Good read about the talent shortages and why people feel that it is an issue in the Australian Market

1. 12 AdNews 5 November 2010 cover FeATUre
The TruTh abouT The
TalenT droughT A receNt report from the AustrAliAN AssociAtioN of
NAtioNAl Advertisers (AANA) wArNed of A loomiNg tAleNt
crisis iN AdvertisiNg ANd mArketiNg. while there mAy be A
shortAge of people eNteriNg the iNdustry, Are experieNced
people Also beiNg squeezed out? Victoria Lee iNvestigAtes.
Advertising has always been, in above, it’s people in their 30s and shortage will only get worse. a job ad for a marketing role would
many respects, a young person’s 40s now, too. “I think in two years time we will get you a shortlist of 20 applicants;
game. But the combined effect of In an industry that has always see a very chronic shortage in now you get five applicants and
budget squeezes and a demand worshipped youth, and at a time advertising and marketing roles.” their skill-set is not mirroring the
for new media skills has meant when the media rulebook is chang- Others in recruitment agree job description.”
staff are getting younger – and ing daily, has ageism in media that senior account director roles,
older players are being left with finally gone too far? those in the $70,000-$150,000 gFc consequences
fewer options. bracket, are the hardest to fill, along With smaller budgets in the GFC,
With the economy in recovery, TalenT shorTages are with sales, digital and planning. both clients and agencies cut back
the AANA report claimed adver- back (again) Belinda Kerr, managing direc- on staff and many skilled players
tisers were struggling to staff key With the signs saying the GFC is tor of recruitment agency ICUR, found themselves out of work. To-
marketing positions and the indus- behind us in Australia, the jobs says shortages are more acute in day, the impact of that culling is
try was wrestling with how to market is back. Agencies, clients and sales positions, particularly online, reflected in a large number of
entice new talent into the field. recruiters say they are clamouring along with top-level account young – some would say “cheaper”
for talent, but are lacking quality service and media planners and – staff in agencies and marketing,
applicants to fill their roles. buyers. along with a shortage of more expe-
This has always been a slightly “In the financial crisis, sales and
marketing were hardest hit and a lot
Kirsty Wassink, senior talent
broker at recruiter S2M Digital, also
rienced players. When some of the
best and brightest talent lost their
ageist industry. There’s a rigid of clients cut those skill-sets quickly names media planners and buyers,
and first,” Alliance Recruitment along with search strategists and
pyramid in agency world. executive general manager Paul analysts, as the most sought-after
Barbaro says. roles. She says there is “absolutely”
“But, as the market has re- a skills shortage. “In the GFC, can-
“Many advertisers have also no- bounded we have clients now didates flooded through the doors
ticed that their agencies are investing heavily in those markets and we had no roles. There’s now a
struggling to hold on to good staff, again, so the shortage is moving complete flip – there are not enough
and there is growing frustration toward critical. The fact is a lot of candidates for the roles. Normally,
with turnover and having to skill- people have left the sector. They
up and brief the ‘new faces’ work- have either left the country or left
ing on their businesses,” AANA the sector entirely with a career “I think the industry
chief executive Scott McClellan change, and we are finding fewer can potentially do a
says. Yet whispers in the industry people available for a bigger better job in
say the problem is less a shortage of number of roles.”
recognising the
new talent and more a reluctance And while both job vacancies
on the part of employers to take on and applicants are up over 20%,
value of experience.”
Daniel Leesong, chief executive,
older, more experienced staff – and thanks to renewed confidence in The Communications Council.
that’s not just those in their 50s and the market, he believes the skills

2. 5 November 2010 AdNews 13
jobs in the GFC, Clemenger BBDO she says. “It’s not price. The candi- Younger marketing teams com-
managing director Andy Pontin dates still on the market are drop- bined with younger agency teams
says they chose to move on, either ping their bases – they will drop $20, mean much of today’s work is pro-
overseas or into different fields. 000-$30,000 on their expectations.” duced without solid experience, he
“I think because it’s been pretty Nor is it an issue affecting only argues. “A lack of senior people in
tough across the industry, really the over 50s. “Those in their 40s and agencies means agency staff don’t
good people have chosen to leave 50s are finding it hard but those in have the depth of experience to draw
the industry,” Pontin says. “They’ve their 30s are finding it tough too,” upon that’s demanded by clients
gone to not-for-profit organisations, she says. and that comes from a squeeze on
to media agencies, to Google. They’re Norm Krieke, ex-sales & market- agency budgets. It’s a catch 22:
thinking, ‘You know what, I can ing director of Samsung Electronics there’s an obvious lack of senior peo-
probably get paid the same with a Australia, has been involved with ple in agency teams and that’s affect-
much better work life balance than advertising for close to 30 years and ing some agencies’ ability to retain
I’m getting in advertising.” now runs his own marketing con- and grow a client’s business.” He
sultancy. Anecdotally, he says, age adds that there’s a similar pressure
New media impact is definitely a factor in today’s hiring in client environments; younger
The rise of new media and its infil- process. “Unless I went out and marketing teams with less experi-
tration through every campaign is started my own agency my days in ence in how to work with an agency. “There are fewer “Do we need to
another key factor affecting the an advertising agency, in the cur- “The pressure is on both sides and
jobs market. Applicants today
jobs as you go up the rethink the roles of
rent climate, would be limited. meets head on and absolutely no
require not only an understanding There isn’t any scope for advance- one benefits.” food chain.” older people?”
