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Which C-Suite Leader Is Most Likely To Change Jobs? New Study Suggests The CMO

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It’s well-known that Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) have the shortest lifespan in the C-Suite (for insight, see here). What is unclear is whether it is because of CEO dissatisfaction (in which case turnover is caused by CMO firings) or CMO dissatisfaction (i.e., CMOs want to leave). In reality, it’s most likely a combination of the two.

New research conducted by ENGAGE Talent  provides some perspective (see methodology below). The firm pulled data to predict the percentage of C-suite leaders looking to change jobs. In their analysis, they found that 3% of CEOs are interested in changing jobs (and 1% are extremely interested). For COOs, 7% are interested and 2% are extremely interested. For CFOs, 6% are interested and 3% are extremely interested.

However, for CMOs, 10% are interested in changing jobs and 7% are extremely interested. More than other key C-suite leaders, CMOs appear to be open to changing jobs. There are two possible reasons for the high(er) number of C-level marketers considering a new job than other firm leaders.

  • CMOs are More Dissatisfied than Other C-Suite Leaders: In my research and work with C-level marketers, I have found a number who are generally unhappy with their role. In some cases, the CEO doesn’t respect marketing, making it difficult for the CMO to lead an agenda. In other cases, the firm norms are to marginalize marketing. In many cases, CMOs feel that their mandate is greater than the support and discretion provided. While I don’t work with other functions, so have little insight into how other C-level leaders feel, it is interesting to note the number of CMOs who believe their role is designed incorrectly (see here).
  • CMOs Prefer Change More than Other C-Suite Leaders: In discussions with CMOs regarding why turnover is higher among marketers than other functions, some mention that marketers are more comfortable with risk and seek change more often than other functions. This is an interesting hypothesis. Is there something about the needs or makeup of marketers that drives job change more often than other C-suite leaders?

Regardless of the reason for the high(er) number of C-level marketers interested in job change, it is an important fact of which CEOs should be aware. If the reason that many CMOs leave is because of a need for change, companies can take steps to keep CMOs challenged and engaged, preventing needless turnover.

Join the Discussion: @KimWhitler

Methodology: ENGAGE is a Total Talent Intelligence platform that, among other key features, predicts people’s job security and likelihood to change jobs based on their professional background, career progression, career decisions they made in the past, peer actions, employment related reviews and rating, demand for their skills, and market dynamics impacting their companies, industries and regions. The science also identifies what other companies these employees are likely to be interested in joining, completing a prediction of outflow/inflow of talent movement between companies and industries. By predicting the movement of key talent, ENGAGE assesses the Talent Retention Risk for over 50,000 companies which is also aggregated at an industry and macro labor market level. This specific analysis was based on data extracted from ENGAGE Talent’s Total Talent Intelligence platform in July 2019. The search included data on CEOs, COOs, CFOs and CMOs. Second, based on the ENGAGE Prediction, which uses AI and data from more than 30,000 different sources, the individuals who are predicted to either be interested and/or extremely interested in changing jobs. The science is based on three decades of validated academic and industry research of the events that lead to voluntary turnover. It relies on long term studies of career progression and the market forces impacting engagement, attrition and talent movement.