The Talent Crisis Is Real, But A Solution Could Be Right In Front Of Us

In this guest post, Magnite’s Australian managing director, James Young (main photo), says there’s definitely a talent crisis, but if we flip our thinking and look more closely at technological advances, a solution could be at our fingertips…
IAB’s Industry Talent Report released late last year made for sobering reading. It revealed how job vacancy rates in the advertising industry have more than doubled last year and uncovered a dearth of junior to mid-level talent, particularly in the performance and programmatic space. On top of all that, it showed that a gender skew towards males meant that nine in ten technical and engineering roles are currently held by men across the industry.
Our industry talent predicament isn’t isolated – Australia’s general labour shortages are at a record high across the board, according to a range of sources including NAB, the Reserve Bank and even Seek. To get around these challenging conditions, forward thinking advertising and ad tech businesses are increasingly recruiting less experienced talent and making up for their lack of years on the job by investing in training and upskilling from within.
But as an industry to truly solve the talent crisis, we still have two key questions to answer. Firstly, when we find employees to train up are we skilling them for today’s jobs, or are we considering the jobs of tomorrow? Secondly, have we done a good enough job at factoring in the role technology will have on new and existing employees in the near term, either by making an increasing number of today’s roles redundant or reshaped almost beyond recognition?
It’s a discussion that was unpacked during a recent panel discussion featuring Adam Coulter of OMG, Ashton De Santis of The Trade Desk and Amy Jasen-Flynn of REA Group. While the discussion was primarily centered around SPO, the panellists found themselves delving into the topic of how to develop people for the future – especially in such a complex, ever changing industry.
For example, over the last couple of years we’ve seen that agencies aren’t just media buyers anymore. They are becoming technology businesses by building their own tech to deliver their unique outcomes. This nuanced approach has resulted in traders’ roles becoming a lot more complex and sophisticated, with individuals finding themselves wearing many hats depending on the task at hand. And of course, as job roles grow increasingly complex, so too does the task of finding the right talent to take on the challenge.
So perhaps the answer is technology.
Much has been said about automation and algorithmic decisioning having the potential to replace people, as they take up the heavy lifting for repetitive transactional tasks. While these discussions sometimes lean into how that use of technology will reduce staffing requirements in agencies, I see the increasing use of technology as an amazing opportunity for organisations to redeploy their people into new roles, while also unlocking new talent recruitment opportunities.
Agencies looking to the future should be actively exploring how to integrate data engineers and SQL developers into day-to-day operations as a start point. But freeing up people from mundane transactional tasks will also provide space for some very talented (and already employed) agency staff to focus on the more creative and innovative tasks. It will also offer them the bandwidth to provide additional value to the brands they work with, helping them make smarter buying decisions and protect their data.
It will be fascinating to look back in ten years’ time to see how our industry has tackled this employment crisis – but at least for now technology appears to be offering a strong way for us to move ahead.
Latest News

Air New Zealand & Bastion Shine Save Christmas With Their Latest Campaign
When it comes to New Zealanders, are they really just glorified Tasmanians who are much better at sport?

Google To Pay $111m To News Publishers In Canada
Google lumped with latest $100 million-plus fine. Which, when it's all said & done, is like 50 cents to the rest of us.

Thursday TV Ratings: The Chase Takes The Crown For Entertainment
Much like navigating the single-malt whiskey menu at Rockpool, Thursday night TV proves a tricky one for network bosses.

Before Adland: Luke Spano’s High-Stakes Switch
The Avid Collective MD reveals his life pre-adland. As exciting as it is, it's not international playboy spy & Lothario.

New Study Busts Aussie Advertisers Over False “Clean, Green & Sustainable” Claims
Aussie adland in strife over some of its 'green' claims. By that we mean environmental claims, NOT fibrous vegetables.

Network 10’s Rod Prosser On TV Ratings: “One Measurement System Is Better For The Industry”
The only thing B&T would love more than a chat with Rod Prosser would be a game of squash. Yes, he's a 'yellow dot' man.

It’s Friday Quiz Time Again!
Take B&T's trivia quiz for your chance to win a $100 booze voucher and possible cirrhosis of a major internal organ.

Innocent Bystander Wines Challenge The Boring With New Campaign
As the Latins famously say "in vino veritas" or "in wine, there is truth". And, truthfully speaking, B&T hated this ad.

