Sedef Onar — Partner & Chief Talent Officer, 72andSunny
Sedef talks to TheNextGag about the best recruitment tool for an agency, agency culture, how to get ready for Gen Z and where to find unexpected candidates.
Sedef is Partner & Chief Talent Officer of 72andSunny in the USA.
Originally from Istanbul, Sedef found her way to 72andSunny via Boston, New York, London, and now proudly calls Los Angeles home.
Sedef’s mission is to not only find the best people to join the agency’s teams, but also help support every employee’s continued growth within the company.
With a non-linear career path that gave her insight into companies large and small, Sedef is focused on creating a diverse and inclusive place that fosters personal growth and creative self expression.
When she’s not at work, Sedef can usually be found tending to her family’s vegetables, fruit trees and flowers accompanied by their cuddly cocker spaniel Reggie, sassy street cat, Miles.
THENEXTGAG: ARE YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THE OFFICES OF 72ANDSUNNY?
SEDEF ONAR: Yes. I oversee our talent strategy globally.
TNG: DOES 72ANDSUNNY HAS ANY PLANS TO EXPAND THE NETWORK AND OPEN IN NEW LOCATIONS ?
SO: Yes. Ultimately, we do. Right now, nothing that I can officially talk about. But, we are a very growth-oriented company.
TNG: THE NEW MODEL OF AD AGENCIES NETWORK SEEMS NOT TO PILE ON TOO MANY LOCAL OFFICES AND DO GLOBAL WORK FROM A SELECT NUMBER OF LOCATIONS…
SO: Our strategy is to go to places where there are clients or there might be some relationships that justify going there. For example, the reason we opened our New York office is when we won Smirnoff.
TNG: I SAW A POST ON LINKEDIN MENTIONING THE BOOK THAT YOUR AGENCY DID ABOUT THE HISTORY OF YOUR LOS ANGELES OFFICE AND HOW IT USED TO BELONG TO HOWARD HUGHES.
SO: Yes. It’s a beautiful book. We are in a very historic building here, especially by American standards.
We have been able to attract good clients and do great work because we have great people and a great culture, and each of those things keeps feeding the other.
TNG: WHAT MAKES THE PEOPLE WANT TO COME TO 72ANDSUNNY ? IS IT THE BUILDING, THE CULTURE, THE CLIENT LIST, THE AWARDS, THE WORK, THE TALENT ? WHAT IS THE BEST RECRUITMENT TOOL?
SO: It is a combination of everything. They are all interrelated. We have been able to attract good clients and do great work because we have great people and a great culture, and each of those things keeps feeding the other. You know, one without the other doesn’t quite work. Ultimately, it is how it comes together. Our focus is being a platform for personal growth and creative self-expression for people. That’s our starting point. We believe that when we get that right, it’ll create a positive environment for people to be able to be creative and to continue to learn and grow, and then they are going to do great work and have good relationships and that’s a culture where people are thriving. I think it’s important to first start with “How we are creating the right environment where people can be their best selves” and then make things together.
TNG: ABOUT THAT CULTURE, YOUR AGENCY IS FAMOUS FOR ITS NAME RELATED TO CALIFORNIA’S WEATHER. BUT NOW YOU ARE ON THE EAST COAST AND EUROPE WHERE IT IS LESS SUNNY. DO YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT CULTURE PER LOCAL OFFICE OR ARE YOU TRYING TO HAVE ONE CULTURE FOR THE ENTIRE LOCATIONS?
SO: Culture is like a living and breathing thing, right? Each office definitely has their own culture, but we have the same shared values. 72andSunny definitely reverts to the weather, but it really is an acknowledgement of optimism. It is a big value for us to see opportunities around us. And that’s the energy that creates an impact both out in culture and within our own company’s internal culture.
So, there is isn’t one global culture or mandate. There are some values and principles that each of the leaders of the company believe in. And then, each office goes off and creates their own version of it. So, when you come to LA or New York or Amsterdam, I think people see immediate similarities. But there are also nuances and difference because we are operating in different markets and cultures. So, there is definitely a localized culture. But, ultimately, they stem off the same values and outlook.
TNG: DO YOU THINK THAT THE SNAPCHAT GENERATION IS READY TO ENTER THE WORKFORCE?
SO: Explain that question to me a little bit more. What do you mean exactly?
