According to research by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, roughly 30,000 students graduated from design courses as their first degree between 2013 and 2016. However, only a quarter of them ended up in the top three jobs associated with design. While sobering at first glance, that figure is perhaps less of a surprise when you consider the potential drawbacks of hiring a junior designer shortly after they graduate.
Is it cost or time-efficient?
As with any industry, hiring someone with little or no experience can be a drain on time and resources.
Although employing a junior designer may appear less of a financial risk due to a lower starting salary, it’s important to weigh that against the time more senior staff will have to dedicate to supervision and training.
Of course, having access to the skills and accumulated knowledge of experienced colleagues can be invaluable to a newcomer.
And, after a period of intensive training and on-the-job development, it is perfectly possible to enjoy a return on your initial investment.
Not every company can take that risk, though.
Instead many businesses turn to a specialist design agency for support with a project.
Adopting that approach means you can identify a fixed cost at the outset, potentially avoiding the need to dedicate additional time and money to in-house revisions.
You can be sure too that deadlines will be met.
Supervision required
The role of a junior designer will likely require a senior designer or member of staff to check their work.
That could result in reduced productivity while the new recruit adapts to your company’s way of working.
Those senior colleagues are also less likely to complete tasks in their usual timeframe as a result of the added pressure associated with overseeing an inexperienced member of staff.
In contrast, calling on the expertise of a design agency removes such concern.
It takes on responsibility for a project, allowing your team members to dedicate their attention elsewhere.
There is a judgement to make; do you have the capacity to allow a junior designer to acclimatise over a period of months?
If not, then commissioning a design agency might be a better call.
Poor retention
If you’re looking to recruit a junior designer straight from university, then currently that means Millennials and Gen Z applicants.
However, companies are struggling to retain employees from those generations.
According to research carried out by DaVinci Payments 78 per cent of Gen Z employees and 43 per cent of Millennials plan to leave their job within the next two years.
They are more likely to shop around in search of what they consider to be more exciting positions.
It is certainly something to consider.
Is it a gamble to hire a junior designer who, after months of training, might leave unexpectedly?
Should you hire a design agency, then you don’t have to worry.
You negotiate the terms of a contact up front before agreeing a brief that its specialist members of staff will meet.
No project will be left unfinished, or delayed, with deadlines and outputs agreed in advance.
Get in touch
At Dawn Creative, we passionately believe that often the best place for a junior designer to start their career is with an agency.
Once there, they can tap into years of experience within the team and hone the skills required to work on a broad range of communication projects.
They can create high-quality work from the moment they start, contributing to an agency’s value and growth in the long term.
However, we understand that not every business has the resources to accommodate one.
That’s why you should consider an agency’s expertise for your design projects; we can provide the certainty you need when engaging us to complete valuable work on time and to a budget.
Why not get in touch with us today?
Call us on 0161 711 0910 or send an email to wakeup@dawncreative.co.uk
We have complete faith that you’ll love what we do, which is why we promise to return your money if you don’t.
