How Sales & Marketing Teams Can Retain Top Talent
Irish professionals are moving roles faster than ever. Recent Irish talent data shows median tenure is just 1.6 years, far below traditional workforce expectations. LinkedIn insights confirm this trend, with high-skill, commercially focused professionals changing jobs most frequently as demand for specialist expertise rises.
Globally, sales-related roles also show shorter tenure, reflecting the fast pace, high pressure, and mobility of commercial careers. For employers building sales and marketing teams in Ireland, this shift has major implications for hiring, onboarding, and retention.
Why Sales and Marketing Professionals Move Faster
Strong commercial performers rarely stay in the same role for three to five years. Their mobility is driven by measurable impact, market visibility, and clear opportunities elsewhere. Key factors include:
High Demand for Proven Commercial Talent
Irish companies compete aggressively for professionals who can drive revenue, build pipeline, and raise brand visibility, increasing inbound approaches to top talent.
Rapidly Changing Skills and Channels
Digital marketing, CRM, marketing automation, and data-driven sales evolve quickly. Professionals move to roles offering better tools, budgets, or market exposure.
Expectations Around Progression and Flexibility
Many commercial professionals expect regular career progression and flexible work conditions. When opportunities stall internally, they move externally.
Talent Strategies for Shorter Tenure
Organisations can adapt by redesigning roles and retention strategies around realistic 18-24 month timelines.
Design Roles With 18–24 Month Arcs
Map out how a high performer’s scope evolves through new markets, products, or responsibilities.
Create structured progression paths, e.g., SDR → AE → Senior AE or Marketing Executive → Specialist → Manager, aligned with actual tenure patterns.
Link Development to Commercial Outcomes
Show how performance directly connects to training, tools, and promotion. Position your organisation as a career accelerator for ambitious commercial talent.
Strengthen Onboarding and Ramp-Up
Shorter tenure increases the cost of slow ramp-up. Use 30-60-90 day plans, playbooks, and enablement to get new hires productive faster, improving ROI even if tenure is around two years.
Be Proactive With Career Moves
Regular check-ins identify when high performers are ready for more scope.
Internal lateral moves across products, channels, or regions serve as a retention tool, not just resourcing.
How a Specialist Sales & Marketing Recruiter Helps
A specialist recruitment partner bridges candidate expectations and employer realities, supporting both hiring and retention.
Market Insight and Benchmarking
Access live data on salaries, benefits, career paths, and work models to align offers with current market trends.
Role Design and Employer Branding
Get guidance on shaping roles, messaging, and interviews that appeal to commercially minded candidates seeking impact and progression.
Build Talent Pipelines, Not One-Off Hires
Plan talent pipelines that anticipate shorter tenure, ensuring continuity in your commercial teams while keeping high performers engaged.
What This Means for Your Team
The Irish labour market is more fluid than ever, with median tenure around 1.6 years and commercial professionals moving roles faster than traditional models predict. For sales and marketing leaders, this reality means rethinking role design, onboarding, progression, and retention strategies. By aligning internal opportunities with market expectations and partnering with specialist recruiters, organisations can retain top talent, accelerate careers, and maintain growth despite shorter tenure cycles.
