The great resignation and where companies went wrong — Neil Heckman // breakfast consulting

Neil Heckman, Founder of Breakfast Consulting, discusses the evolution of the executive CMO role. Even before the pandemic, brands that were in extended periods of hyper-growth got into trouble due to overhiring. This led to many brands having to lay off people and to many employees resigning as their workloads increased and the workforce decreased in size. Today, Neil talks about The Great Resignation and where companies got it wrong.
About the speaker

Neil Heckman

breakfast consulting

 - breakfast consulting

Neil is the Founder of Breakfast Consulting

Show Notes

  • 02:22
    Causes of The Great Resignation
    During the pandemic, people got used to working from home. As they were called back into the office, this led to a decrease in happiness and employee loyalty as brands werent able to respond to changes in how employees wanted to work.
  • 06:23
    How the economy has affected marketers
    With all the layoffs that have taken place, marketing teams are getting cut in half but are still expected to produce the same results of a full team. As a result, people are opting to leave these companies due to burnout.
  • 07:33
    What marketers should consider after a layoff or resignation
    Many of their skills are transferable to a new job. Its important to take the time to figure out what their next move is and consult with people in the industry as thriving brands are looking to hire talent from the brands that have done layoffs.
  • 10:08
    How companies can combat the need for massive layoffs
    Brands that were in a period of extended growth ended up overhiring because they assumed that growth would be permanent. Fractional resourcing and short-term projects help to ensure that growth is sustainable.
  • 12:33
    Challenges to finding fractional CMO work
    Brands are constantly evolving and, as a fractional CMO, you have to be able to evolve with the brand. So, you have to be adaptable, creative, strategic, analytical, and have experience in moving from one priority to the next.

Quotes

  • "The past two plus years, people got used to working from home. If an employer was suddenly mandating that individuals come into an office, it's going to decrease productivity." -Neil Heckman, Founder, Breakfast Consulting

  • "The Great resignation started from a difficult couple of years in the workforce period where brands had a complete flip on what good looked like and how success was measured." -Neil Heckman, Founder, Breakfast Consulting

  • "If a marketing team gets cut in half the remaining 50% need to pick up the slack. There's not suddenly going to be a decreased revenue projection. And that is leading to the great resignation." -Neil Heckman, Founder, Breakfast Consulting

  • "Companies who think they're doing the right thing by laying off staff in order to prolong the cash burn are actually forcing people out the door a little bit." -Neil Heckman, Founder, Breakfast Consulting

  • "The brands who are not laying people off are continuing to see growth and continuing to see success." -Neil Heckman, Founder, Breakfast Consulting

  • "A lot of brands when they enter hyper-growth think this is going to last forever. But, to expect that to hold true for an extended period of time is unrealistic at best." -Neil Heckman, Founder, Breakfast Consulting

  • "I know that startups change and evolve every two to three and then six months. And I need to be nimble and adaptable and constantly test roadmaps in order to capitalize on that." -Neil Heckman, Founder, Breakfast Consulting

About the speaker

Neil Heckman

breakfast consulting

 - breakfast consulting

Neil is the Founder of Breakfast Consulting

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