Driving #goodrecruitment in Marketing, Media, Communications & Creative Sector (MMCC)

Tuesday 6th May, 2014

By Tom Hadley, Director of Policy and Professional Services

The latest meeting of the REC’s Marketing, Media, Comms & Creative Industries (MMCC) sector group confirmed strong demand for staff in the sector and hugely positive feedback on the recently launched Good Recruitment Campaign. The key points from last week’s roundtable discussion were:

1. The market is booming!  Members in the sector are upbeat with high demand for staff in specific areas such as events, publishing, digital marketing and PR. Some members reported their best ever quarter and highlighted encouraging trends of ex-clients using agencies again after a few years of insourcing the function. The positive feedback fits with the latest data from the REC/KPMG Report on Jobs and JobsOutlook report.

2. Candidate shortages. A major challenge is managing expectations of clients in terms of the timescales for  finding suitably skilled staff. The long term priority is to raise awareness of careers in specific sector like PR and publishing through initiatives such as the REC’s Youth Employment Charter. Feedback from members on how government policy can boost skills in the sector will be collated into a formal submission to the Skills Minister Matthew Hancock.

3. Client awareness is the top priority. Members are working with in-house recruitment teams as well as with HR and procurement departments.  The aim is to enhance the way that employers work with their recruitment providers and promote the ‘holy grail’ of a genuine partnership approach. The feedback from members was that the Good Recruitment Campaign can create a step-change in working relationships.

4. Compliance is key. Just under 50% of members in the MMCC sector have already passed the mandatory compliance test. The REC’s aim is to reach 100% by the end of the year, which will enable us to take forward an extremely positive message to employers in the sector. A core principle of the REC's Good Recruitment Charter is the need to work with compliant agencies and qualified recruiters.

5. Recruiters can help boost diversity in the sector. Matt Cartmell from the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) provided an update on the campaign to boost diversity in the sector and underlined the commitment to working with the REC and its members on practical guidance for employers in the sector. We will look to replicate this with representative bodies in marketing, media and publishing.

6. Recruiters are promoting the Good Recruitment Campaign to clients. A number of members are already planning to host client events around the campaign. The aim is to engage employers in a debate around what good recruitment looks like while underlining the added value that specialist recruiters can provide in priority areas such as talent acquisition, boosting diversity and embedding flexible working practices.

The MMCC sector group brings together just under 200 recruiters in specialist areas such as public relations, public affairs, advertising, publishing, marketing and media. We will continue to ensure that the sector’s voice is at the forefront of key debates on skills, compliance and diversity and that members are provided with the latest data and policy developments to help them thrive in an increasingly buoyant and fast-moving market.