Loyalty marketers shouldn’t be surprised to hear that there is a need to add employees in their departments, particularly talent with a knowledge of web and mobile. Still, some might be might not understand the extent of this growing need or the extent to which it is has become a priority for hiring teams.
New research from staffing firm The Creative Group indicates that recruiting in the creative and marketing fields is expected to intensify during the remainder of the year. According to data on the state of creative hiring, 75 percent of advertising and marketing hiring decision makers anticipate expanding their teams in the second half of 2019, up from 60 percent six months ago. In addition, 62 percent of employers plan to increase the number of freelancers they use, a six-point jump from the first half of the year.
Web and mobile development remains the top area for recruiting among survey respondents. Advertising and marketing hiring managers also reported a strong need for professionals with expertise in user experience, web production, and user interface and interaction design.
Its telling that advertising teams are expressing a need for experts in user experience. Loyalty360 has heard from many brands that there’s a need to break down silos and make customer experience a consideration throughout their respective organizations.
“Many companies are adding new roles on their creative and marketing teams to maximize digital investments,” says Diane Domeyer, Executive Director of The Creative Group. “One of the biggest challenges employers face, however, is finding and hiring the talent they need quickly enough to keep up with growing business demands.”
Staffing Challenges and Strategies
A majority of advertising and marketing hiring decision-makers (86 percent) said it’s somewhat or very challenging to locate the creative talent they seek. And when it comes to recruiting professionals with digital expertise, the job is just as tough: 75 percent reported difficulty finding and retaining these individuals. This may be one reason 45 percent of employers cited being understaffed in digital areas.
In order to make better hires, many creative managers are keen on partnering with their peers on the technology team. More than nine in 10 survey respondents (92 percent) said it would be helpful to work with IT hiring decision makers when recruiting full-time professionals to support digital marketing initiatives, and 65 percent said they frequently do.
“Creative and technology professionals are collaborating more than ever on digital marketing projects,” notes Domeyer. “Hiring managers who work together to identify recruiting needs across departments are in the best position to build high-performing teams with complementary rather than redundant skills.”