Hiring isn’t the problem anymore. Retention is.

For years, the focus has been on hiring.
Finding talent. Attracting talent. Competing for talent.

But the market has shifted, and quietly, the real challenge has changed.

Retention is now the biggest issue facing creative, marketing and ecommerce teams.

Right now, nearly 1 in 4 UK employees are planning to leave their role, and in creative and marketing, attrition rates are sitting at around 25% annually.

So what does that mean for brands?

It means hiring has become a loop:
Hire → onboard → lose → repeat.

Why is this happening?

Across the teams we work with at CoCo, the same patterns keep coming up:

Expectations have changed
Flexibility, progression and purpose are no longer perks, they’re expected.

Roles are evolving fast
Creative and marketing talent are being pushed to think commercially, technically and creatively all at once. Without the right support, burnout follows.

There’s a disconnect
What businesses offer doesn’t always match what talent actually wants, whether that’s development, autonomy or recognition.

Opportunity is everywhere
The best people aren’t looking, they’re being approached. Constantly.

The cost of getting it wrong

Retention isn’t just a people issue, it’s a commercial one.

Replacing an employee can cost anywhere from 30% to 200% of their salary.

But beyond cost, there’s impact:
Lost knowledge.
Disrupted teams.
Slower output.
Weaker culture.

What brands need to do differently

The businesses getting ahead aren’t just hiring better.
They’re thinking longer-term.

That means:

• Hiring for longevity, not just capability
• Building clear progression pathways
• Creating environments people actually want to stay in
• Investing in leadership, not just headcount
• Using data and market insight to stay competitive

Where The CoCo Group comes in

This is exactly where we work differently.

At CoCo, we don’t just fill roles, we help build teams that last.

That means:

• Market insight first – from salary benchmarking to candidate expectations
• Smarter hiring decisions – aligning skillset, mindset and long-term fit
• Access to the right talent – not just active candidates, but the ones you won’t find on job boards
• Ongoing partnership – helping you retain, not just recruit

Because hiring someone is easy.
Hiring someone who stays (and performs) is where the real value is.

The bottom line

The brands that win won’t be the ones hiring the fastest.
They’ll be the ones losing the least.

You know who to call.