.svg)
Hiring great marketers in the UK shouldn’t feel this hard. Yet for many hiring managers, working with a marketing recruitment agency has become more of a frustration than a fix. Endless back-and-forth. Generic shortlists. Invoices that make you question your life choices. Sound familiar?
The truth is, the traditional recruitment agency model hasn’t evolved in over a decade. Meanwhile, marketing has transformed – from AI-led analytics and growth teams to multi-channel creative roles. The gap between what modern hiring needs and what agencies deliver has never been wider.
Here are five reasons why marketing recruitment agencies are falling short – and what smarter companies are doing instead.
1. The process is painfully slow
Marketing moves fast. Your hiring process should too.
But most recruitment agencies are still operating with manual, admin-heavy systems that belong in a pre-Slack era. The back-and-forth of emails, outdated databases and slow communication cycles can stretch a straightforward hire into a month-long saga.
According to Marketing Week, marketing recruitment processes grew noticeably longer through 2024 as roles became more complex and decision-making slowed. Many agencies are still relying on legacy databases and outdated workflows that can’t keep pace with how quickly good candidates move.
The best marketers are typically off the market within days, not weeks. So if your agency takes a fortnight to send over a shortlist, the reality is simple – you’re already behind.
2. Agencies don’t really understand marketing
Here’s the uncomfortable truth – most recruitment agencies are generalists. They claim to “specialise” in marketing, but ask them to explain the difference between a performance marketer and a demand-generation lead, and you’ll get a vague answer.
Modern marketing is complex. It blends analytics, content, creative strategy and technology. Hiring well means understanding not just the job title but the outcomes that role needs to deliver.
According to the CIPD’s 2024 Resourcing and Talent Planning Report, over half of UK employers say recruiting for specialist or technical roles has become more difficult, with many citing a mismatch between candidate capabilities and job requirements (CIPD, 2024).
That gap is exactly where many agencies struggle. When recruiters don’t fully grasp the technical demands of modern marketing roles, they default to generic candidate profiles – which is how hiring managers end up re-briefing halfway through the process.
Good marketing hires are rare because the brief is complex. You need recruiters who understand that – not ones who are guessing.
3. The candidate pools are stale
Most agencies lean heavily on the same internal databases they’ve been using for years. Those contacts might have been relevant once, but marketing talent moves fast.
When agencies rely on static candidate pools, employers get the same shortlists again and again – often full of people who aren’t actively looking.
Modern hiring platforms and communities do it differently. They work with live, active talent networks where marketers keep their profiles and portfolios up to date. It’s the difference between fishing in a stocked pond and trawling a dry lake.
4. Costs are inflated and unclear
Let’s talk about money – because it’s the main reason many hiring managers are rethinking agencies.
Agency fees typically sit between 20% and 30% of a candidate’s annual salary. Hiring one mid-level marketer on £50,000 can cost £10,000 in commission alone, before factoring in “replacement guarantees” or admin charges buried in the small print.
Hiring budgets are tighter than ever, and teams are under pressure to show value for every pound spent. Paying thousands in agency fees for unpredictable outcomes doesn’t make sense anymore – especially when there are transparent, more cost-effective options available.
5. The model itself is outdated
The biggest issue isn’t the people working in agencies – it’s the system they’re stuck in.
Traditional recruitment agencies were built for long hiring cycles, office-based teams and predictable roles. Marketing today is fast, hybrid, data-driven and constantly shifting. Hiring models need to flex around that.
Agencies still rely on retainers, exclusivity agreements and manual admin that doesn’t suit how modern businesses operate. That’s why many forward-thinking companies are turning to tech-enabled hiring platforms that focus on speed, quality and transparency.
Howard is part of that shift – a modern hiring platform connecting marketing teams directly with verified, specialised talent in days, not weeks. No middlemen, no inflated margins, no guesswork.
A smarter, faster way to hire marketers
Marketing recruitment agencies aren’t failing because businesses no longer need help hiring – they’re failing because they never evolved.
The smartest teams are moving towards platforms that combine human insight with technology to deliver faster, fairer, more efficient hiring. Models that give hiring managers control over the process – and the budget.
At Howard, we’ve seen how much faster great marketing teams move when they take control of their hiring process.
If you’re tired of slow processes, unclear fees and average candidates, it might be time to look beyond the agency model. Start with a platform designed for how marketing really works today, and post a your first job on Howard for free.
FAQ
Why are marketing recruitment agencies struggling in 2025?
Because the market has changed, but their model hasn’t. Marketing recruitment now demands speed, specialisation and transparency – areas where agencies still fall short.
Is Howard a recruitment agency?
No. Howard is a hiring platform designed for marketing teams. It connects companies directly with verified marketers quickly, transparently and without traditional agency fees.
