GLOBAL TREND REPORT MARKETING H1 JAN-JUN

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "GLOBAL TREND REPORT MARKETING H1 JAN-JUN"

Gladys Newton
5 years ago
Views:

1 GLOBAL TREND REPORT MARKETING 014 H1 JAN-JUN

2 DEMAND FOR DIGITAL, SOCIAL & CONTENT MARKETERS In line with our commitment to keep professionals working in Marketing functions up to date with employment and recruitment trends, at the close of 2013 Morgan McKinley conducted an international survey of its consultants in five markets. The overall mood is one of cautious optimism and the current Marketing recruitment market exhibits similarities across the regions: In general the employment situation is improving, but slowly Demand is also increasing again for senior level generalists QUICK LINKS HONK KONG... 2 IRELAND...4 SINGAPORE... 6 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES... 7 UNITED KINGDOM...8 Recruitment freezes and other cost-cutting measures are still in place in many sectors in all five geographies surveyed The candidate supply is increasing in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Singapore, less so in the United Arab Emirates Content marketers with niche or sector knowledge can also command premium salaries in some sectors The window of opportunity for foreign candidates is still wide open in Singapore but perhaps not for long! Digital marketing, e-commerce and social marketing are in-demand skills everywhere 1

3 Job seekers may be tempted to move in pursuit of higher salaries, but they need to be realistic. HONG KONG HIRING COMPANIES VERY CHOOSY In Hong Kong the recruitment market for Marketing professionals improved in 2013 with the economic upswing and as companies made organisational changes and globalised some of their functions. In particular, we saw increased demand for specialists in branding and in digital and social marketing. This demand was focused at mid-manager/account executive level for agencies and at mid-manager and senior levels for in-house positions. Nonetheless hiring processes tend to be lengthy. Companies are very particular in wanting candidates who have local market experience and offer an exact skill match; this can leave vacancies open for considerable lengths of time even though there are people available with all the capabilities needed to fill the position. For example, companies will often not consider Marketing candidates who have built up experience in South-East Asia for positions covering the China market, comments one of our Hong Kong-based marketing recruitment specialists. When they are recruiting for junior or mid-career roles, companies are also very interested in the candidate s academic record, in particular their English and Chinese results, over and above professional qualifications. This reflects Hong Kong s educational system, which is very exam and results-oriented, but it does little to promote the creative, out-of-the-box thinking that can make a great marketer. 2

OUTLOOK We expect to see current recruitment trends continuing to improve, and in the course of 2014 we will see more opportunities for specialists in marketing analytics.

4 OUTLOOK We expect to see current recruitment trends continuing to improve, and in the course of 2014 we will see more opportunities for specialists in marketing analytics. Our top piece of advice for job seekers is to be open-minded and embrace new ways of working. Many companies are changing their approach with a greater emphasis on digital and social marketing and they are restructuring to be more efficient, pool resources, exploit big data and share knowledge and best practices. Candidates often turn down companies based on hearsay from friends; if a business has recently been acquired or restructured they sometimes take this as a negative whereas in our experience it is more likely to present an interesting and career-enhancing challenge, comments our Hong Kong-based consultant. Our advice to hiring organisations is to focus a little less on academic qualifications and trying to find the perfect match. Things are changing very rapidly in Marketing and it makes more sense to look for mature individuals who can lead, take ownership of projects and try out new ideas. We will also see an increasing alignment between Marketing and IT functions, as digital and social media are being integrated across the whole spectrum of marketing activities while CRM and customer intelligence are becoming key drivers of company revenues, new product development and market entry. From a recruitment perspective, this means that hiring organisations will be looking for candidates who not only offer a broader skill set, but can also demonstrate that they are commercially minded and results-led, and that they have driven projects and assignments through to success. There is only so much you can achieve in one or two years with an organisation. Employers know this so they will reject candidates who have jumped about a lot from one job to another, says our consultant. Job seekers may be tempted to move in pursuit of higher salaries, but they need to be realistic. In the long term it is usually better to build a CV that shows maturity and the ability to see things through. HR departments are becoming more conscious that they have been paying high salaries for people who do not offer the right skill sets and competencies. We have even seen HR teams starting to collaborate, particularly in retail, in order to achieve a lower market rate. So, while the recruitment market is definitely improving, salary levels for new hires are likely to stabilise over the next year or two, concludes our Hong Kong consultant. 3

