Wait or train?

 Susan Howstan

It’s clear that the skills shortage in the direct and digital marketing industry is not getting any better, with live jobs on our books far exceeding the amount of suitable candidates. While this has always been a bit of a problem, it does seem to have escalated to near epic proportions this year.

One of the reasons for this, I think, is simply heightened levels of caution in job seekers and hiring managers, a sense of "better the devil you know" and a real desire not to make a mistake. I do understand this. However, I can’t help but think that quite a lot of jobs that have become tagged with the "hard to fill" label, might have been done and dusted by now if hiring managers would consider training candidates who, from a cultural/fit perspective, could be perfect and who might have some of the requisite skills but not maybe not all of them.

Personally, speaking from a data recruitment perspective (I’m thinking of data operations management and analysis in particular), specific requirements such as SQL, Alterian, SAS, Omniture Discover, Radian 6, are tools that job seekers I meet would love to acquire but, in their current roles, aren’t being given the opportunity to do so – hence one of their reasons for leaving. I believe that investing in people up front is a clear indicator of how much a potential employer believes in the people they hire and is bound to make existing and new employees feel valued, result in greater loyalty and in their staying with you far longer. This has got to be a better option than waiting forever for the "perfect" candidate, surely.