76% of firms willing to give pay raise to sales and marketing teams. But do they want it?

Singapore's sales and marketing industry predicted to see the highest attrition (83%) in 2022 followed by financial services (76%), and human resources (71%). According to Robert Walters Singapore, the difficulty in hiring talent for the sales and marketing sector will be very high.

Nonetheless, the top in-demand professions for this sector are eCommerce, digital marketing, and business development.

As companies try and make up for flat growth in 2020, good commercial talent will be in demand. Sustained consumer interest to shop and consume media online will see more hiring for digital and eCommerce roles, Robert Walters said. Companies are expected to focus more on employer branding and candidate experience, and soft skills such as being agile and resilient are sought after.

Here are the list of skillsets in demand for permanent roles:

1. Consumer sectors: ECommerce, digital marketing, performance marketing, CRM managers, data intelligence, and AI;
2. Healthcare: Medical affairs and regulatory affairs, experience in market access and, patient access;
3. B2B and industrial: Sales and business development roles in the areas of renewables, energy and biofuels, and digital marketing;
4. Financial and professional services: Professionals able to combine traditional and digital marketing skillsets.

As for contract roles, hybrid events management experience, business development and sales experience for emerging industries are highly sought after.

Salaries will remain largely the same next year with a slight increase expected for contract roles. Exceptions would be digital and eCommerce roles, where industries such as healthcare, fintech and eCommerce may see a slight salary increase, while roles with niche skillsets (digital, analytics, sustainability, sales) can expect much higher increments for permanent roles.

That said, Robert Walters predicts that 76% of businesses are giving pay rises for sales and marketing, while 45% of professionals expect a pay rise next year. Also, 83% of professionals in sales and marketing are looking for a new job, and 63% are confident about job opportunities.

There will also be increased attention on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the sales and marketing sector.

Factors such as flexible work, WFH, wellness and learning, as well as development opportunities will also play a key role in talent recruitment and retention.

Individuals most confident about job prospects in tech and transformation

On the other hand, the top three industries where professionals are most confident of available job opportunities next year are commerce finance (83%), tech and transformation (79%), and supply chain and procurement (77%). In particular, the tech and transformation sector will see data scientists and engineers, cyber security specialists and developers (front-end, back-end and full stack) as the most sought-after professions.

Tech professionals with highly specialised technical skillsets, especially in emerging areas such as AI and machine learning, and other fields such as data, cybersecurity, digital and eCommerce will see high demand.

Professionals with skillsets in governance, compliance and risk sectors, especially in dealing with financial crime, will be in demand in 2022. Beyond technical skills, resilient, adaptable, flexible and forward-thinking professionals who can manage teams and corporate culture remotely will be sought-after for their soft skills. Salaries in areas such as technology are expected to increase significantly due to the talent shortage. Across other areas, salary premiums of 10% to 15% are expected for professionals moving between jobs.

Competitive salary increases and innovative perks such as sign-on bonuses will play a big role in attracting and retaining talent. Beyond compensation and benefits, tech professionals value inspiring colleagues and culture as well as flexible working too, Robert Walters said. Most businesses (85%) are giving pay rises in the tech and transformation sector, while 56% of professionals expect a pay rise in 2022. At the same time, the majority of professionals (62%) are looking for a new job, and 79% are confident about job opportunities in the tech and transformation sector. 

Overall, hiring trends in Singapore for the new year will focus on people and technology. Robert Walters said that more companies are expected to hire support with finding candidates, while commercial and tech talents will continue to be in high demand across commerce and financial services sectors. 

While Singapore’s hiring market in 2020 was largely conservative, 2021 saw a rapid change as businesses ramped up their activities and resumed their hiring plans in preparation for growth. Consequently, there was an increase in in job flows across all divisions, and for both permanent and contract roles.

Southeast Asia hiring outlook for 2022

Meanwhile, on a regional level, most economies in Southeast Asia, with the exception of Vietnam and Thailand, rapidly rebounded in the first half of the year. The rise of COVID-19 variants affected manufacturing, but digital and tech experienced the greatest boost in hiring, accelerated by digital transformation initiatives of companies across all sectors.

Looking into 2022, the hiring market is expected to cool down slightly after a hectic boom. The demand for local talent grew as expatriates returned home for good, and global mobility was significantly reduced in 2021 due to limitations in travel, visas and work permits. This has contributed to increasing attrition rates as employees change jobs. According to Robert Walters, this is a recurring pattern observed among countries that have come out of lockdowns.

In 2022, there will be an increasing scarcity of professionals with skillsets to support companies looking to grow in fields such as technology, automation and analytics. Professionals in top demand across the region include those with financial services, with skillsets in the areas of digital transformation, customer engagement, virtual banking and front office roles.

Those with specific skillsets in 5G rollouts, data analytics and blockchain, as well as those who are able to support edtech, health tech, and automation in manufacturing will also be highly sought after.

With a high level (98%) of survey respondents willing to learn and retrain new skills to stay employable, candidates are advised to look into relevant courses such as in data analytics.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

Related articles:
Demand for digital roles in FMCG grows: Here's how much you're worth
How much of a salary increase can you expect in 2022?
SG salary to bounce back: 3 recruitment trends and tactics to attract talent