Aquent Market Eye survey predicts recovery to continue, intensify. Employers to add more staff

Close to 55 per cent of marketing and design employers expect to add additional permanent headcount in the coming six months. That’s according to global design and marketing staffing company Aquent, which has released its 2010 Market Eye survey, a snapshot of hiring intentions and salary predictions for the marketing and design industry across Australia and New Zealand.

The survey – which includes responses from 496 employers across Aquentmarkets in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland -suggests the recovery across the design and marketing sectors inAustralia and New Zealand is well underway following a challenging 2009.

While hesitancy lingers – particularly with regards to the use oftemporary staff – the Market Eye survey found the permanent hiringfreeze initiated in 2009 is now thawing. Most encouragingly, nearly 50per cent of employers across Australia and New Zealand have addedadditional headcount over the past six months; while close to 55 percent of employers expect to add additional permanent headcount in thecoming six months.

Similarly, salaries are also predicted to rise; close to 55 per cent ofemployers have increased salaries over the past six months, indicatingthat, in contrast to 2009 when salary freezes were widely implemented,business confidence is building to the extent that employers arewilling to invest further in their permanent staff.

Aquent Regional Director, Australia and New Zealand, Simon Lusty (pictured), saidthe Market Eye survey points towards the design and marketing sectorsin rebuild mode following the widespread cuts of 2009.

“Following the catastrophic decline in hiring intentions throughout2009, widespread staff redundancies and general panic as employersstruggled to ride the economic downturn, it is pleasing to see that theemployment market has bounced back in 2010,” said Lusty. “While a degree of hesitancy remains, employers are feeling more upbeatabout the future and this is translating to a more buoyant hiringmarket.”

The Market Eye survey found staff retention strategies remain a hotdiscussion point. Flexible work practices remain the number oneretention strategy as reported by both employers and employees. Byextension, employees are now placing more importance on additionalleave entitlements as opposed to discretionary bonuses, while thelatter remain more important in employers’ minds.

The survey was carried out via face-to-face and telephone interviewsconducted by Aquent agents between Monday 26 April and Friday 21 May2010. In addition to surveying employers, 457 employees were surveyedvia email on the topic of talent retention between 18 May and 23 May2010. Data was analysed using the following segments: AdvertisingAgencies, Design Agencies, Corporate Marketing, Digital Agencies, MediaAgencies, PR Agencies and Research Agencies.