The Australian Digital Skills and Salary Survey Report 2015

THE AUSTRALIAN DIGITAL SKILLS AND SALARY SURVEY 2015
AUSTRALIA
IS FACING A MAJOR
DIGITAL SKILLS
SHORTAGEWith a new study suggesting Australian employers are under-investing in the skills
development of current employees, as well as struggling to find new digital talent.
THE AUSTRALIAN
DIGITAL SKILLS AND
SALARY SURVEY 2015
Commissioned by the Slade Group Digital Practice and NET: 101, and undertaken
by Sweeney Research, The Australian Digital Skills and Salary Survey was conducted
across 150 small to large Australian organisations from a range of sectors.
Copyright © 2015 Slade Group

2THE AUSTRALIAN DIGITAL SKILLS AND SALARY SURVEY 2015Copyright © 2015 Slade Group
Australia’s digital communications workforce is riding a phenomenal wave of
opportunity; it is young, skilled, highly paid and demand for skills outstrip supply.
How many people are
employed by your business
or organisation?
1. Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency, “ICT Workforce
Study – Meeting Australia’s future ICT skills need”, page 1, July 2013
Source: The Australian Digital Skills and
Salary Survey, November 2014
Australia is facing a major digital skills shortage. In a new study undertaken with 150 Australian organisations across all sectors and sizes, it is apparent that
organisations are under-investing in the skills development of both graduates and mid-career digital professionals.
These findings come less than two years after the Australian Workforce Productivity Agency forecast that investment in training and education in the ICT industry,
which includes the digital industry, was lagging and in decline1
.
A new study commissioned by the Slade Group Digital Practice and Net:101 and undertaken by Sweeney Research, finds Australian organisations are
under-resourced when it comes to skilled digital professionals. An astonishing lack of confidence in the digital skills of employees across a diverse range of
proficiencies was found, revealing extensive opportunities for investment in specific skills-based assessment and training.
Undertaken with 150 small to large organisations, the survey targeted a diverse range of industries Australia-wide. Of the 150 organisations surveyed, 15% of
respondents indicated they had between 1,000 to 5,000 or more staff employed within their organisation, with more than half of respondents employing one to
50 staff members.

What are the reasons that you find it somewhat
difficult or very difficult to source digital staff?
When asked the reasons why respondents found it somewhat difficult or very difficult to source digital staff, a
quarter (25%) reported that there was not enough talent available and more than 40% reported that they didn’t
have the budgets to compete with high salaries or the funds available for recruitment.
Digital Employees
When asked to consider the number of digital employees within their organisation, 20% employed over 15 digital professionals, 90% have at least one staff
member devoted to digital, and over half (54%) employ up to three full time digital specialists within their marketing teams. Some 10% of companies have no
purely digital focused resource on staff.

How would you rate your senior management’s understanding
of the role digital plays in your organisation or business?
Are older managers limiting future growth?
Whilst there wasn’t a correlation available between the age of senior
managers and their digital savviness, the survey results raise the question
about age and digital know-how. At the top end, 40% of senior managers
only had a moderate understanding of the importance of digital
skillsets, 20% having little understanding at all. These organisations leave
themselves wide-open to being left behind in the digital century.
With the growing importance of digital in today’s business landscape,
this is a major concern and one that has the potential to hinder the ability
for growth and innovation as leading companies digitise more business
practices and processes.
It appears that although more than 70% of senior managers have been
described as astute or very astute regarding their understanding of the
role digital plays in their organisation, senior leaders have yet to translate
this importance into an investment in training and development to up-
skill and cross-skill.

With the growing importance of digital in today’s business landscape, a lag in digital expertise in Australia is a
major concern. One that has the potential to hinder the ability for growth and innovation.
Whilst over two thirds of respondents said it was critical that
new employees were able to demonstrate digital expertise,
only 12% conducted internal or external testing during recruiting.
As leading companies digitise more business practices and processes,
opportunities for investment in digital specific skill-based assessment
and training, as revealed by the study, represent a significant opportunity
for external expert contractors to provide high level education to the
workforce.

