Personnel shortage in the marketing services segment: RAMU conducted a study of HR specialists | News

Personnel shortage

The majority of HR specialists (81%) indicated that they have open vacancies in the Client Service group of work. 67% of respondents said they were looking for employees in the event management industry. 52% of respondents each answered that they have positions in creative work and project management. The least susceptible to personnel shortages are such industries as Research/Analyst, Office Management, Planning&Buying — they were named by 5% of study participants.

In 2024, the majority of HR specialists (90%) expect the opening of new vacancies in the field of customer service. 71% of respondents expect openings in the creative industry, and 62% in event management. According to study participants, the sectors least susceptible to staff shortages will be information technology, PR and Office Management. 14% of respondents indicated that they expect new vacancies to open in these groups of work.

The staffing shortages are greatest in Client Service, Creative Work and Project Management. More than half of HR specialists (56%) indicated that they need 5-10 managers in the field of customer service. 20% of respondents shared that they need 5-10 specialists in the creative work group. A shortage of 5-10 project managers was reported by 20% of respondents.

HR specialists do not observe high staff turnover in any of the presented categories. Most indicate that employees work for the same company for an average of 1 to 5 years. Half of the specialists stay in the organization for a period of 3 to 5 years. The same number (21%) work for an average of 1 to 3 years and more than 5 years.

Natalia Litvinova, head of HR ADV Experience, identifies the following reasons for the personnel shortage: “Demographic hole of the 1990s. (shortage of candidates aged 23-33), emigration from the Russian Federation and changes in labor and tax legislation. Fast-changing industry: Technological changes and new trends require marketers to update their skills and knowledge. Attractiveness of other industries: For example, the technology industry may offer better work conditions and career development opportunities, drawing candidates from other fields. Lack of specialized skills: A rapidly changing environment requires specialized skills that are not always available in the labor market.” The combination of these factors, according to Natalia, stimulates a shortage of specialists in the field of marketing: “Further shortage of personnel will definitely lead to an even greater increase in wages and, as a result, an increase in the payroll.”

Despite the staff shortage, ADV Experience is actively working with its internal strategy: “Investing in the training and development of current employees helps them acquire the necessary skills and competencies. Automation of processes for routine tasks allows you to use your time more efficiently and maintain work-life balance, and flexible work formats allow you to regulate the hours they spend in the office, which contributes to better organization of your schedule. Creating an attractive working environment, namely providing comfortable working conditions, opportunities for self-development and career growth, recreation and fun, attracts and retains talented specialists. Twice a month we organize meetings on Fridays where we play board games. This is a great opportunity to relax and get to know your colleagues better. We have also created a unified communication channel “Grandma in the Chair”, in which we publish all interesting news from agencies, welcome new employees, and congratulate them on their birthday. We actively work with students and school graduates: we conduct educational industrial workshops and provide internship opportunities. Constant monitoring of the labor market and analysis of competitors is necessary in order to study the strategies of other companies, monitor changes and quickly respond to them.”

Dismissal of employees

Constant overwork and low wages became the main reasons for the departure of employees in the Creative Work, Production, Strategic Planning, Project Management, Legal, and HR groups. In the categories Client Service, Event Management, and PR, these issues were supplemented by the lack of a compensation package. Employees of the New Business segment name conflicts with other employees as one of the main reasons for leaving (40%). Experts working in finance speak about unsatisfactory working conditions (33%).

The majority of employees (29%) change their industry after leaving the organization. The number of specialists who find employment in competing companies is estimated by respondents at 16%. 15% of workers switch to advertisers.

Luka Aleshkina, HR Director of CREON, notes that staff shortage is a serious problem for many Russian organizations: “The shortage of specialists began after the pandemic — then we, HR specialists, felt the first outflow of qualified personnel to other areas, towards IT companies and large advertisers.” According to the expert, solving the problem “requires an integrated approach and constant attention to personnel development.”

One of the ways to reduce staff shortages, according to Luca, is to develop an HR brand and increase the value of employees within the company: “This is, first of all, active work aimed at retaining staff, non-material motivation and building or maintaining a corporate culture. Nowadays, during interviews, candidates are increasingly interested in programs within the company and the uniqueness of the offer. For example, at the agency we try to maintain the health of our employees: there is always fresh fruit and snacks in the office, visits to the pool and yoga center near work.”

“Also, to solve the staff shortage, it is necessary to attract young professionals and students: enter into partnerships with educational institutions, look for employees on specialized platforms, participate in career fairs, and open internships. In addition, in-house training is an effective way to solve the problem. Providing opportunities for internal growth and career advancement will help retain talented employees and build a talent pool,” adds Luca.

Selection of specialists

Specialists with work experience are in great demand in the labor market — this was the answer of 65% of respondents. Young employees without experience are of interest to recruiters in 18% of cases. 17% of respondents are ready to take students on internships.

