Ad agencies recruit as new business surfaces

Media buying units and advertising agencies are recruiting again, say advertising recruitment consultants.

Meanwhile, industry leaders differ, many perceiving new hiring trends as seeking replacements for the redundancies made since the fourth quarter 2008.

Despite the relatively quiet branding and public relations job market, advertising agencies that are winning new pitches are going for new recruits, explained one HR consultant from a recruitment agency that specialises in advertising.

Zaid Frederick, consultant on advertising and media recruitment, IQ Selection, said that jobs at media buying units have increased by as much as 50 per cent during the past month.

"Most companies have trimmed down their staff based on their needs during the downturn. Once an agency wins a new pitch, they rush back to hire again."

Frederick said the trend has got to do with confidence in the market. Companies are starting to believe that the worse is over."

However, the placements have been less concentrated on Dubai, he said, declining from 90 per cent of the vacancies being offered in Dubai to 65 per cent.

GCC markets are offering more jobs now, particularly in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. He said digital marketing was seeing an increased demand.

On the other hand, the industry conveyed different opinions. Lance de Masi, President of the International Advertising Association, UAE Chapter, said: "I don't expect to see a noticeable uptick in hiring until a year from now.

"Any week of news anywhere in the world brings assessments that the recession is bottoming out, followed by assessments a day or two later that economies remain unstable and that the climb to recovery will be steep.

"We must recognise that employment lags recovery. My personal view is that we will be able to be responsibly confident that things have bottomed out by the end of this year or the beginning of next," said Masi.

Avi Bhojani, Group CEO of BPG Group, said: "I would be shocked to know that the advertising industry is hiring again, especially media buying units.

"We can see from the current situation that media purchase has not seen any positive signs, this can be easily concluded from the fact the advertisements have not seen any increase in the local media in the mean time."

However, Bhojani expected that any positive trends in hiring within the advertising industry would be a result of the need to replace the human resources made redundant during the past six to nine months.

He added: "I might be surprised to see agencies hiring for the Dubai market, because the economic situation has not changed here. Right now, hiring is more active in other GCC countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi.

"My assessment is that even if jobs offered are Dubai-based, they must be dedicated to service other markets. Otherwise, agencies would only be doing that to cater to some new major account win."

Bhojani added: "The worst is over, it is true, but we are not yet close to where we should be."

On a more positive note, Ramzi Raad Chairman and CEO,TBWA\Raad Middle East, said his agency never stopped hiring. "We haven't made any redundancies, although have been made to leave based on performance or resigned because their spouses were made redundant in their companies. However, they were immediately replaced."

TBWA\Raad recently had advertisements for vacancies including an account manager, graphic design and strategic planner positions.

"We continued to hire at several other instances through head hunters and recruitment agencies.

The vacancies were not only for Dubai. They included Qatar and Abu Dhabi markets. Raad said: "The most active business centre for advertising agencies today is Abu Dhabi, the reason being many new plans announced by Abu Dhabi Government entities."

"We also have a growing operation in Qatar. However, we should not underestimate what is happening in Dubai. There is a number of new pitches taking place in retail, FMCG and commodities," said Raad.

According to one recruitment agency consultant, who refused to be named, salaries have at certain instances fell by a rate of 10 per cent.

Salaries for account executives range between Dh10,000 and Dh14,000, while senior account manager positions pay between Dh16,000 and Dh18,000. Account managers are being paid in the range of Dh20,000 to Dh25,000, while account directors get around Dh28,000.

Commenting on the possibility that the salaries might have been decreased, based on the fact the job hopping trends during the previous years have inflated market prices for certain positions, De Masi said: "As the industry is doing virtually no hiring, it would really be a seat-of-the-pants comment to suggest that there is enough data to support the contention that people cost less today than before.

"Employed professionals are still making what they were making before the gloal financial crisis hit, and so it still costs money among other benefits to attract them away from where they are currently employed."

Raad said employees would definitely not accept lower salaries.

He said: "Practices such as reducing working hours, unpaid leaves and reduced salaries are not likely to be utilised to weather the crisis while keeping staff on board." Some in-house departments, however, suffered similar practices at the beginning of the downturn, at certain instances reducing their employees' salaries by as much as 50 per cent.

In the meantime poaching is expected to continue in Dubai, because the market is still subject to laws of supply and demand, and in the case of Dubai, supply is still less than demand.

De Masi said: "I have no specific reason to believe poaching has subsided, except for the fact that agencies have cut way back on their hiring. Poaching is a common practice worldwide.

"The communications industry seems to be one in which the demand for good people always outstrips supply. It is also one in which promotion from within organisations is simply not as much of a common practice as in many other industries. The communications industry also tends to run on a "star system", whereby people become more important than systems or institutions. All of these things feed and support poaching in the Middle East and elsewhere."

According to Raad, there is nothing to stop poaching. "The UAE is a very dynamic market. Contrary to the general belief the demand continues to be higher than supply because the advertising industry in the UAE and the Middle East in general is growing rapidly.

"Is there a lack of talent? The assuring and comforting news is that universities are currently offering communications, advertising and marketing courses that were not existent 10 years ago.

"We receive summer trainees every year and we offer jobs to the promising talent," said Raad.

Recruitment consultants have agreed that most vacancies available are seeking locally nurtured talent. "The demand for Arabic speaking talents is high, and fewer agencies are looking for employees from overseas", said a woman who works for a recruitment agency.

She added: "Working in advertising industry differs from one market to the other, particularly the region's markets. It is often difficult for advertising expert from other parts of the world to come over here and adapt to the various cultural sensitivities and restrictions that dominate the industry."

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