street. One Fellow is currently embedded in
Hillary Clinton's Presidential election tam.
ollowing the three-year rotational programme,
Fellows become permanent employees of a
WEP operating company: And two years later,
they become eligible for selection to an external
‘programme that is designed to test the erat
and leadership skills they have developed, while
also doing some good in the world, Through @
partnership with The Intemational Exchange
(TTB) over the past six years, Fellows have worked
in disadvantaged communities in Broil, Africa
and North America, on issues ranging from child
literaey to human rights, rainforest protection to
domestic violence, helping local organisations plan
and execute their campaigns. The communities
thoy serve have benefited greatly from the Fellows’
work, but so too have the Fellows, all of whom have
returned with a broader perspective, heightened
confidence in theie own abilities, and an enhanced
sense ofthe value and potential of communications.
“This, in surn, benofitstheie operating companies.
No pare ofthe Fellowship is easy. Much of a
Fellows time is spent outside their personal comfort
zone ~ so much so that one once said that being
comfortable made him uncomfortable. But ashe said
it, he was smiling
Jon Steel is WPP’s group planning director,
‘and director of the WEP Fellowship
jonsteel@spp.com
37