New research by OMI, in partnership with ClickZ and Kelly Staffing, reveals Fortune 500 companies and global agencies face a serious digital marketing skills shortage.
Surveying 747 brands and agencies, the study found a “substantial gap” between the number of organizations searching for employees with strong digital marketing skills, and the talent available.
While 71 percent of large brand/enterprise organizations believe their digital marketing team is strong in some areas, their employees exhibit mediocrity/weakness in others when importance and strength are analyzed together, with sizable gaps in every area studied.
There were several key findings about the current state of the digital marketing space, according to the report:
1) There is a pervasive, deeply running digital marketing talent gap
While 71% of large brand/enterprise organizations believe their digital marketing team is strong in some areas, their employees exhibit mediocrity/weakness in others.
2) Employers perceive spotty levels of knowledge, skill level and experience
Brands are in particular need of entry-level social media marketers, and mid-tier managers in content marketing, web analytics, and content marketing.
3) Significant challenges in locating talent results in a lack of consistency
More than one-third of respondents have not hired in the past year because they are overwhelmed by the various sources available and cannot identify a “go-to” resource for talent.
4) There are many missed opportunities in existing training and skills acquisition efforts
Only 22% of brands have level-setting programs, and a mere 10% use any type of testing.
5) Skill assessment plans lack consistent implementation
There is a lack of an objective, consistent way to measure standards, with 80% simply verifying skills through previous work experience.
6) There is a broad sense of entitlement among young employees
Entitlement is an issue spreading much further across society than in the workplace, but the data displays it clearly in this report too with 70% of respondents say that new employees expect to advance or be hired for upper-level positions before proving themselves.
7) There is currently a need for solid, measurable, and accurate digital talent education
Almost 80% would value an on-demand library of digital marketing classes, with almost 70% being interested in customized eLearning.
Download the full report for a more in-depth look at the findings.
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