The Digital Skills Gap in the Creative & Marketing Workplace

First know this: The talent shortage is alive and well, unfortunately.

Current marketing pros might be relatively unfamiliar with these new technologies—they didn’t exist when they were in college. Even current business school students may not be getting the most up-to-date information—professors, generally, have limited experience putting these technologies to practical use. In fact, Adecco’s research indicates that 59% of senior executives feel the education system fails to teach students the skills needed in today’s workforce.1 School, particularly college, can obviously be critical for careers, but it’s difficult to match hands-on experience.

Many execs are pointing to the challenges of the “digital transformation.” As Mindi Chahal writes in a Marketing Week article, “Digital transformation 2.0: The new challenges and how to overcome them,” “The digital skills gap and the ever-growing chasm

between the needs of employees of different generations, customer expectations, in-house skills versus third-party providers, the technology stack and legacy structures are just some of the things giving marketers a digital headache.”2

The need for employees with digital marketing knowledge and experience—with some tech know-how mixed in—is on the rise. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts a growth of 25,400 marketing jobs between 2012 and 2022—a 12% increase.3 And per Adecco’s research, 45% of hiring managers said it’s difficult to find skilled creative professionals, especially those with experience in media services and/or digital marketing. Sounds like we’re in store for an even tighter labor market.

20 years ago, business leaders asked themselves “Should we build a website?” 10 years ago it was “How do we tackle social media?” And a few years ago it was “How do we use content to nurture leads?”

Today, companies must continue to prioritize their websites, social media and content, but they must also overcome a new challenge: the emergence of tech such as augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and the Internet of things.

This begs the question: “How do we find and manage the talent we need to focus on our core tactics AND capitalize on the latest tech?”

Well, let’s find out.

• While sales jobs had the highest number of candidates to interview before hiring (6.5), marketing/creative was close behind with 6.3, indicating that employers are having challenges finding the right person for the job.

• 63% of recruitment professionals indicated a shortage of skilled marketing/creative candidates; 79% reported a shortage of IT/technical candidates.4

On a more macro level, an Economist Intelligence Unit report sponsored by Marketo, “The rise of the marketer: Driving engagement, experience and revenue,” evaluated survey responses and conducted in-depth interviews with senior marketing executives around the world to explore their talent needs.5

Another important finding is that when considering the mix between hiring for creativity and hiring for technical acumen, technical acumen wins. Creativity still matters, but today’s marketers must demonstrate a balance between technical and creative skills. Essentially, jacks-of-all-trades are highly sought.

The role of marketers is becoming increasingly important for your organization, and these marketers need to bring an array of skills to help you keep up with—and benefit from—the rapidly growing digital marketing environment. That means it will be increasingly difficult to find ideal job candidates from any generation. Speaking of generations and how to find them…

39%

Digital engagement

38%

Strategy and planning

39%

Marketing operations/technology

32%

Data analysis

Hiring in the areas of marketing, technology and digital engagement are high on their radars. Topping the list are the following:

Furthermore, Bullhorn’s fifth annual Staffing and Recruiting Trends survey of 1,285 agency recruitment professionals revealed the following:

It was “meet Millennials,” but now it’s “meet Gen Zers.”Like the generations that preceded them, Millennials—or Gen Yers—represent the next “big demographic bubble.” Born between roughly 1980 and the late 1990s, they’re the largest segment of the workforce—outnumbering the older Gen X by almost 800,000 according to Pew Research. Close on their heels is Gen Z. Generational expert, and Gen Xer, David Stillman and his son, Jonah, a member of Gen Z, have studied this contingent, which now numbers 72.8 million according to an article they wrote for SHRM.6

These demographic segments are different. For employers looking to hire digital marketing talent, Millennials hold the most promise now, having been in the workforce for some time and armed with on-the-job experience. But Gen Zers are waiting in the wings and, as digital natives, represent significant future opportunity.

Adecco surveyed both Millennials and Gen Zers to find out what they really think about work—where they are now and where they’d like to be. Their responses are instructive and provide clues into how to best reach and engage them. Let’s take a look.

How they look for opportunities.If you want to connect with Millennials and Gen Zers, you need to go where they are. Perhaps surprisingly, their go-to source of career or job information is their college or university career center (29%) followed by online job boards (28%). Only 9% indicated that their own social networks (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter) represent tools they use to aid in job search. In terms of their likelihood to use social networks—61% indicated Facebook was their preferred channel; 45% cited LinkedIn. They often

use these tools to research employers and to learn about company cultures.The big takeaways for employers here?

• Make sure you’re attending college career fairs and establishing relationships with campus career center staff.

• Make sure you’re actively promoting open positions and your organization on both Facebook and LinkedIn.

