by Danielle Veldre

It’s no secret there is a dearth of talent for hire in the marketing industry, and the latest salary survey from marketing recruitment specialist, Aquent, further proves experienced hands are in short supply.

The survey found that most companies project a revenue increase across all the major capital cities (ranging from 79% in Brisbane and 92% in Perth), but that the biggest hindrance to continued revenue growth is the lack of talent, as well as staff retention.

Aquent international CEO, Greg Savage, says the marketing industry merely reflects the same market conditions globally.

“The skills shortage is not limited to marketing and nor is it limited to Australia.”

The Western Australian market is enjoying the growth the resources boom has provided the state as a whole, but Savage says the top marketing jobs are still concentrated in Sydney, followed quite a way behind by Melbourne.

The majority of companies in each capital city predict a salary increase in their marketing departments; 77% of companies in Sydney expected an increase, 81% in Melbourne, 70% in Brisbane, 64% in Adelaide and 77% in Perth.

“There are tactics employers can engage in the short term, but whatever those tactics might be, they will only be superficial.  Companies need to take a long-term view of on the whole subject of talent acquisition and also on retention.  I don’t think that a high percentage of companies do have a carefully thought-out strategy on how they’re going to attract the best talent and how they’re going to retain them, “ Savage says.  “How companies can tackle it in the short term is be more open to candidates with transferable industry skills it’s something I think those in the marketing industry are going to have to come to grips with.  For example traditionally, if someone is recruiting a marketing person in the financial services sector they will not consider someone who has property marketing experience, or some other discipline.  Companies are going to have to look beyond that and perhaps look at the core competencies of the individuals and see whether they can adapt and adjust because it’s simply becoming more evident that you’re not going to find perfect fit candidates.”

He says investing in training is a way to assist in making the skills transfer work for employers.  “Companies might just have to invest more in people and hiring and training and developing people and hiring people who don’t quite fit the criteria but need to be skilled up.  We’re seeing that with some of our clients already they’re taking a broader view.  Sometimes it’s been recruiting a position for six months and they can’t fill it.  They’re really compelled to look at other solutions.”

Savage says more so than ever, money is ceasing to become the key method by which employers can attract, and indeed, retain staff.

He says with the shortage of local talent, companies are also looking overseas to spondor candidates and offer them packages to relocate.  And he says profit-share remuneration and bonus packages are becoming increasingly popular.

“People do want to see profit share or some other share of the outcome and companies are prepared to offer that, but it’s very measurable and you need to see the results.  One of the things that has to be recognised is that it’s not easy for employers to simply throw money at this problem of the talent shortage because most employers are themselves under severe margin pressure.  And that’s why companies link bonuses to corporate results and they can be quite lucrative, but there can also be nothing.  I think most marketers are coming to terms with the fact that guaranteed bonuses are a thing of the past.”

A growing trend is that of freelancing.  Savage says the increasing number of freelancers illustrates the need for greater work/life balance and says often people who leave a position temporarily, such as on maternity leave, find that the freedom of freelancing better suits their lifestyle.

“It is not common that people would give up the security of a permanent job to enter the freelance market.  Some of those people enter the market doing contracts intending only to do that for a short period of time, once they’re doing it, they find they enjoy the flexibility, they enjoy the variety, they enjoy the learning and they enjoy the higher rates and they stay in it for the long term.”

Savage says the standard of marketing education in Australia is good, but he says that education won’t solve the short-term issue of the shortage of talent.

“I think education in the marketing area in this country is relatively sound, but the skills shortage is at the mid to senior level, so education is not going to solve that in the short term.  That’s exacerbated by the fact many students who get their qualifications zip off to travel overseas and some of them then get soaked up into job markets in other countries like England, but when they come back they’re very marketable,” Savage says.

One of the other growing trends Savage has observed is the extension of the employment market beyond country borders.  “Marketing is becoming a global market and so it is true that if you’ve got good experience in the right sorts of companies you are able to get opportunities particularly in Asia.  The flipside that is that they do typically come home and they have great experience they bring to bear.  So I don’t know if we’re suffering a net loss, but certain people do move and find clients of ours are much more prepared to look at clients from overseas.

“The ex-pat packages that are now being offered in Asia are something of the past.  People don’t go up to Asia to get a job with two drivers and a country house and millions of tax-free dollars.  They tend to get paid local conditions, so it really has to be a career move not a junket.”