2015 has continued to be encouraging for recruitment – with levels rising rapidly, in line with consumer sentiment. We have seen acceleration in the employment landscape, with an increased focus being placed on candidates. This has manifested in a number of ways. Firstly, through a rise in job opportunities requiring specific skill sets, countered by the low supply of suitably qualified candidates. Secondly, with the rise of the counter offer, the levels of which have not been seen since 2008.
Company culture and benefits hold more sway than salaries
Competition for top talent resulted in higher basic salaries being offered with candidates interviewing across multiple opportunities, whilst bonus figures have varied. We have seen current employers increasing salaries throughout the year, with a large number of appraisal reviews being linked to salary increases and rather generous very positive. Although this shows a commitment to those who have performed well, a number of candidates have continued searching on the back of their reviews and are benefiting from the current competitive nature within the job market. Salary levels for candidates who move on have been interesting, with average increases of around 16%.
However, it is important to note that the importance of a financial package when an individual is considering a career move continues to reduce in relation to other factors. The employer brand, the candidate’s experience during the interview processes, and a defined career path with associated learning and development programmes are all essential when attracting and retaining strategically important marketers.
Talent: demand and supply
It is a well-known fact that there is a global talent shortage within Digital Marketing. Whilst there are reported gaps across all areas, the biggest is seen within Analytics – at 37%. There is still a massive void between the digital expertise required by organisations and the talent that’s actually available them, at every level. There are two key reasons for this:
- Technology is evolving at a rapid pace, so much so that training departments, universities, and schools are unable to match its progress.
- The career plateau (i.e. the peek that everyone eventually reaches in their career). Even the most powerful man in the world (Barrack Obama) reaches their career plateau – after which the only way is down! However, many senior managers fail to continue to invest in their learning, development and education as they think that they’ve ‘made it’. The reality is that they’re not keeping up with the latest trends and technologies and are putting themselves and their employer at a huge disadvantage.
Hiring during the downturn
From 2009 to 2013, the volume of new vacancies was extremely low. New hires in Marketing Agencies or client-side businesses were few and far between. As a result, the size of the pool of talent with three to six years’ experience within Digital Marketing (at salaries around €40,000 – €55,000) is very limited.
Many marketing departments are therefore populated by individuals with a polarity of experience. Either recent graduates with one to two years experience or Managers/Directors with over seven eight years’ experience (the over €75,000 range). It will be interesting to see how this challenge develops over the next year or two. Will senior managers continue to get more hands-on and less strategic, essentially putting their careers on hold while their teams gain experience? Or, will graduates be given opportunities to step up to the mark like never before? Time will tell on this one.
The rise of the hybrid marketer
Many organisations still have a marketing structure that can only be described as traditional. They are hierarchical, with each discipline separated into different departments, resulting in poor collaboration. The impact of this on the individual is a profound level of expertise in just one discipline within digital marketing – for instance CRM, insight analytics, etc.
However, many organisations are reporting that they are in need of ‘hybrid’ marketers who are tech literate, whilst also being skilled in multiple disciplines. Those who can demonstrate and display such a skill set will continue to attract a whole host of interest within the market.
Our predictions for 2016 and beyond
‘Marketing’ departments will continue to grow (in terms of headcount)
This increase will come from both from new hires of traditional marketers with digital skills, but also from the remit of the ‘marketing’ function increasing to include some roles which previously fell under a sales remit as well as data, analytics and development roles which have traditionally fallen under the IT team.
Strategic importance
The importance of the marketing function will continue to grow, as more and more organisations get on the data train. With a fully joined-up organisation structure in place, the days when data was being presented but not acted upon will cease to exist – data and insights will finally have somewhere to go.