Career or job information sources

29%College/University

Career Center

28%Job Boards

9%Social Media

Preferred social networks

61%Facebook

45%LinkedIn

What they’re looking for from an employer.These two generations are interested in company culture and they’re actively engaged in learning about it by surfing the web and monitoring social media channels. Unlike previous generations, they’re less concerned about healthcare benefits (the Affordable Care Act allows those up to age 26 to remain on parents’ coverage). What they do want is flexibility in work schedules and plenty of paid time off. Work-life balance is a high priority for these new labor market entrants. Also of importance to those already in the workforce is the ability to pay off student debt and become financially stable, meaning pay remains a top factor.

Employers hoping to attract these younger employees should focus on offering creative benefits that meet their unique needs:

Flexible schedules customized for each individual

Student loan repayment programs or financial education benefits

Competitive wages for not only positions, but also for your company size and market

What they’re looking for in their careers.Despite media reports to the contrary, these members of the workforce do value stability, second only to opportunities for growth. In fact, more than two out of three prefer stability over passion in a job. This is a result of living through a recession that began in 2008 and needing the ability not only to support themselves, but potentially families.

Employers hoping to attract and retain the best job candidates from this contingent must be prepared to offer the following as it relates to their career ascension:

• A stable environment from the top down that reassures employees of longevity

• Opportunity to learn new skills, take on new projects and climb the corporate ladder

A mobile workforce.Millennials and Gen Zers are mobile. Nearly all respondents indicate that they would relocate, if necessary, for a job opportunity. In fact, most expect to move to two or three cities throughout their careers. The cities they find most attractive are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Denver and Seattle.

But don’t fret if you don’t have offices in these top-ranked locations. Here’s another important point about these individuals: They don’t covet full-time, traditional roles as much as the generations that preceded them. They’re more entrepreneurial and more likely to take on roles within what is being called the “gig economy.” 7 That represents additional opportunities for employers to bring creative and tech talent onboard to meet their digital marketing needs.

A 2016 study from Upwork and the Freelancers Union, based on a survey of more than 6,000 U.S. workers, indicated that 55 million people are engaged in the gig economy, or about 35% of the U.S. workforce.8

LinkedIn predicts that, by 2020, 43% of the U.S. workforce will be made up of gig workers, according to Forbes staff writer Karsten Strauss.9

Closing the gap.Marketing in any realm is a numbers game—but that’s particularly true when it comes to finding top-notch creative and marketing (and technical) talent. That’s why it’s critical to have a massive pool of qualified, well-rounded talent and a broad network of satisfied clients to fuel referrals. This means it’s time to expand your network beyond its current boundaries—to find professionals in new locations and adapt to their needs.

And keep this in mind: Recruiting in this tight segment of the labor market is a process, not an event. Based on both our in-depth research, and our recruiters’ experiences, we’ve seen it first hand. It requires a think-outside-the-box mentality, an unflappable will and constant fine tuning.

Sources

1. Adecco, “Mind the skills gap,” http://pages.adeccousa.com/rs/adeccousa/images/2014-mind-the-skills-gap.pdf

2. Marketing Week, “Digital transformation 2.0: The new challenges and how to overcome them,” https://www.marketingweek.com/2017/06/28/digital-transformation-new-challenges-how-to-overcome-them/

3. Adecco, “What Are The Best Marketing Jobs?” https://www.adeccousa.com/employers/resources/what-are-the-best-marketing-jobs/

4. Bullhorn, “Revving the Engine: The 2015 North American Staffing and Recruiting Trends Report,” http://pages.bullhorn.com/rs/bullhorninc/images/2015_Trend_Report_Web.pdf?

5. The Economist (sponsored by Marketo), “The rise of the marketer: Driving engagement, experience and revenue,” http://futureofmarketing.eiu.com/briefing/EIU_MARKETO_Marketer_WEB.pdf

6. Society for Human Resource Management, “Move Over, Millennials: Generation Z Is Here,” https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/global-and-cultural-effectiveness/Pages/Move-over-Millennials-Generation-Z-Is-Here.aspx

7. CBS Boston, “The Millennial Mindset: The Gig Economy,” http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/06/07/the-millennial-mindset-gig-economy-mary-blake/

8. Upwork and The Freelancers Union, “Freelancing in America 2016,” https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/adquiro-content-prod/documents/FU_FreelancinginAmerica2016_Infographic_FINAL.pdf

9. Forbes, “What Is Driving the ‘Gig’ Economy?” https://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2017/02/21/what-is-driving-the-gig-economy/#4e2c02aa653c

Related ResourceWhat Millennials and Gen Z Really Think About Workhttp://pages.adeccousa.com/rs/107-IXF-539/images/what-millennials-and-gen-z-really-think-about-work.pdf

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