TNG: PEOPLE WHO WERE BORN WITH A MOBILE PHONE IN THEIR HANDS, WHO ARE USED TO DOCUMENT EVERYTHING THEY ARE DOING, WHO HAVE DIFFERENT PRIVACY SETTINGS THAN WE DID. DO YOU FIND IT EASIER OR HARDER TO INTEGRATE THE YOUNGER GENERATION?
SO: That’s interesting. Are they really entering the workforce? Whether or not they are ready, they are entering the workforce, right?
Our company is ‘born modern.’ And the way that we describe modern, in that context, is to be comfortable with change. This is a new generation. Not only are they entering the workforce, but they are also the consumers. Are we comfortable with it? Are there nuances and differences from different generations that we have in the company? Yes. But, it is a two-way relationship. There are always things that we’ll learn from our employees, whether you are a millennial, whether you are the Gen X — which, believe it or not, we still have — or the Snapchat generation.
The key is asking, why are they here? Are we clear with each other on what we are expecting? What is our responsibility in bringing them into 72andSunny and grow them? How are they helping evolve our culture and evolve our company?
Culture is something that is living, breathing, evolving. And the Snapchat generation — as you call it — comes with a lot of exciting things, including tech savviness and a completely different way of communicating, which might not be necessarily in everybody’s comfort zone, but is exciting.
TNG: YOU ARE SAYING THAT WE HAVE TO READY FOR CHANGE. DO YOU THINK THAT HUMAN RESOURCES, THE HIRING AND THE FIRING, IS EVOLVING IN THE MODERN AGE?
SO: I am going to call it the talent job, because there is a human resources side to the job and there is a recruiting side to the job.
Of course, we are evolving in the sense that there are technologies that help us do our jobs better, faster and smarter. From the way we track candidates and employees to what we do with programs and policies, technology is definitely making us smarter. Which I love, by the way. But I also never ever want to lose the human touch that this discipline requires. Ultimately, we are in the talent business and we need human interactions with each one of our employees. I never want technology to replace that.
My vision and approach is to find a balance between high-touch and efficiency, whether that is about candidates or internally as a team. We want people to know we are here, and we are available. With technology, we can do that while being efficient. We don’t want to waste too much time in things that we don’t need to, but we also don’t want to overly automate things and completely lose our ability to communicate and talk to each other. It even goes back to the use of emails. One example is to just get away from your desk and go over and find the person and talk to them. Don’t rely on emails all the time.
TNG: ABOUT COMMUNICATION CHANNELS. YOU MENTIONED EMAIL. WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO FIND SOME CREATIVES, WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHANNEL BETWEEN LINKEDIN, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, SLIDESHARE, DRIBBLE. BEHANCE, CARGO COLLECTIVE…
SO: Well, it’s a combination of those things. What we are looking for and the level of the position plays a role in what medium we might use. If we are looking for more senior people, we do our research by reading about the work and what’s happening right now, along with seeing who is doing what and who is behind specific projects. With that information, we try to reach them in the type of places where they might be. We even look at some of their own personal work. Instagram is becoming a place where people are showcasing their creativity, not just with work, but outside of work as well. We don’t tend to do mass Facebook blasts or advertise. Even with Behance, we tried it a couple of times and found it works for some kind of things, but it doesn’t work for others.
And a big part of our recruitment strategy, as I said earlier, is a bit of high-touch and being able to understand “What are we looking for” and “Where are we looking for them?” When it comes down to the junior level, we are going to more and more interesting kinds of schools. And not necessarily just the advertising schools, but different class of schools that bring us more unexpected candidates. Social media is powerful to an extent. But it is definitely not a replacement for everything. There are still some more traditional things that give us more insight and help us get closer to the type of people we want to hire.
TNG: DO YOU THINK THAT ONLY CREATIVES SHOULD HAVE PORTFOLIOS?
SO: No. If a portfolio is showcasing what you have brought to life, what it is that you do and what it is that you can do, then absolutely not. Creatives, because of their craft, obviously do rely on some kind of a portfolio to be able to showcase what they’ve done. But I have seen a range of candidates, including brand managers and strategists, bring in what they’ve brought to life in a more of a portfolio format, which has been really interesting and helpful to see.
Sedef Onar
Partner & Chief Talent Officer
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