Marketing & Digital Jobs and Pay: Two in Three Professionals Considering a Change of Role
It's no secret that the hiring market has tightened over the past 12 months; not just in marketing and digital jobs, but across the board. This is hardly surprising; the UK has been hit by a combination of external factors including the pandemic, geopolitical events, shifting employment models and more. This has, in turn, impacted economic confidence and led to increased uncertainty for employers as well as marketing and digital professionals.
In order to best help our clients and candidates navigate this difficult climate, we’ve launched our inaugural Hiring & Salary Guide.
So, what does the report show, and what can it tell us about marketing and digital recruitment and pay trends?
Marketing and Digital Jobs and Pay Review
One of the key takeaways from our study is that a worrying proportion of the market is considering leaving their existing role in the next 12 months, indicating that many are unhappy in their current roles. But what’s driving this dissatisfaction?
Salary is definitely playing a part. One of the key external factors impacting economic uncertainty in the UK has been ongoing macroeconomic and cost-of-living pressures. This means that pay has become even more important than in the past, which is why it’s particularly concerning that over half (56%) of the workforce is currently dissatisfied with their salary. While there is light on the horizon, with 61% expecting their pay to increase over the next year, this data suggests that many are looking for new roles in order to secure more money.
Lack of Progression
However, pay increases obviously aren’t achievable or sustainable for all employers. That’s why it’s promising to see that candidates value more than just remuneration. Second on the list of motivators for marketing and digital professionals was training opportunities. One-third said development – or a lack of it - was the main factor that influenced their decision to leave their employer. This is, again, understandable. The majority of marketing and digital specialists will want to develop their skills in whatever role they’re undertaking, which makes it particularly surprising that only 42% said they currently have access to development opportunities.
With this data in mind, it’s hardly surprising that turnover in our sectors is so high. If pay and development are the main factors encouraging people to switch roles, and the majority aren’t satisfied with either aspect of their employer’s offer, then they’re likely to leave. While it’s not always easy to offer pay rises, it can be much more straightforward to provide development opportunities which, remember, benefit both businesses and candidates alike. If employers are serious about retaining skills and attracting new ones, then more will need to offer adequate platforms for progression to their workforces.
Of course, whether an employee chooses to leave their role or not generally doesn’t just come down to pay and development, and there are clearly other factors at play. One of these is flexibility. According to our data, a staggering 98% of marketing and digital specialists said that flexible working was an important factor to them when choosing a new role, highlighting the importance these options now play in the modern world of work. This, along with pensions and private healthcare, were the top three most desired benefits listed by professionals across our specialist fields.
Outside of candidate motivators, our study also looked into demand for skills and identified what employers are looking for from the marketing and digital workforce at the moment. When we consider economic challenges and ongoing skills shortages it’s perhaps unsurprising that demand for contract experts has proven to be high, with employers looking to leverage the contingent workforce to deliver projects and help balance heavy workloads.
Digital in Demand
Perhaps unsurprisingly in today’s technology-driven world, digital expertise is also highly sought after. In fact, when asked what skills employers were seeking from their next hire, digital came on top, ahead of creativity, data analysis and communications attributes. The increasing use and reliance on technology within marketing and communications means that it’s critical that businesses have these skills within their workforce that will enable them to remain competitive and continue to grow. But, as we all know, these attributes are already in short supply, and with digital developments changing at pace, competition for the best talent is only going to intensify.
Finally, it would be remiss not to touch on the role that artificial intelligence is playing - and will continue to play - in the future. Almost nine out of ten respondents said they agree that AI will have a significant impact on marketing and digital jobs in the next three years, with the majority believing that it will support improvements in efficiency and productivity within content creation. While the role that emerging technologies play within marketing and digital jobs remains to be seen, it will be interesting to review its position when we revisit this study next year.
We’ve only touched on a fraction of the data, insights and analysis featured in our Marketing Hiring & Salary Guide. To gain a full understanding of the market and to gain awareness of different pay rates by sector, candidate motivators, employer demands and more, download the full version here.
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