Digital and direct marketing hiring is on track to rebound in early 2010: 46% of hiring managers plan to add staff in the first quarter, up from 30% who said the same in the fourth quarter 2009, according to a Bernhart Associates survey.

In addition, the number of companies that report hiring freezes for the first quarter fell to 26%, from 45% who reported the same in the last quarter, Bernhart said.

Below, key findings from the First Quarter 2010 Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report.

Only 7% of companies are planning marketing layoffs (incremental cutbacks) this quarter. Interestingly, not one agency or supplier surveyed expects further layoffs, and 37% plan to add to headcount.

Among employers who imposed pay cuts last year, 37% plan to either partially or fully reinstate those reductions in 2010. Only 20% say pay cuts will remain in effect for this year, and 43% are unsure of when salaries will be restored to previous levels.

"About half of the client-side marketers who participated in our first-quarter survey said they still have a hiring freeze," said Jerry Bernhart, principal of Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC. "Hiring on the supplier side, by contrast, is on a fast track with more than 60% telling us they plan to add to head count this quarter. We haven't seen numbers in that range for more than two years."

Hiring in the B2C marketing sector––which suffered deeper job cuts last year than B2B––is now outpacing hiring in B2B: 50% of B2C marketers say they have positions to fill this quarter, compared with 46% of B2B marketers who say the same.

As to what specific positions will be in greatest demand during the current quarter, analytics dominate the list––both online and offline––followed by Internet marketing, sales, creative, technology, and campaign management.

"We're seeing some newer job categories emerge," Bernhart added. "A couple of companies will be looking for senior-level social media strategists and online video experts."

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Survey-Participant Commentary

Participants also weighed in on the challenges they face finding, compensating, and keeping their best digital and direct marketing talent, Bernhart reported.

Comments and observations received from more than 200 hiring managers at all levels across the digital and direct marketing employment spectrum, including marketers, agencies, and service providers, are summarized below.

Comment highlights on hiring:

• Quality of applicants: Many applicants are unemployed, and the quality and skill level tends to be low in digital, healthcare, and mobile. Good employees are staying where they are.  Some employers said they're challenged trying to match candidate's skills with organizational needs.
• Uncertainty: Many employers are waiting for a consistent flow of new business before pulling the trigger on new hires.
• Creativity and execution: Continues to be a difficult combination to find.
• Temporary hires: Results are mixed, as only some employers say they are able to find high-quality temps.
• Rising cost of benefits: Posing challenges for smaller digital and direct marketing employers to add to headcount.
• Multichannel skills: Demand is strong, and growing, for digital and direct marketing talent who understand the medium in a cross-channel environment, knowing how consumers interact with content, and how to build relevant and meaningful relationships with them.
• Younger hires: Respondents report seeing a lack of strategic insight among younger hires, as well as a lack of solid direct response testing and analysis experience.
• Financial savvy: Respondents want marketers who understand how decisions affect the overall business.
• Training: Companies expect employees to work smarter and advance their knowledge, but there seemingly is a lack of industry training by competent, experienced subject-matter experts.

Comment highlights on retaining marketing talent:

• What works: Keeping the company transparent, providing an atmosphere of collaboration, encouraging innovation, rewarding success, investing in current technology, and making the workplace fun.
• Turnover concerns: Many companies said they are currently evaluating talent to identify and keep top performers. Employers are concerned that they will face much higher churn as the economy recovers and good talent bolts.

About the data: Conducted by Bernhart Associates, a digital and direct marketing executive search firm, the survey is based on the opinions of  544 senior executives and hiring managers, human resource officials, and other key participants in online and offline direct marketing, collected during the first two weeks of January 2010.