1 to 3 years of work experience is most preferred (35%). Also in demand are workers with professional experience of 3 to 5 years (34%). HR specialists are interested in employees with less than 1 year of experience in 9% of cases, and in the absence of experience — in 4%.

Having a higher education is an important factor for 61% of HR professionals. 33% hire workers with specialized secondary education. For 6% of respondents, secondary education is sufficient.

The most popular universities were the National Research University Higher School of Economics, RUDN University and RANEPA. Recruiters prefer graduates from specialties such as marketing, advertising and public relations.

Dmitry Dudarev, HR Director of the CROS Communication Group, describes the process of completing an internship at the company: “Students learn the basic skills that future PR specialists should have: copywriting, basic design, pitching, media analytics. But the key thing that is emphasized is the development of professional communication and teamwork skills. In our agency you can choose a career path, but mostly people come to us to experience for themselves what it’s like to work as a PR manager.” The expert emphasizes that students are future professionals in the communications industry. All real knowledge and skills are transferred only through practical experience: “Assisting and training young employees is one of the main ways to make the industry more professional, since young personnel take the best from the experience of senior colleagues and subsequently build their careers on this foundation, but with much more higher flight altitude. For the company itself, students are a personnel reserve and future loyal high-level specialists.”

Search for specialists

Most often (44%) respondents indicate a salary range from 90 to 120 thousand rubles. In 19% of cases, candidates are offered a rate from 30 to 60 thousand, and in 14% — from 60 to 90 thousand rubles.

On average, recruiters receive less than 20 resumes—42% of respondents responded this way. From 20 to 50 applications are received in 39% of cases. The probability of receiving more than 50 questionnaires is 14%.

Of the number of resumes received, 1 to 25% of candidates are most often invited for an interview (69%). In 19% of cases, the chances of moving to the next stage of selection range from 24 to 50%. Only 7% of respondents said that the interview response rate was 50–75%.

On average, filling a vacancy takes from 1 to 2 months (35%) or from 2 months to six months (32%). Slightly less often (31%) it takes from 2 weeks to 1 month to find a suitable employee.

More than half of those surveyed (52%) are ready to take on 1 to 5 students for internships right now. 31% of HR specialists can take from 5 to 10 students. 15% of respondents said that more than 10 students could undergo an internship.

“First of all, when searching for specialists, we look at their work experience. This approach is applicable to all positions, except for internships — where we consider 3rd-4th year students of specialized specialties who are interested in developing in the direction of marketing services,” shares his experience Alexander Byrylov, HR director of the Action agency. He adds: “Having assessed experience, special knowledge and competencies, we look at the candidate’s value system. It is important that they correspond to the ideas of the company. The final candidate, who becomes an employee of the organization, becomes part of it and complements the existing system and culture. Here, it is no longer special knowledge that comes to the fore, but human values ​​and qualities that will contribute to achieving better results in work. At the same time, to maximize the use of talent, Action pays a lot of attention to creating a comfortable environment for the company’s employees: there is a wonderful loft, a hybrid work schedule, a survey system, and open feedback for everyone with the opportunity to further develop designated growth areas through our Action Academy.”

Nadezhda Panchenko, Chairman of the RAMU Committee on Education and HR, CEO of SCG, I am sure that “now students have much more opportunities to put together a portfolio, a clear resume, and work remotely, combining work and study.” She emphasizes that to get an offer for an internship or a starting position, you need soft skills, not excellent grades. “Skills in general are developed “on the job,” and not on campus. That is why RAMU cooperates with universities from the top 10 rankings, and our experts do everything to ensure seamless theory and practice and then obtain better quality personnel,” continues Nadezhda. The expert notes: “But many students now start in the 3rd year and in large corporations. We began to compete with our advertiser clients: in the old world, many made their careers along the “from agency to client” track.”

According to Nadezhda, the shortage of personnel is felt by everyone: “Major advertisers have expanded the number of internship programs and direct entry points for students. Top universities compete for applicants, including employment opportunities in large companies. Therefore, agencies have to increase their USP to attract young people: offer interesting employment during practice or internship, increase compensation packages and more clearly outline prospects. And I think a long period of competition for young minds, including with related fields and advertising companies, is just beginning.”

Study participants

The majority of study participants (54%) are representatives of agencies in the event management industry. The share of companies providing services in the Consumer Promo industry was slightly less than half — 46%. Also, the majority of study participants (38%) specialize in Trade Marketing.

67% of respondents are employees of agencies involved in the FMCG-Food sector. Slightly less, 63%, work in the FMCG-Non Food sector. More than a third (38%) of agencies specialize in banking, finance and insurance.

The number of staff of agencies participating in the study averages up to 200 people — this was the answer of 38% of respondents. 29% said that the number of employees in their organization does not exceed 100.

The offices of the majority of respondents (88%) are located in Moscow. The share of agencies from St. Petersburg was 18%. A quarter of the study participants were representatives of regional agencies. 13% of respondents have offices abroad.