PRESS RELEASE

New research uncovers marketers’ views on the modern workplace

• Most marketers want to continue remote working
• Marketers feel they have been held back in their career
• Demand for organisations to take public stance on diversity and inclusion

A survey conducted by recruitment firm Hays alongside the Chartered Institute of Marketing, has provided new insights into marketers’ views towards the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research finds that the vast majority of marketers are enjoying remote working and plan to request to continue working flexibly once it’s possible to return to the office full time.

• 55% say that they will request to continue working remotely
• Only one in five say they either won’t request flexible working (14%) or say it’s not possible because of their job (5%)
• The proportion which won’t request flexible working is highest among the under 25s (32%) and lowest among the over 55s (9%)

Furthermore, more than four in five (82%) marketers say that working remotely makes them and their colleagues feel more authentic. This was highest for those over the age of 55 (87%).

Despite enjoying some of the benefits of remote working, the research finds that around half of marketers are worried about employee isolation (52%) and the blurring of boundaries (45%) between home and work life caused by working from home since March.

The survey also reveals that many people who work flexibly feel it has held them back in their careers.

Two in five (41%) working flexibly prior to the pandemic felt disadvantaged when it came to career progression. This figure is significantly higher among female marketers (50%) than among men (29%).

Chris Daly, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Marketing said: “Marketing professionals are obviously enjoying the benefits of working at home, which is why so many hope to continue working remotely once offices are fully open again. One important watch-out is young people, many of whom appreciate the sociability of office life and don’t always have the comfortable home working set-ups enjoyed by their older colleagues. Employers will need to carefully balance the need for a positive office environment for young people with a desire among older workers to spend less time in the office.”

The move to embrace flexible working across the marketing sector is also seen as an enabler, supported by the 78% of marketers who believe it positively impacts the success of an organisation. This transition means organisations who traditionally have been unable to draw from a wide talent pool due to their location, are now able to diversify their workforce and hire from across the country and even internationally.

Diversity and inclusion

Although there were many positives from the research, the findings also reveal that marketers are concerned over discrimination in the workplace – with around 60% feeling that their chances of getting a role has been limited for reasons other than their ability to do the role effectively. This figure is higher than the 50% of people who agree with this in the population as a whole

Age was most commonly cited (by 62%) as the reason for being overlooked, with significant proportions also identifying their gender (33%) and ethnicity (33%) as lowering their chances of getting a job.

 A sector looking to make things better

• 67% say that they would only consider working for a company with a public commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, compared with 61% in the country as a whole
• 75% say that a company’s diversity and inclusion policies are important to them

Many marketers also believe that it is important that the organisations they work for take a public stance on key societal and inclusion & diversity:

• 61% say that the company should have a public voice on inclusion and diversity issues. A further 16% say the company should have a position, but only to employees
• 39% say they would consider leaving an organisation if it did not take a public stance on inclusion and diversity issues

Clare Kemsley, Director of Hays Marketing, said: “Flexible and remote working has been incredibly powerful in maintaining productivity across the world this year, but it’s not without its downsides. It’s concerning to uncover that this is leading to some feeling at a disadvantage when it comes to career progression.

On the plus side, it’s striking how many professionals, not just marketers, feel that their organisations should take a public position on diversity and inclusion issues. The modern employer needs to make this a core part of their workforce strategy going forward if they are to attract and retain top marketing talent.”

To download the report click here: https://www.hays.co.uk/diversity/diversity-inclusion-report

ENDS

Notes to editors

For media enquiries

Leigh Marshall
Good Relations
lmarshall@goodrelations.co.uk  

For CIM enquiries

James Delves
CIM Head of PR and External Engagement
james.delves@cim.co.uk  

Corinne Lavictoire  
PR Executive
corinne.lavictoire@cim.co.uk

About CIM

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) is the world’s leading professional body for marketing, with over 28,000 members worldwide, of which there are over 2,500 Chartered Marketers. CIM’s mission is to create a marketing advantage for the benefit of professionals, business and society with a focus on export, data and skills. CIM believes marketing is the critical factor in driving long term organisational performance.

CIM provides members and organisations with five key benefits: 

• Partnership – CIM is a professional and organisational partner to support performance and career development
• Education – CIM allows individuals and businesses to continuously upskill
• Information – CIM keeps members up to date with the latest marketing thinking, and keeps organisations at the forefront of practices
• Connection – CIM provides access to services, expertise and peers
• Recognition – CIM is the global benchmark of professional competence

For more than 100 years, CIM has supported, represented and developed marketers, teams, leaders and the profession as a whole. There are 120 CIM study centres in 32 countries and exam centres in 132 countries worldwide. In the last year, over 7,500 people registered at over 230 UK CIM events. Find out more about CIM by visiting www.cim.co.uk.

For Hays enquiries

Miranda Fleming
Hays PR Executive
miranda.fleming@hays.com 

About Hays

Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2020 the Group employed c.10,400 staff operating from 266 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2020:

– the Group reported net fees of £996.2 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £135.0 million;

– the Group placed around 66,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 235,000 people into temporary roles;

– 17% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 26% in Germany, 23% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 34% in Rest of World (RoW);

– the temporary placement business represented 59% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 41% of net fees;

– IT is the group’s largest specialism, with 25% of net fees, while Accountancy & Finance (15%) and Construction & Property (12%), are the next largest

– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA