State of the Industry Corporate: Tough times for sourcing talent

There were mixed views among our industry respondents on the ease of recruiting and retaining staff.Although a fifth (20%) said that recruitment and retention are currently easy, the majority (58%) reported they were finding these difficult (or even very difficult).This may obviously reflect regional and local variations, as well as the varying appeal and fortunes of the corporates concerned. But it seems true talent can be hard to find:many of those surveyed said that while they received plenty of applications for new roles, there was often a lack of suitably qualified candidates.“We found the quantity of applications overwhelming, but the quality varied hugely,” said one respondent. As another put it, “We received 177 CVs for our last post, and only had three that seemed qualified."Others mentioned struggling to find applicants with specific industry skills, such as event production or languages, or sufficient mid-to-senior level experience. “There isn’t necessarily the largest talent pool of experience and skillset out there nowadays,” observed one respondent.“Many events profs transferred into the digital and marketing workspace duringCOVID, and never looked back.”Great expectationsAllied to this was a strong sense that applicants’ salary expectations can be too high – as one put it, “too many are deluded by what salaries are on offer”. On the other hand, another respondent bemoaned the number of companies “that are not open about their wages and wage brackets”.A number of respondents referenced the impacts of the current economic climate and cost-of-living crisis on the recruitment market, believing this was making events professionals more risk-averse and reluctant to change jobs. As one said, “The recession may cause people to play it safe and stay in their current role,” while another noted, “People are looking for reliable, stable jobs as the cost of living is high”.Yet, events professionals are looking for more than just money to find satisfaction in their roles. Work-life balance and flexible working came up time and time again among those surveyed, while clear career progression, and being appropriately valued and rewarded at work, were also frequently mentioned.“Recognition and respect,” were key drivers of job satisfaction, according to one respondent. “That means: a living wage with incentives and interesting opportunities that keep people engaged, and an environment that respects individual circumstances, removes barriers to flexible working and allows for work/life balance.The battle for work/life balanceAs several respondents pointed out, that balance isn’t always easy to deliver in a sector that has traditionally involved plenty of travel and out-of-hours working. “As much as the events industry is a wonderful industry to work in, the hours are not nine to five,” said one. “Some people may not want to do that. It may not be easy for working parents with childcare.”“The role is intense, and being able to work around this is important to all,” noted another. “Providing respite after big projects is vital.” Clearly, one of the big challenges for today’s corporate events teams is balancing employee expectations about remote and flexible working wherever possible, with keeping up with the demands of the profession. One saw “the demand for flexible, remote or hybrid working” as one of the industry’s biggest recruitment challenges: “The sector is embracing this in an inconsistent way, and being part of a team and being together in an office can either work really well, or it can be damaging to delivery.” Others were struggling to recruit skilled candidates willing to commute into their office.Offering career progression can also be a challenge for some in-house corporate event teams – one respondent bemoaned the “[limited] opportunities to develop and progress in a company where events are a niche part of the mix and can make climbing the ranks tough.”To attract and retain the right talent, corporate events teams need to be mindful of offering a well-rounded role – and if salary budgets are already stretched, considering other ways of rewarding staff. Suggestions included time in lieu or fair compensation for all hours worked, extra holiday instead of (unaffordable) pay rises, allowing remote working wherever possible, skills training, ensuring everyone had their fair share of fam trips and offering a great company culture and benefits package.

State of the Industry Corporate: Tough times for sourcing talent

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State of the Industry Corporate: Tough times for sourcing talent

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