Survey Finds: Digital Talent In Greatest Demand

NEW YORK, July 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Company executives struggling to attract and retain top talent may find that the challenge is even greater than they fear, according to the results of a new survey.

The third-annual 24 Seven Job Satisfaction and Salary Survey found that a majority of creative industry employees soon could be on the move, as a result of declining job satisfaction and increased expectations for salary growth.  With loyalty extremely low, two-thirds of these employees plan to make some change in their career in the next year, either within their company or externally.  Nearly one in four plans for the career change to include working for a new company.  Of those, Millennials, Gen Xers and creative talent are especially open to changing companies. 

"While talent is restless, companies are still cautious about hiring," said Celeste Gudas, CEO and Founder of 24 Seven, Inc.  "The one robust sector is digital.  Employers across markets and industries are seeking employees with deep digital skill sets.  These are the employees who are in the drivers seat today and are in a position to move into both new and more senior roles." 

The survey queried more than 5,000 professionals across the United States in creative business industries, including digital, fashion, retail, beauty, design and marketing.  Highlights include the following:

Employees Value Salary First and Foremost
Compensation topped the list of job satisfaction drivers and is also the primary reason employees make a career move.  Non-traditional benefits that help employees achieve work/life balance were the most highly regarded (summer hours/comp days and flex-time/telecommuting), while besides medical insurance, no other traditional benefit was particularly valued. 

Lack of Clear Career Direction Is Major Issue
Employees cited a lack of career direction as the number-one concern keeping them up at night.  The survey found that there is a huge perception gap between executives, managers and talent in the area of "career pathing."  Talent said that executives don't place enough importance on helping employees define career paths, and managers think they are doing a better job of helping guide careers than talent perceives.   

Companies Need Formalized Talent Management Strategies
The majority of executives identified finding and attracting game-changing talent as the most challenging talent issue their organizations face, with four out of five executives feeling under the same amount of pressure or more to attract and retain talent, compared to a year ago.  Only a fifth, however, have formalized talent management strategies in place.  Of those that do, a personalized strategy for each top performer is most frequently implemented. 

Digital Function is Most Difficult to Recruit
Executives perceived talent in the Design & Creative, Digital & Interactive and Sales functions as the most in-demand and hardest to recruit.  Digital and Account roles had the biggest median salary increases, at 5.6% and 5.4% respectively.

Freelancers Don't Want to Return to Full-time Jobs
The survey found that the longer one works as a freelancer, the less likely they become to accept traditional employment with a single company.  Most freelancers said they chose the freelance work style because of the freedom and flexibility it offers, even those who initially turned to freelance work after being laid off by their companies.  Freelancers have a similar level of satisfaction with their current positions as traditionally employed staff, but are significantly more likely to be optimistic that their satisfaction will increase over the next year. 

More information about the survey findings is available in the attached fact sheet.

Notes on Survey Methodology and Analysis

24 Seven, Inc. surveyed more than 5,000 creative industry professionals across the United States. The survey examined the current state and prevailing attitudes of the employment market and the impact of compensation and benefits on overall job satisfaction.  Of those surveyed 58% were female, 42% male; 34% of respondents worked for a company with 1,000 or more employees and 70% were GenXers.  Industry segments of those surveyed included: Advertising/Marketing/Creative, Automotive, Communications & Media, Consulting/Professional Services, Consumer Products, Education, Financial Services, Government, Healthcare, High Tech, Home Furnishings, Insurance, Life Sciences, Logistics, Non-Profit, Pharmaceuticals, Public Relations, Public Sector and Travel & Transportation.

For a copy of the survey, please visit: http://www.24seventalent.com/2012salarysurvey.

About 24 Seven, Inc.

As a strategic resource for talent management, 24 Seven helps creatively driven global brands identify, recruit and secure game-changing talent.  Our innovative approach combines global reach, industry expertise and market intelligence to deliver top performers that advance the unique business goals of our clients.

We are the go-to talent source supporting the world's top teams in Fashion, Retail, Marketing, Advertising, Interactive/Digital, E-commerce, Design, Beauty, Events and Sports/Lifestyle.  Our strategic recruiting professionals have either personally worked in or recruited exclusively for the industry practice they serve.  Their hands-on experience makes them experts at perfectly matching candidates to clients.  For more information, visit www.24seveninc.com.

Key Findings: 24 Seven 2012 Job Satisfaction and Salary Survey

• Job satisfaction is mediocre and loyalty is extremely low.  66% of employees are willing to consider changing jobs.  Unsatisfied employees are 21 times more likely than happy ones to considering moving to a new company in the next year.  Interestingly, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers are more likely to leave because of better compensation, while Millennials would do so for a better quality of life.
• There is a disconnect relating to talent retention strategies.  40% of executives surveyed feel under pressure to attract and retain talent, yet only 23% surveyed report that their company has a formalized retention strategy in place.  Importantly, for those with a formalized plan, 70% have created customized strategies and are able to retain top talent.
• There is also a disconnect pertaining to career-pathing.  Managers believe there is a clear career path for talent, yet talent would disagree.  According to the survey, having a distinct career path in place ranks the highest among employee concerns.
• Digital talent is in high demand.  This job category has seen the highest increase in salary, and there is zero unemployment as it relates to digital talent.  Most sought-out positions include e-commerce, social media and mobile marketing expertise.
• Compensation is king.  According to the survey, salaries are up 4.3%, indicating that, while raises are back, companies are only making cost-of-living adjustments.  That said, companies need to evaluate their compensation packages, as the survey found that 68% of employees are expecting raises in 2012, and a higher base salary is the number-one reason to leave a current job.  The survey also found that 12% of respondents are in new roles and reported double-digit salary increases from the previous year.
• Talent expects unlikely rewards.  Soft, or non-traditional benefits, are highly valued among employees, but employers are not aware of their worth.  While summer hours and comp time rank as top priorities for employees, only 41% are receiving them.  On the other hand, one-fifth receive free/discounted merchandise, but only 1% value this benefit.
• The Freelance lifestyle is becoming more appealing.  With a greater work-life balance, nearly 50% of freelancers love the freedom and flexibility the lifestyle affords.  In fact, the longer someone is a freelancer, the less likely they are to accept traditional employment.
• Job satisfaction is fading.  While just over half of those surveyed are satisfied with their current positions, this figure is down from last year, when 68% of respondents reported being satisfied.  Only 16% are extremely satisfied, compared to 26% in 2011.

For a copy of the survey, please visit: http://www.24seventalent.com/2012salarysurvey.

SOURCE 24 Seven, Inc.

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