Demand for digital media personnel stays strong

Hiring activity in the digital media and marketing space here is expected to continue at a rapid pace, even though sharp drops in pay increments can be expected next year, according to human resource firm Aquent.

Speaking at the launch of its latest survey Aquent Orange Book, its director James Koh said there was still a critical shortage of talent in the segment, and this was expected to continue for some time.

In particular, areas like search engine marketing and digital advertising should see strong hiring well into next year, even if the economic conditions worsen, he added. The Aquent Orange Book is an annual study on salary and hiring trends in the marketing, communications & creative space for some key Asia-Pacific and European markets.

Aquent, which polled over 5,000 firms, said last year's turnover in the digital segment here was also the highest compared with other segments, as some 90 per cent of those in digital media reported an average employment of less than two years.

In contrast, the equivalent figures for public relations agencies and advertising account management firms came in at 74 per cent and 69 per cent respectively.

On salary increments, regional director Steven Pang told reporters there could be a sharp moderation owing to the cautious sentiment prevailing in the market.

He said that most firms now adopt a wait-and-see attitude in view of the economic uncertainty. This means that pay rises could drop to 2-5 per cent next year - down from the 7-12 per cent range polled at the start of the year.

The report also found that the top retention tools commonly used in Singapore include discretionary bonus (65 per cent), internal company training (58 per cent) and career development (54 per cent). Flexible work practices (54 per cent), travel (45 per cent) and external training (44 per cent) are also some of the other retention tools.

Of note is the growing importance which workers attribute to company training, since it was only ranked the fifth most popular option previously. 'These results suggest that employers need to focus on employees' professional de\velopment so that they can see a long-term future with the company,' Aquent said.

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