70%
thought a digital
skills gap was
taking a moderate
or heavy toll on
their business.
98%
of respondents thought
it was important to
continually train their digital
staff
60%
relied on employee
feedback and ‘observation’
to identify areas requiring
development
80%
of managers described
staff as being weak in some
or most areas of digital
communication
Digital shortage plays to high impact
The research focused on the 10 key skills in the standard suite of digital communications: Analytics including Insights, Social Media, Search Engine Optimisation
(SEO organic), Search Engine Marketing (Paid Search), Mobile/SMS Marketing, Content Marketing, Email/Direct Digital Marketing, Digital Advertising including
Digital Display, Digital Copywriting and Communications, Digital Design and Development.
The digital skills gap is causing increasing concern amongst employers, with over 70% of respondents describing the gap as having a heavy or moderate impact
on their business. 80% of managers described staff as being weak in some or most areas of digital communication. Optimistically, 80% of businesses have
existing up-skilling programs in place and over two thirds are planning further investment in training.

How do your digital skill sets compare to your
direct competitors?
On Par or Behind the Competition?
With 60% of organisations rating themselves as either on par with or
behind their competition with regards to digital capability, this presents
an opportunity to leverage digital as a key differentiator provided
organisations can up-skill appropriately.
Given the skills spectrum from creative to analytical, it was interesting
to see that 16% of organisations believe their digital staff hold strong
skills across all areas. Equally, it seems that some employees are hired
into digital roles without the requisite skills given 10% feel that those
employees charged with driving digital communications are weak in most
areas of digital.

56% Over half of businesses
surveyed
anticipated hiring more digital resources over the
coming 12 months.
2. CNN Money, “Mobile apps overtake PC Internet usage”, 28 February 2014
The Lag Factor
Whilst 2014 was the year when mobile devices
overtook PCs for the first time2
, this trend seems to
have escaped senior managers in many Australian
organisations.
This worrying feedback is based on the results showing that only 8% of
organisations feel they are ahead of their competitors when it comes
to Mobile/SMS marketing skills compared to 30% who rate themselves
ahead of competitors when it comes to social media skills.
Awareness is one thing but action to address this focus and skills shortfall
has yet to catch up with the market trends. It is possible that managers are
targeting training investment towards the wrong areas.
The opportunities within mobile and SMS marketing seem to have
escaped the notice of senior managers in many Australian businesses.
The key functions that most respondents believe need addressing in
order to be ahead of the competition are content, email/display, and
social media.
This represents a significant opportunity for external expert contractors
to provide high level education to the work force. Social Media, Content
Marketing, and Digital Design and Development are areas that can
expect to see the most demand for training in the future.
Catch up
Across all sectors, organisations recognise the importance that digital
plays within their business, with over half (56%) anticipating hiring
additional digital resources over the next 12 months.

Have you ever, or would you consider hiring an international digital
candidate instead of an Australian candidate even if it meant paying
more to sponsor and relocate them?
One third of respondents outlined frustration searching for candidates
with desired skill sets. As a result, businesses are looking at hiring skilled
staff from overseas and a surprising 30% of organisations have already
tried sponsorship of overseas talent and would do so again.

How important is it to be continually up-skilling the digital staff
in your business or organisation?
The survey forecasts a strong investment period in up-skilling the capabilities of existing employees
within the workplace, with over 98% of respondents stressing the importance of continuous training.

How do your digital staff currently receive their
ongoing training?
Once again, the question of whether or not they are investing in the right
areas becomes evident. While most respondents viewed themselves as
lacking mobile skills in relation to the competition, the mobile function
is set to receive the least level of investment from those planning to
increase their digital spend over the next 12 months.

Do your digital staff currently receive
ongoing training?
Assessment Tools a Stab in the Dark
Whilst there is a strong desire for increased investment in training of
existing employees, with more than 80% advising their digital staff receive
ongoing training, there is an apparent lack of formal skills testing. 60-67%
of organisations rely on employee feedback and ‘observation’ to identify
areas requiring development.
The lack of formal assessment indicates a gap between the understood
and actual assessment of digital skill levels in the workplace, and may
go some way to answering the question of why investment in training
may be going to the wrong areas. This presents a major opportunity for
investment in formal skills testing techniques to isolate key areas in need
of attention.

