Comms pros will be happy to know that recruiting in the creative and marketing fields is expected to intensify during the remainder of the year, new research from staffing firm The Creative Group shows. According to the firm’s latest State of Creative Hiring data, 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 6-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.
“Many companies are adding new roles on their creative and marketing teams to maximize digital investments,” said 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 9 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,” Domeyer added. “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.”
View a slideshow of The Creative Group’s State of Creative Hiring research for the second half of 2019.
The online survey was developed by The Creative Group and conducted by a leading independent research firm. It is based on responses from more than 400 advertising and marketing hiring decision makers who work full time at agencies with 20 or more employees or companies with 100 or more employees in the United States.
