Inconsistent job skills and experiences in today’s digital marketing talent pool are creating missed opportunities for large enterprise brands, a new survey conducted by the Online Marketing Institute (OMI) in partnership with ClickZ and Kelly Services has found. The survey identified seven key talent trends after polling 750 organizations with a need for internal or external digital marketing services about their talent acquisition challenges.
“The current state of digital marketing is defined by the existing talent and knowledge present throughout the industry, from agency to brand, small business to global enterprise and from entry-level intern to subject matter expert,” the survey said. The substantial job skills gap in digital marketing has fueled seven trends that affect how enterprise brands develop creative teams to execute content marketing strategies.
The survey found a pervasive gap between what employers value and what digital talent is available to them. For example, 71 percent of large enterprise brands say their digital teams are strong in some areas, but weak in others. Moreover, 22 percent say demand for subject matter specialists is growing.
There is a need for talent at each level within every organization, the survey reports, with spotty levels of knowledge and experience throughout. While there are available entry-level positions, enterprise brands say they aren’t finding the right talent to fit those positions. Because brands are unable to find entry-level talent, 70 percent of brand hiring managers and 75 percent of agencies rely on referrals.
OMI reports challenges in finding candidates with the right job skills, but it also notes that employers don’t have the appropriate in-house systems to attract and retain creatives in an effective manner. Enterprise brands frequently miss good opportunities because businesses rarely rely on human resources to manage training. In addition, more than 80 percent of enterprise brands do not verify candidate skills through previous work experiences.
Seventy percent of respondents said that new employees typically expect rapid advancement or to be hired for upper-level positions before proving themselves. While the survey does outline major challenges in talent acquisition, 80 percent of survey respondents would value an on-demand library of marketing classes to further nurture the talent they do have in-house.
The challenges this survey found arise as digital marketing budgets fluctuate from channel to channel. In the past two years, more organizations have shifted budget allocation toward practices like content marketing, social media marketing, native advertising and online video creation. More organizations see customer experience optimization (20 percent) as the most exciting budget plan opportunity for 2014. This will inevitably create a demand for top talent within this specialized field.
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