What key trends did you see in 2017?
2017 marked a year of general uncertainty at the senior
end of the market with companies being wary of
committing to investing in senior hires. Where they were
likely to do so was in cases where the positions were
approved at board level as part of the strategic direction
of the company.
We have met some exceptional senior candidates in
2017, experts in areas such as digital repositioning,
rebranding or creating marketing teams that are fit for
the future. A lot of candidates at the senior level are
immediately available as they don’t stay in roles they are
not challenged by or can’t see a career path e.g. to CEO.
They are happy to take the risk and leave to look for
their next opportunity, often recruiting their replacement
before they leave.
Start-ups and the continued growth of the fintech market
created exciting opportunities for some candidates, but
some less than desirable outcomes for others. Such is the
nature of these riskier ventures heavily reliant on investor
resources and balancing the fine line between investment
and signs of success.
A trend we are seeing emerge from companies, in
response to the increased credibility the start-up
community now holds, is a desire to hire candidates
who have both large corporate and start up experience.
There is significant value seen in the combination of
process and traditional marketing skills with experience
of a fast-paced nimble environment where decisions are
made in minutes and implemented in days. Often these
candidates will be working with the latest digital tools
and are perceived to have sharpened their commercial
awareness.
In other areas of the market including financial services and
professional services, the senior end of the market has been
subdued compared to previous years. This is predominately
due to the uncertainty Brexit has caused, as firms take a more
cautious approach to senior hires reducing the opportunity
for movement in these sectors.
There remains a strong appetite for marketers to have
their voice heard at board level. Businesses that have
acknowledged a need to digitally transform or increase
focus on customer centricity create such opportunity for
their valued marketing leaders. The proportion of British
CEO’s coming from a marketing background has increased
steadily over the last 5 years and remains a positive trend
for the marketing profession, as it becomes an increasingly
measurable metric towards an organisations success.
What key trends do you expect to see over
the next 12 months?
We expect activity to continue as it has done in 2017 and
are hopeful of an uptick, as businesses grow tired of the
uncertainty Brexit has created and devise plans to move
forward. Similarly to coming out of the global financial crisis,
those that were bolder and came to market early attracted
the best talent and gained market share.
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Do you anticipate any changes to salaries
and bonuses over the next 12 months?
Packages for marketing leaders need to remain
competitive. Despite a lot of good candidates being
available, in some sense the supply of candidates
outweighs the demand and therefore an inference of
companies getting better value for money could be
assumed. However, the best candidates will need to be
compensated appropriately to secure them in both the
short, medium and long term. There are a growing number
of senior marketers who are more than happy to be held
accountable to sales or profit numbers and have larger
parts of their package made up of bonus and/or equity
plans. Therefore, organisations who are more creative
and flexible with their compensation can attract top talent
without needing to pay the highest base salaries.
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