It was good to see an increased expertise at all levels in social/digital, data and CRM. We saw more demand for strategic planners and for people with the ability to understand data and interpret it. It requires a combination of left brain / right brain skills set that Matt Rogan talked about on our blog in April. You can read it here.
For our in house clients the customer journey is still THE most important area in marketing. And it’s been fascinating to see the rise of the CCMO or the Chief Communications and Marketing Officer, a role that Nigel Gilbert took at TSB.
We handled some superb career opportunities in London this year, and also in Sydney, Bogota, Dubai and Myanmar. Some highlights included securing the lifelong dream of an investment banker to work in football, a job she had no direct experience for but all the personal attributes to do the job brilliantly. We introduced her to our client and she is now working as a successful senior sales manager.
We also helped a top-five UK brand build a complete communications team under the new Director of Corporate Affairs. And, in a very exciting development, we are consulting with a global PR agency on a new structure that will see it calling for flexible working account directors in the New Year. We have long-championed the need to stop the exodus of talented PR professionals at the point in their career when working 24/7 becomes impossible and we salute this particular client for tapping back into this outstanding resource. You can read more here.
Next year will be as challenging as ever as candidates retain the balance of power – check back here for our take on the defining trends of 2015.