Marketing agencies live and die by billable hours and creativity on demand. When people run on empty, fatigue, burnout and staff churn soon follow and the numbers suffer as surely as morale.
At first glance, your team’s wellbeing might seem like a “nice-to-have” rather than a financial priority. But in truth, your team’s wellbeing is deeply intertwined with your bottom line. Additionally, research shows that 9 out of 10 adults in the UK are experiencing high levels of pressure or stress. The consequence for agencies is measurable: sick-leave spikes, freelance cover balloons and decreasing profit margins.
As a virtual finance team specialising in the marketing industry, we’ve seen first-hand how businesses that prioritise self-care and staff wellbeing often outperform those that don’t, not just in culture, but in the numbers too.
The Hidden Cost of Burnout
Take this example: One of our agency clients grew top-line revenue 18% last year but posted a net margin of just 4%. A cost review exposed £4,600 a month in overtime, a number of stress-related sick days per employee and an expensive reliance on freelancers.
By investing in flexible working hours, mental health support and encouraging regular time off, they saw a marked improvement. Retention rates improved, sick days dropped, and crucially, profitability rose. Less money was being spent on recruitment or freelancers and more projects were being delivered on time and on budget.
Wellbeing as a Productivity Multiplier
A healthy team is a productive team. When people feel valued and supported, they bring more energy, creativity and focus to their work. This leads to better client outcomes and in turn, repeat business and referrals.
Even simple changes, like introducing “no meeting” mornings to give people focus time, or encouraging lunch breaks away from screens, can make a tangible difference. One agency we work with noticed that productivity increased when they moved to a four-day work week. The team were more rested, more motivated and far more efficient.
Financially, it made sense that project delivery remained steady, but with a happier, more engaged workforce.
The Finanical Benefits of Caring Leadership
Looking after your team’s wellbeing isn’t just about perks or policies, it’s about leadership.
Financially successful agencies often have leaders who are approachable, emotionally intelligent and willing to have open conversations about workload, pressure and boundaries. When you create a culture where self-care is not only accepted but encouraged, you reduce the likelihood of costly issues like burnout, presenteeism (where staff are at work but not truly functioning), or high churn.
Each mid-weight resignation avoided saves roughly £ 7,000 to £12,000 in recruiter fees, onboarding time and lost utilisation, enough to fund a year of wellbeing initiatives several times over. These problems don’t just drain morale they impact profits too.
Where Finance and Wellbeing Meet
As finance professionals, we often speak in terms of KPIs, margins and forecasts, but behind every number is a person.
By tracking not just financial metrics, but operational and HR data too, you can spot warning signs early. Rising overtime costs, increased use of sick leave or a sudden dip in productivity are all red flags that warrant a closer look.
We encourage our clients to think of their team’s wellbeing as a long-term investment, not an expense. Just as you’d protect your assets or forecast your cash flow, taking proactive steps to care for your team is a vital part of building a sustainable, profitable business.
7 Ways of Encouraging Mental Wellbeing
Below we wanted to share seven ways to help easily improve wellbeing in agency life. This approach fundamentally starts with strong leadership and by creating an environment where teams feel able to be open and honest.
- Encourage regular, open communication with your team. To ensure they not only feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns, but also that they understand how the agency is performing. We recently presented to members of the Bristol Creative Industries on the importance of financial training in increasing profitability within their teams. It is important to take your team on the journey with you and involve them in the process of becoming more profitable.
- Promote a healthy work/ life balance. Encouraging your teams to achieve this through flexible working arrangements is very important. Urge them to log off at a designated time each day and discourage sending messages/ emails outside of working hours and over weekends.
- Offer recognition and rewards. Acknowledging and appreciating the contribution all team members make to the client work through praise, performance-led bonuses or opportunities for professional development can help to build a sense of pride and satisfaction.
- Prioritise mental health support. Offer mental wellbeing resources, invest in mental health first aider and wellbeing training to help reduce stress. Ensure that managers are also trained to spot the early warning signs of someone who may be struggling.
- Encourage physical activity. Promote a healthy, active lifestyle through activities such as walking meetings outdoors, forming a work netball or football team, offering fitness classes during lunch breaks, or providing discounts on gym memberships as an employee benefit.
- Invest in professional development across all your teams. Demonstrate that you value them and are committed to helping them grow professionally. Wrap this into your KPI and performance monitoring process to help build on job satisfaction.
- Get social. Organise regular and varied social activities to encourage all team members to get involved and feel part of the work community.
Final thoughts
In a post-COVID world, many are seeking to work with an organisation that values them. Taking care of our teams and investing in them, being flexible and supporting their growth is key. The most forward-thinking marketing agencies now see self-care and financial success not as separate ideas but as interconnected. If your team is running on empty, your business will feel it not just emotionally, but financially as well.
Put simply: when your people thrive, so will your business.
If you would like to see how the numbers stack up for your own agency, we offer a no-obligation discovery call. Together, we will model the margin lift of practical wellbeing investments, tailored to your headcount, billable mix and growth horizon.
Good business starts with looking after people.
