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Marketing Salaries are Rising and Companies are Hiring Study Reveals

By: 24 Seven USA |  4 Shares     95 Reads

Employee Satisfaction Continues to Erode Says 24 Seven

June 11, 2013 // Franchising.com // Things are looking up for those in the marketing sector according to the 4th Annual Salary and Job Satisfaction study conducted by leading recruiting firm 24 Seven Inc. which found hiring rates at or above pre-Recession levels and compensation trending up for 74% of those in marketing jobs. Survey can be found here: http://www.24seventalent.com/2013salarysurvey

Median salary for the industry rose to $77,000 in 2013 compared to 2012’s reported $73,000 and $68,300 for 2011. The survey also found that is pays to be on top, as a third of executive level respondents reported seeing over 20% increases in compensation, while the median overall salary for the industry saw increases of 5.5%.

Despite the rise in compensation, job satisfaction and loyalty is at a four-year low. Only one out of two of those in the marketing sector are satisfied with their current positions and 77% report they are open to making a career move in the next year. Those interested in new positions held relatively steady 67% in 2013 vs. 68% in 2012.

“Career growth is a pain point for those in marketing jobs,” explained Celeste Gudas, CEO and Founder of 24 Seven Inc. “Many are troubled by a lack of a clear career direction as well as unfilled promises and expectations for advancement in their current jobs. If however, you are seen as a game changer and next generation leader, the opportunities are plentiful and compensation at an all-time high.”

Significantly, 80% of executives polled say they feel under continued pressure to attract and retain talent, an issue that has the greatest impact on their ability to manage and lead. They blame a skills gap for their challenges in filling long-vacant positions, yet many companies lack professional development programs. They also realize that they need to provide more career pathing for in-demand employees, yet 68% say their company has no formalized strategy for identifying high potential employees.

Benefits Matter – Especially Health Care

While salary continues to be the number one driver of job satisfaction, when it comes to new jobs, 80% say a generous benefits package would influence their decision to switch employers. A company’s medical insurance plan was cited by an overwhelming majority as the most valued benefit.

“Employees are paying much closer attention to health benefits today than ever before,” said Ms. Gudas. “As employers ask employees to pay more of their share of health care coverage and costs continue to rise, the medical program is playing a bigger role in job decisions.”

24 Seven also found a big discrepancy in what benefits employees value versus benefits received. After health care, employees say summer hours/comp days and flex-time/telecommuting are what they want more than other benefits such as life insurance, 401K plans and tuition reimbursement programs.

According to 24 Seven, these results show that benefit packages are replacing salary as the tipping point in talent’s decisions to change jobs. Ms. Gudas explains that, “This indicates that employers eager to recruit in-demand talent should talk about benefits earlier in the recruiting process and be flexible in their benefits offerings.”

Company Leadership is Important

This year saw a dramatic shift about what’s important within an organizations culture, with leadership and vision taking precedent over other ‘softer’ elements of culture. Employees are concerned about staying employed, having the skills to move forward and advancing in their careers both in position and salary.

“If I am putting my trust in this company, I need to believe that the leadership knows what it is doing,” said one respondent.

Talent cares about who is leading the organization and they want to understand and believe in management’s vision, mission and strategies for growth. Unfulfilled promises have impacted their trust in leadership and led to higher rates of job dissatisfaction with 60% saying they expected to be further in their careers and only 24% saying they feel valued by their company.

All employee age groups report feeling unfulfilled. For those who say they are unfulfilled, 84% say they are open to new opportunities.

In Demand Jobs

In a departure from prior years when digital talent was cited as most in demand, today companies say that design and creative services talent is most important and at the same time, the hardest to recruit. Supporting this is the finding that salaries in the creative sector rose more this year than others. 72% of those on the creative side saw salary increases this year, with the average seeing raises of 5.5%, compared to less than 3% in 2012. While they are in demand and seeing compensation rise, creatives say they feel they are the least in demand talent in the marketing industry.

In looking at total compensation however, account management saw the biggest increase with an average 6.2% rise in total compensation compared to creatives at 5.3%. This discrepancy indicates that creatives are not getting the same share of bonus and other financial incentives as other job categories in the industry.

While digital professionals reported the lowest increase in total compensation, they also were the most positive about their prospects for the future. 83% report believing that their skill set is in high demand however only 27% report that they were highly valued by their current organization.

Freelance Nation on the Rise

The hiring outlook is bright for freelancers with 57% of executives saying they are integral to their 2013 strategy to save costs. Reliance on freelance talent is growing as agencies struggle to plan for changing client compensation structures and the growing talent skills gap. As a result 92% of freelancers say they will maintain or increase their rates in 2013.

“Freelance talent lets me staff up as our business becomes more project based,” said one large agency executive, adding, “There is a highly skilled base of freelancers and consultants with specialized capabilities that enable us to be more cost and time efficient in sourcing talent for specific assignments.”

The growth of experienced freelancers is the result of several factors according to 24 Seven. Many of the Baby Boomers who make freelance their career, became independent workers as a result of job loss. For the majority who have chosen freelance as a career they say that Freelance lets them have more control over their future, have a better work/life balance and can they can make more money as a freelancer or contractor.

Freelancers are optimistic about their opportunities with 64% saying they expect their satisfaction to increase in the coming year.

Finding Nirvana in Marketing

Marketing professionals who are happy work for a company with an extremely attractive employment brand. A company’s reputation as an employer is very appealing. They also report that they have a clear career path and that knowing where they were headed made them happier.

Having an opportunity to work on challenging job assignments is a key driver of job satisfaction for those who say they are satisfied in their jobs. Being happy at work translates to overall happiness as 90% of those who are satisfied with their jobs report a positive work/life balance.

The benefits do matter. The happiest marketing employees are more likely to report receiving monetary bonuses, access to leadership, stock options, international travel, flextime and appealing entertainment options such as free dinners and access to hard to get tickets to events as part of their benefits programs.

About 24 Seven

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.

Ranked by Crain’s New York Business at the 5th Largest Executive Recruiter in New York, 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.24seventalent.com

SOURCE 24 Seven

Media Contact:

Toni Lee
203-246-7524
tlcomm@optonline.net

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