There’s a constant in every job market: highly skilled workers in the creative, marketing and technology space are always in demand and always difficult to replace. As such, it’s in an employer’s best interest to prioritize talent retention in any economic environment. That’s a core takeaway from a newly released report from 24 Seven, a specialized digital marketing and creative recruitment agency.

24 Seven’s 2022 Talent Retention Report features findings from a survey of more than 3,300 professionals in the marketing, creative, technology, fashion, retail, and beauty sectors about what keeps employees happy in their jobs and what leads them to leave.

While attractive compensation and benefits packages are consistently ranked as top retention drivers, our latest research shows that there are also other major factors at play today. Greater overall flexibility, particularly remote work options, are now considered must-haves by many people. Ninety-two percent of employees surveyed said they want more control over when and where they work; 80% said they are more likely to look for another job if their current employer starts requiring them to work on-site a majority of the time.

Additional key findings from the 2022 Talent Retention Report include:

• A majority (58%) of those surveyed are actively seeking a new job or passively looking.
• 83% of employees surveyed believe they are in the driver’s seat in the current hiring market.
• 67% said they are considering leaving their jobs in the next year to become a freelancer.
• 93% of survey respondents who’ve been in a job less than six months report they’ve already considered leaving for another opportunity.
• 86% of those who make or influence hiring decisions said they are finding it challenging to fill open roles.

“Parts of the larger economy may be moving into a stretch of greater uncertainty, but the job market is still hot and professionals with specialized digital marketing, creative and tech skills are in strong demand and could be flight risks,” says 24 Seven’s CEO Anthony Donnarumma. “In addition to benchmarking compensation and benefits packages, it’s critical for companies to continually enhance programs that support employee work-life balance. Our 2022 Talent Retention Report spotlights the strategies necessary for employers to not only retain top talent but keep them from looking in the first place.”