Almost half of brands plan to hire remote marketing talent
New research reveals 67% of employers looking to hire marketers believe being closely located to the office is no longer as important as it was pre-pandemic.
Close to half (47%) of brands looking to recruit marketers plan to hire remotely, according to new research from recruiter Hays.
The company’s quarterly insights survey finds 87% of marketers report their work-life balance has improved due to hybrid working. Some 61% of marketers surveyed say they prefer hybrid working, with only 5% opting to return to the office full time.
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of companies say they are rethinking the way the workplace is used, from hot-desking to reducing office space, with proximity to the office no longer an important factor when recruiting talent.
In fact, 67% of those looking to hire marketers believe being closely located to the office is no longer as important as it was pre-pandemic.
“These positive indications that hybrid working is improving team wellbeing, as well as being taken highly into consideration when candidates are picking roles, means that hiring managers are taking the necessary steps to attract the best talent,” says managing director of Hays Marketing Clare Kemsley.
“I strongly think this flexible model of work is not a fleeting practice but is here to stay.”
Salary Survey 2022: Brands strive to ‘nail’ hybrid working as demand for flexibility soars
The demand for flexible working is supported by Marketing Week’s 2022 Career and Salary Survey, which finds 82.6% of the 4,463 marketers surveyed say hybrid or flexible working is either important or very important to them.
When looking solely at a comparison of ‘very important’ job characteristics, hybrid working comes in fourth (49.6%) behind a good working environment (70.4%), fair financial rewards (60.7%) and the opportunity to advance your career (55.6%).
Nearly half of the respondents (49.8%) are currently working in a hybrid manner, mixing days in the office with days at home. This number rises to 52.3% of marketers in large businesses (250 employees and over) and dips slightly in SMEs to 47.3%.
However, nearly one in 10 (9.3%) marketers report having had a request to working flexibly turned down by their employer.
Among this group, reasons for flexibility being rejected range from brands wanting marketers to be in the office full-time (34.2%), companies not believing remote working is effective (26.5%), or operating a ‘one size fits all’ approach (24.5%) .