Andy Pontin, managing director, Scott McClellan, chief executive,
of traditional marketing theory but ment as agencies are trying to get Perhaps most concerning is the Clemenger BBDO. AANA.
a working knowledge of how to younger people in. Yes, its discrimi- executive’s call-out to those cur-
capture new media to its full effect. natory, but agencies get around it. rently in their 20s, those who natu-
They need to be across all the skill- And their reason is twofold: there’s rally assume they have another 30 to
sets of the past, as well as initiate the money issue, so it’s easier to 40 years in their career. “Graduates
new ideas on emerging platforms. have younger staff, and it’s also have this dubious opportunity to the age profile of agencies is gener- the new but I’m not convinced that’s
This has placed an enormous arguably sexier to have a younger- make their mark by their mid to late ally young. “Broadly speaking it is a always the answer.”
strain on job-seekers, who con- looking agency.” 20s and, if they don’t, they find younger people’s industry; that is Back in agency land, Pontin
stantly need to prove they are up to themselves in a career cul-de-sac,” partly the nature of the business. says he doesn’t believe age
date with mediums that literally where's the logic? he says. There’s a need to deal with popular discrimination is any worse than
change daily. And it has also put Bringing the issue back to clients “In advertising if you haven’t culture issues, there’s a need to be it was 10 years ago - but he does
pressue on “older” workers – and and results, Krieke argues that been seen to have a crowning up to date.” And while he points to admit it exists. “This has always
that can be anyone aged over 30 – swinging the pendulum too far achievement by your mid-to-late the growth in industry courses been a slightly ageist industry; it is
who now need to battle assump- toward youth risks alienating 20s, by your 30s you start to be available to all, along with the move a ruthless industry. There’s a rigid
tions that they are not as tech-savvy a client’s target market. With seen as too old. This is a wake-up of accredited agencies running in- pyramid in agency world. For ev-
as Generation Y. Australia’s ageing population, and call to 30-year-olds. Do you want house training, he admits there is ery one managing director at 50,
As ICUR’s Kerr explains it, the bulk of our wealth and discre- to retire in 10 years, or be forced room to rethink the age question. they probably started with 500
older applicants increasingly tionary income tied up with those to? Because where is the future of “I think the industry can poten- others and there can only be one
need to prove their digital nous. over 40, agencies need to be staffed an industry that only employs tially do a better job in recognising managing director. There are few-
young people?” the value of experience. With years er and fewer jobs as you go up the
of experience comes the value of ac- food chain.”
The fact is a lot of people have old or New? crued knowledge and, without that, That said, he believes the indus-
The Communications Council, the we have a potential gap. From an try needs to act to encourage young
either left the country or left AANA and the Media Federation industry perspective that’s some- people into it. “We need to come up
the sector entirely with a of Australia ( MFA) all responded
to this article, admitting there
thing we would want to minimise.”
AANA chief executive Scott
with a new approach, a new phi-
losophy as to why advertising is a
career change. were skills shortages in areas but McLellan puts it another way. destination career. It used to be
pointed to their various initiatives “Should you feel entitled, having in- glamour, money, sex, international
“Younger people have the skills with people who understand and to encourage young people to enter vested 20, 30 years of your career in travel – but most of that is now
and affinity with technology that, can effectively target an older pop- the industry, to keep them interest- an industry, to end your career there gone. Why as a 22-year-old would
as a rule, Gen X and Baby Boomers ulation. ed and to offer on-going training to too? Given there is a demographic you choose to join an ad agency
broadly don’t have,” she says. “From a client perspective, par- all members of their industry, re- shortage coming of young people, now? That’s the question the in-
“You’ve got kids coming out of ticularly those targeting Baby gardless of age. But while the MFA do we need to rethink the roles of dustry needs to ask itself.”
university that are taking jobs Boomers, if you’re not talking the denied there was any issue regard- older people in our industry?” he Certainly, what the industry
now that didn’t exist when they language these people are after the ing ageism in media, both the AANA asks. “There are certain fundamen- needs to address is how to find a
started university. They’ve just message goes missing. If agencies, and The Communications Council tals that don’t change in marketing, balance between refreshing the
been exposed to it more.” for whatever reason, are moving conceded the topic is a factor that and there is nothing like having a industry with new talent in a new
away from experience they run the needs more discussion. solid brains trust underpinning age while simultaneously retaining
YouNg aNd YouNger risk of losing touch with a big chunk The Communications Council your business. Sometimes we sweep the skills of the people who built
The combined impact of budget of their market.” chief executive Daniel Leesong says away the old ideas to make way for the industry. <
squeezes and new media has cre- The industry itself also risks
ated a situation where agency losing a valuable brains trust.
staff are becoming younger and Many senior executives are cur-
younger, and older candidates rently out of work and among them Clearer Career paths needed
are being sidelined. there is a genuine reluctance to
“We personally can’t ask our speak on the record, for fear of David Spasovic, a 29-year-old digital account manager at Ikon Communications, is chair of NGen, the
clients about what they want being ostracised and not getting Media Federation’s body to encourage young people within the industry. He says he has been
regarding ages, but the candidates hired again. One industry figure afforded great mentoring in his career, and believes the industry now offers strong support to recruits.
who come back to us time and again with 25 years’ experience, agency But the problem he sees for those in their 30s and beyond is a lack of career trajectory.
are the Baby Boomer ones,” S2M and client-side, says: “The 30s, 40s “Media is a young industry but that’s not why people are leaving the industry. The main issue is
Digital’s Wassink says. and 50s are being pushed out of the career paths aren’t clear enough,” Spasovic says. “Management needs to be skilled up in mentoring
“There is a massive pool of talent industry. Account service people younger skills and making them feel they have something to work towards. As we approach a period
who are extremely capable and can in particular are claiming they are of exponential change, what may have existed today will probably not exist tomorrow. We need to
do the role but are not getting the being seen as too old – that’s invest at least a part of every day into continual learning - that is what would help motivate young
opportunity.” And it’s not because account service people who have people to stay in the industry.”
they’re demanding higher salaries, 10 years’ experience and more.”