During the recruitment process, which of the following do
you use to assess the competencies of digital job applicants?
Unlike accounting where a graduate can or can’t carry a trial balance,
there appears to be a large grey area when it comes to assessing digital
skills. Whilst over two thirds of respondents said that it was critical that
new employees were able to demonstrate digital competence only 12%
actually use a formal internal or external assessment at point of hire or in
the performance review process.

“We prefer to recruit interns from University and
groom them on our systems, methodology etc. We
also provide staff training internally by coaching all
staff - as well as some mentoring for senior execs by
USA based experts. Australia seems to lag behind
the USA and UK.”
Only 9% thought recent university
graduates were equipped to undertake
digital role requirements.
Train My Own
Have schools and universities caught up with the demand side for digital
professionals? Demand is fast exceeding supply, as lack of talent, over
priced talent and competitive pressure are hurting organisations.
Furthermore, there is a serious lack of faith in the competencies of recent
university graduates, with only 9% of respondents agreeing with the
statement that recent graduates are equipped to undertake digital role
requirements. Businesses now have to take responsibility for the quality of
the training of their digital staff.
A disconnect between future requirements and skills banking is evident;
26% of respondents relying on staff ‘self-learning’, providing no further
digital training to employees.
Current neglect of staff training represents a major opportunity for
investment into digital education Australia wide. Whilst some employers
prefer to train staff from the bottom up, there is a lack of willingness to
invest in the skills of existing staff, and Australia is suffering as a result. The
testimony of one respondent sheds light on the importance of continued
staff education and the sub-par status Australia is taking in the digital
space.

Matching Salary Expectations
With the rise of the so called ‘internet of things’ and mobile being the
key connector for most of these devices and products, its importance
as a channel is expected to grow exponentially over the coming years.
Arguably, organisations should therefore be increasing their investment
in this space now in order to get on the front foot and stay ahead of the
competition.
One way of doing that is ensuring the appropriate level of remuneration
is considered. When asked to indicate salary preferences, over 50% of
respondents were willing to pay (excluding Superannuation) between
$100,000 – $199,999 to hire a Digital Marketing Manager and Head
of Digital/Digital Manager and 40% were willing to remunerate their
candidate with a similar level of pay for a Digital Communications
Manager highlighting the demand for the appropriate skill level in
digital communications. Arguably, hands-on technical roles such as
Digital Designer and Digital Developer should be higher; respondents
were less willing to pay top dollar, with only 20% opting for these higher
salaries ($100,000 – $199,999) to source the skilled talent, the remainder
wishing to pay less than $99,999. When asked respondent’s willingness to
remunerate data-driven and analytical digital roles, they opted between
$100,000 – $199,999 based on the data-driven environments we are now
operating in.
These statistics support the notion that clients are willing to pay more for
the skills they lack, indicating that key talent in these fields are in high
demand.

Key findings:
25%
Businesses found it difficult to source digital
employees because they thought not enough
talent was available
22%
they could not compete with high salaries offered
elsewhere
18%
they lacked the expertise to find the right
candidate
Salary Survey, November 2014 The majority of comments that emerged from the survey focused on
the urgent need for increased staff training, however the skills gap is
magnified by the inability of businesses to source the talent they need
from the labor pool. High competition for good digital managers has
seen 22% of respondents record that they unable to compete with the
cash incentives of larger companies and were missing out on talent as a
result. A quarter (25%) believe there is not enough experience and skill in
the market, and 18% feel they are not equipped with the expertise to find
the right candidate. Australian organisations should heed these figures;
there is an opportunity for talent finders.

17
EXECUTIVE RECRUITMENT
THE AUSTRALIAN DIGITAL SKILLS AND SALARY SURVEY 2015Copyright © 2015 Slade Group
Anita Ziemer
Managing Director
Slade Group
03 9235 5100
aziemer@sladegroup.com.au
Tim Martin
Founder & Executive Trainer
Net:101
1300 946 101
tim@net101.com.au
For further information contact

The Australian Digital Skills and Salary Survey Report 2015

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