How to Hire and Retain a Presentation Designer (Ultimate Guide)

If you are considering hiring an in-house presentation designer, you have come to the right place to learn about it.

Many businesses have considered hiring PowerPoint designers to save time and boost team efficiency. Just think about it: most of your employees have been hired thanks to their expertise in finances, marketing, sales, or IT, but they’re tinkering around with PowerPoint shapes and colors instead of performing their primary functions.

Hiring presentation designers is about letting professionals do what they do best: elevate the visual impact of your designs and propel your brand to the next level.

At 24Slides, we have more than 10 years of experience recruiting and retaining creative talent in presentation design, and today, we want to share our knowledge with you.

Let’s take a quick look at what we’ll cover:

What does a Professional Presentation Designer do?

Presentation designers, also known as PowerPoint designers or Presentation experts, craft visually appealing slides tailored to the client’s goals and specifications.

They possess graphic design and visual communication expertise, employing these skills to present information clearly and engagingly in your presentation decks.

Nowadays, the most common software tools for professional presentation designers include PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote, Prezi, and Adobe Illustrator.

And since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are real examples of what a PowerPoint designer can create:

Before-and-after presentation examples — Check more before-and-after presentation examples.

How to Pick a Professional Presentation Designer?

Hiring presentation designers indicates a desire for profiles with specific technical skills. If you are planning to specialize your services, choosing a more senior profile will ensure a better final product.

Based on our experience, evaluating soft skills, interpersonal abilities, and cultural fit is crucial during the selection process of your dream design team.

Let’s take a closer look at each point:

Hard Skills

The world of presentation design covers a niche market that is continually adapting to new technologies and trends.

In this regard, it’s vital for a presentation designer to master various design software, especially Adobe Suite programs like Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as different PowerPoint tools.

According to Valery Salome, Design Lead at 24Slides Peru, other relevant hard skills to consider during a selection process are:

Good Sense of Design: A good sense of design is more than just making things look attractive; it’s about making them functional. This skill allows the designer to create visually appealing and user-friendly interfaces, whether they’re working on a website, a mobile app, or a marketing campaign.
Excellence at Diagramming: Excellence at diagramming involves the ability to represent complex information in a clear and concise manner. This can include mapping business processes, creating flowcharts, or designing infographics.
Intermediate or Advanced Level of English: Being proficient in English is crucial in today’s globalized world. This skill is even more relevant when working with intercultural teams that speak multiple languages.

Soft Skills

While hard skills are a fundamental pillar when seeking creative talent, soft skills or interpersonal abilities have become their perfect complement for making the final decision.

In general terms, soft skills refer to a worker’s qualities that help them solve problems in their day-to-day work and, often, influence their interaction and achievements with their team.

Valery shares some skills she prioritizes when hiring a presentation designer at 24Slides:

Teamwork: In the creative industry, knowing how to work in a team is essential to achieve better results, so a presentation designer must develop this skill.
Commitment: At 24Slides, we stand out for our high-quality service and fast turnarounds. Therefore, we consider it crucial that our designers show commitment to their tasks and the quality they deliver in the final product.
Proactivity: Any design process involves a lot of creativity, so an ideal PowerPoint designer profile must be proactive in order to provide out-of-the-box ideas.
Leadership: Although not all designers on your team will be heads or managers, leadership is an important quality that will allow them to solve problems autonomously.
Willingness to Learn: The ideal presentation designer will always be passionate about continuous learning. This soft skill is especially important given the new technologies that emerge every year in the design world.

Culture Fit

Do you have a high turnover rate in your company and are unsure why? If so, cultural fit might be a factor you take for granted when recruiting talent.

Building an in-house design team implies thinking long-term. Based on our experience, ensuring that your design team shares the same core values and also aligns with your company’s goals enhances your chances of maintaining low turnover rates.

Hiring process in 24Slides — An interview during our Recruitment Process in Indonesia

Once you have hired the ideal presentation designer, the next step is to focus on developing retention strategies. According to our findings, these strategies are essential for building high-performing teams.

These strategies will not only enhance your team's efficiency but also boost their happiness at work!

How to Retain a Professional Presentation Designer?

Talent turnover is a common problem in today’s business world, so if you are committed to scaling your design team long-term, you must invest resources in talent retention strategies.

At 24Slides, we have achieved a remarkable employee retention rate of 97% in the last 12 months, a testament to our commitment to fostering a positive and engaging work environment.

Now, we want to go deeper into the retention strategies that have worked for us:

Cultivate an Outstanding Corporate Culture

While financial compensation is an important factor for staying in a company, there is also the now-known "emotional salary," which includes the company’s work culture.

In general, organizational culture encompasses the beliefs, values, and practices shared by its members. The existence of this culture in your company allows your employees to move in the same direction.

Moreover, a well-defined organizational culture fosters employee motivation and can serve as a valuable differentiator from competitors. This way, you are more likely to attract and retain the best creative talent.

Plan a Career Path

Establishing a career path within your company is an essential factor when discussing talent retention strategies.

This career path can be vertical (increasing hierarchy) or horizontal (greater specialization). Choosing which option is best for you will depend on your team structure and your business objectives.

Our recommendation is that this process be as personalized as possible so that your employee has some decision-making power over their future.

Facilitate Work Flexibility

Following the previous idea of emotional salary, offering flexible work hours is another retention strategy that you cannot overlook.

In today’s globalized world, considering flexible work arrangements is almost indispensable in a job offer. This strategy not only provides a greater work-life balance for the presentation designer but also can influence their final productivity level.

This flexibility policy can also be reflected in the workspace; you can opt for a hybrid work model or 100% home office. The important thing is that your employees feel they have certain control over how they organize their time.

Provide Extra Benefits

Lastly, consider providing additional benefits to your design team. Your employees will appreciate this thoughtful gesture, potentially boosting your retention rate and enhancing your company’s reputation.

Some ideas of corporate benefits are:

Casual work attire
Private health insurance
Monthly food allowance
Free snacks in the office
Game or entertainment area in the office
Social activities
Constant training sessions
Flexible vacations
Partnerships with gyms or wellness centers

These are some of the benefits we offer at 24 Slides. You are free to choose and innovate in the way you show your appreciation to your team!

In-house design team in Indonesia — Playground at 24Slides Indonesia

Beyond In-house Design Modality: Presentation Design Company vs. Freelance PowerPoint Designer vs. Dedicated Design Team

At 24Slides, we hire top talent from emerging countries, which is why we’ve built a strong internal team of 200+ designers based in Indonesia and Peru. Our mission extends beyond outsourcing: we foster substantial growth within these regions.

However, considering your business’s characteristics, there are other ways beyond hiring in-house presentation designers that might work better for you.

Below, we’re going to talk about the most important work modalities available on the market right now:

Presentation Design Company

There are various types of design companies, but the ones that stand out the most are design agencies and design studios. These companies are usually very useful for large or medium-sized projects that require various specialties.

On the one hand, agencies tend to be very large and offer many transversal services, while studios have fewer members, are more specialized, and offer more personalized communication.

Are you planning a major change for your brand? If so, hiring a presentation design company will be your best decision.

Freelance Presentation Designer

Freelance designers are an excellent choice for small and temporary projects. There are various PowerPoint freelancers who offer their services online, so the price ranges will vary depending on the level of specialization you require.

If you already work with a reliable freelancer, we recommend continuing the partnership to save time and maintain consistency in your visual identity (or the service you’re hiring).

Dedicated Design Team

Our dedicated design team service is the hallmark of 24Slides. Our team of PowerPoint experts is trained in your brand guidelines, resulting in high-impact slides tailored to each project's unique needs.

Ideally, this work modality fits really well with large companies with a constant design workload. It’s like having an in-house design team without investing in training sessions or searching for the best talent on your own– we handle it all for you!

“Thanks to the expertise and support provided by the external 24Slides team, we’ve been able to meet our clients’ expectations consistently and focus on core business activities. They quickly became a trusted partner and now feel like an extension of our own in-house team.”

-Nicolas Sägesser, Partner & Creative Director at MYI Entertainment

Presentation design expertise - 24Slides

Why is Outsourcing Presentation Services a Better Alternative to Hiring an In-house Designer?

Are you aiming to break the mold and create an innovative product? Do you want to start presenting more professional corporate slides? If you answered yes, outsourcing your design project would be your best option!

There are several scenarios where opting for an external service is advisable. Let’s see:

Your visual identity doesn’t align with current design trends, and you want to refresh your brand
You want to explore a content format that your in-house design team typically doesn’t handle
You are changing your target audience or making a significant structural change to your brand
You plan to raise your prices and need specialized advice to enhance your visual identity

If you find yourself in any of these situations but are not fully convinced about choosing an external design service, here are some key advantages to consider:

1. You have access to a wider range of design services

Outsourcing your design service allows you to choose from a wider range of services. Design is a constantly changing discipline, so there are specialists of all kinds on the market.

By not depending on an in-house design team, you have more freedom to test and evaluate what type of service suits your creative needs.

Remember that your potential design partner can lead your project partially or entirely. It will depend on you!

2. You achieve faster hiring processes

Recruiting in-house designers involves a long-term commitment, so it is natural that the hiring process has more stages and takes more time from you.

Opting for agencies, studios, or freelancers is an excellent option if you require a specialized PowerPoint service that ensures high-quality products in fast turnarounds.

3. You have greater flexibility in your expenses

The number of design services available on the market is countless, as is their price range.

According to our research, the cost of ordering a 10-slide presentation ranges from $10 to $6,000 (or more), depending on the designers' expertise, the project's complexity, and any additional services you need.

This aspect is relevant if you don’t have a fixed budget, and your spending capacity may vary by month or quarter.

4. You don't have to worry about training costs

Maybe this is obvious, but If you hire a third party to handle your design needs, you won’t have to spend money on training sessions.

These costs will be in the hands of the company you are hiring. In most cases, design services are comprised of senior professionals with long experience, so training is not a concern for them.

Want to know more about the pros and cons of the different types of design services on the market? Check out our blog now!

That's all for today. We hope our detailed guide helps you hire and retain the best creative talent for your company. Additionally, we recommend exploring other types of design services and testing their effectiveness within your team.

Remember that you can always explore the 24Slides try-out option. This is a great opportunity to get a sample of how our designers work with your brand guidelines. You won’t regret it!

If you’re convinced 24Slides is what you need, get started now. Just send us your presentation draft and relax; our team is fully prepared to make your slides take off in only 24 hours.