UK ecommerce managers are confident that they will either grow or maintain their teams this year and even receive pay increases, according to the Digital Industry Confidence Report 2009 from digital recruitment and executive search consultancy Bearing Partnership.
“Despite the UK jobless total surpassing two million last month the vast majority (81%) of ecommerce managers are either ‘very confident’ or ‘quite confident’ that they could move companies if they wanted to in 2009,” say the authors. The report also found that:
- 77% of UK ecommerce managers hit or exceeded their own sales targets during 2008
- 85% of ecommerce managers expect to either expand or maintain staffing levels this year
- 46% are either ‘very confident’ or ‘quite confident’ of a pay rise during 2009 with only 27% not convinced that they can look forward to a salary increase this year
The report also found that the most common length of tenure in an ecommerce role is between 18 months and two years. Ecommerce directors have on average spent eight years in the role and spend just under three years at any one company.
“Our research points to an industry which believes it will enjoy steady growth this year at a time when the wider UK economy is expected to shrink by 4.1%,” explains Aryn Hurst-Clark, director of search and selection at Bearing Partnership. “Brands will need to service the growing demand for ecommerce from consumers and, in an area currently suffering from a skills shortage, making the right staffing decisions will be critical to the company’s overall business success.”
Readers can download the full report from Bearing Partnership’s website.