5 Digital marketing is now integral to all aspects of marketing strategy. IRELAND FOCUS ON DIGITAL AS CONFIDENCE RETURNS In the second half of 2013 we saw a discernible improvement in the recruitment market for Marketing professionals in Ireland. The main driver of this demand was the introduction of new technologies and the focus on digital marketing in particular, with the return of economic confidence and increasing recruitment budgets also highly significant. Many organisations are also restructuring their operational model and/or globalising functions, which has also had an impact on the jobs market. Professionals with skills and experience in digital marketing, e-commerce and social marketing are especially sought after. Digital marketing is no longer seen as a silo activity but integral to all aspects of marketing strategy. They say that content is king in the new era of digital marketing and content writing has been the biggest growth area in recent months. People with journalism qualifications coupled with knowledge of HTML, InDesign, Photoshop, WordPress (and other content management systems) as well as video software (e.g. Flash) are in high demand and can command substantially higher salaries than in print journalism, says one of our Irish consultants. Professionals at assistant manager level who can drive entire projects, including content and implementation, and senior-level managers are very much in demand. Salary levels have increased 5-10% year-on-year. Candidates at a more junior level are well advised to take a Master s degree in digital marketing, from an institution such as Smurfit Business School, the Digital Marketing Institute or the National College of Ireland. In areas such as digital marketing, customer experience and marketing analytics there is insufficient local talent to meet the increasing demand and employers are hiring from elsewhere in Europe and even South Africa. On the downside we are still seeing the aftereffects of Ireland s long recession. Many companies still have recruitment freezes and in some of the more traditional sectors companies are still in a period of retrenchment and focusing on core activities so the marketing function has been neglected or cut back. 4

OUTLOOK It is clear, in particular through our contacts with candidates via LinkedIn, that Marketing professionals will become more proactive and we will see a lot of movement in 2014.

6 OUTLOOK It is clear, in particular through our contacts with candidates via LinkedIn, that Marketing professionals will become more proactive and we will see a lot of movement in In addition to digital marketing we expect to see a growth in demand for senior level generalists and marketing strategists and for experts in marketing analytics. In 2014 we will see an acceleration of the trend towards bringing marketing functions in-house and away from agencies. Although there will continue to be demand for agencies that can provide content creation services, the trend is for companies to hire digital marketers directly as soon as they can. This is a dynamic and competitive market so candidates are strongly advised to seek advice and support (for example to review their CVs and prepare for interviews). 5

7 Agency experience is a great asset in securing a good in-house role. SINGAPORE OUTLOOK SHORTAGE OF LOCAL TALENT The overall trend in recruitment in Marketing was getting better in the second half of 2013, largely thanks to an improved economic environment, the introduction of new technologies, in particular the focus on digital marketing, and organisational change including globalisation. There is a shortage of local talent, in particular in high-demand skill-sets such as digital marketing, marketing communications and social marketing, and local companies are looking to recruit abroad, mainly from Europe and Australia. We have seen more demand for international talent despite the fact that Singapore s Ministry of Manpower s regulations on foreign employees are getting tighter, comments one of our local consultants. Regional expertise is also highly valued. Agencies are recruiting at all levels from junior upwards and agency experience is a great asset when seeking a well-paid in-house role, especially at assistant manager and project manager level. In the short to medium term we expect to see a continuation of the current positive trend and candidates will be more proactive in seeking new roles. However, longer term we are likely to see the Ministry of Manpower incentivising companies to bring on local talent, which will tend to depress salary levels. The government is investing heavily in education in the creative, marketing and media areas, in particular digital. This will have less impact on more senior positions for the foreseeable future and indeed companies tend to prefer to attract talent from outside the organisation or abroad. We expect to see demand picking up for strategic-level marketers as the economy continues to improve. At the top end of the hierarchy companies are looking for individuals with more integrated skills sets, and in particular digital. Salaries tend to be 10-20% higher for these individuals, says our consultant. 6

8 People are staying in senior marketing positions longer than in the past. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES OUTLOOK RECOVERY, BUT AT A SLOW PACE In the UAE the market picked up in the second half of 2013, with demand increasing for both new and replacement headcount in Marketing functions, in particular strategic, digital and social marketing. However, the picture is rather mixed. Many companies still have recruitment freezes in place and this, together with the economic uncertainty that persists in some sectors, has slowed the recovery. In some areas of marketing, in particular strategic marketing and marketing communications, there is inadequate local supply of talent and therefore opportunities exist for candidates from abroad, in particular Europeans. Openings are available in agencies and service providers at junior and assistant manager/account executive level and in-house at assistant manager, project manager and senior levels, although organisations tend to want to recruit internally for senior marketing positions. Many agencies implemented recruitment freezes during the economic downturn and though the situation is improving, hiring levels are not yet back to pre-2008 levels, comments a Morgan McKinley consultant based in Dubai. Overall we expect the situation to improve in 2014, but only incrementally. Traditionally, remuneration is the primary motivator in this sector in the United Arab Emirates and salaries for new or replacement hires are not keeping pace. We suspect that most candidates will be content to stay put in Salaries are not rising fast enough to encourage candidates to come forward, comments our local consultant. In particular, people are staying in senior positions longer than they did in the past, and many candidates would rather accept a counter-offer from the present employer than risk a change. Probably the best assets in a candidate s armoury at the moment are fluency in Arabic and social media experience. Knowledge of the UAE market is also very important. 7

9 Candidates who combine marketing know-how and a niche or industryspecific skill will typically do very well. UNITED KINGDOM NICHE SKILLS COMMAND HIGH SALARIES We saw signs of improvement in the second half of 2013 as the United Kingdom appeared to be emerging from the economic downturn and companies invested in new technologies, in particular digital marketing, and restructured their marketing operations. The main skills in demand are digital marketing, marketing communications and strategic marketing, and although there is adequate local supply for most roles, some niche skills are hard to find and can command excellent salaries. For example, there was increasing demand for more regular and sophisticated communications for investors, reports one of our London-based consultants. In such cases recruiters may look abroad. Specific marketing qualifications such as CIM are useful, but industry-specific qualifications and skills acquired on the job are highly valued. At more senior levels, organisations are more inclined to look outside to new talent. OUTLOOK Our outlook for 2014 is optimistic. Candidates will be more proactive in seeking new roles and there will be many new openings, particularly for in-house roles at assistant manager and project manager levels, but also higher up the hierarchy. The role of marketing is changing dramatically as it is viewed as a key part of the overall distribution machine and not just a support function, says our consultant. In the UK we specialise in recruiting marketers into the asset management industry where there is a demand for a high level of technical and sector-specific expertise. We thus see lots of opportunities for candidates who come from a finance or business background but who have an interest in marketing. IMC is the industry standard qualification in asset management and employees including marketers are often encouraged and supported in taking this qualification. The more general conclusion that we can draw from this is that marketers who offer a niche skill, such as writing for investors, or have an industry-specific qualification, will typically do very well. 8

10 GLOBAL TREND REPORT MARKETING A MORGAN McKINLEY GROUP COMPANY

GLOBAL BANKING OPERATIONS TREND REPORT H2 JUL-DEC

GLOBAL BANKING OPERATIONS TREND REPORT H2 JUL-DEC CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM BUT A MIXED PICTURE In line with our commitment to keep professionals working in banking operations up to date with employment and recruitment