Apple Enlists Taika Waititi For Gorgeous (& Not Christmas) New Work!
Think the month leading into Christmas is all Curtis Stone's Christmas prawns? It's Apple to the rescue today, readers.

Clean Up Australia Unveils Brand Refresh Via uberbrand
Do you have "litterbug" on either your resume or LinkedIn profile? Change your trashy ways immediately on this news.

Musk: Advertisers “Go Fuck Yourselves”
B&T warns this article contains language readers may find offensive. And by that we don't mean Elon Musk.

Triple M Puts The Gold Back In The Gold Coast
The Gold Coast is Australia's "glitter strip". That is if you think bogans, bikies & personal trainers are "glitter".

SenateSHJ Launches New Trans-Tasman Practices
SenateSHJ has launched a new digital, data and insights capability designed to help clients tackle the growing complexity of communication challenges. SenateSHJ Digital, Data and Insights (DDI) will combine the firm’s existing Digital and Insights functions to create a Trans-Tasman capability focused on digital communication, and the generation and use of data to improve communication. […]

Nova Shakes Off Swift Mania With Dedicated Station
Want to make yourself the most despised person in the office? Read on with the launch of Taylor Swift radio.

QMS CEO John O’Neill On His Plans To Get OOH Spend Up To 20% (Watchout TV!)
B&T's chatting with outdoor supremo, QMS' John O’Neill. Eerily the outdoors never got mentioned in any small talk.

AANA’s New Code Means Stricter Rules Apply To Advertising To Children
There are now stricter ad rules applying to kids. Yet, nothing a bottle of Fanta & a box of Froot Loops can't fix.

New BrandStory Format From Bonzai Allows 3x More Ad Space on Mobile
Creative technology platform Bonzai has announced the launch of BrandStory – a new premium mobile ad format. BrandStory offers triple the ad space and 2.8 times greater time in view than single scroll ad formats, addressing the surging demand from brands worldwide for more real estate to drive real results by seamlessly intertwining awareness, exploration […]

“Cut The Crap!” Piers Morgan Sensationally Outs “Royal Racists” On His TV Show
The corgis, anyone in the Palace with a funny hat & even Camilla off the hook, as Piers delivers royal racist dirt.

Wednesday TV Ratings: 365,000 Sign Up To Watch The Last EVER Hot Seat on Nine
Mrs McGuire reportedly unhappy about Eddie loafing about the house after Nine cans Hot Seat.

B&T’s Search For Australia’s Greatest Ad Heads To Channel 7
B&T went through the looking glass this morning, with editor-in-chief David Hovenden (above) appearing on Channel 7’s The Morning Show to get the general public involved in our search for Australia’s Greatest Ad. Hovenden chatted with Kylie Gillies and stand-in host Matt Doran about what makes a great ad and showcasing some of our favourites […]

It’s The Best Of The Best – Directors Of First Impressions, Presented By Finecast, Part Of GroupM Nexus
They're the ones with the best hair and the whitest teeth! Yes, it's adland's top 10 directors of first impressions.

Opinion: The Tall Planner’s Kate Smither On The DBA Dilemma
The science is not in question – smarter people than I, with far more data, have codified it. The logic is not up for grabs…it makes sense that creating mental shortcuts to your brand keeps you at the top of your mind. Lead image: Kate Smither – Owner, The Tall Planner I wouldn’t even take […]

Ortto & Tall Bob Partner To Deliver Better SMS & MMS For Australian & NZ Businesses
Two Australian-born technology providers have joined forces to bring more power and choice to marketers in Australia and New Zealand with mobile messaging that is more local, cost-effective, and integrated. It’s a partnership that sees two Australian software companies come together to deliver a world-class mobile-first solution for marketers building data-driven, personalised, omnichannel campaigns. While […]

PubMatic Nabs Luke Smith From Seven West Media
Seven's Luke Smith quits for PubMatic. However, he's still in line for one of James Warburton's annual Christmas hams.

Slew Of New Hires At Snap Inc.
Snap Inc. has announced a number of new recruits. B&T unaware if it positively impacted SEEK's share price.

Michael McLacren Confirmed As Deb Knight Replacement For 2GB Afternoons
Think AM radio has a bit of an angry boys' club feel? It's not improving things with this news.

Reddit Gets Playful Brand Refresh
This will be of interest to any Reddit fans, graphic designers or lovers of an orange so bright it burns the retinas.

World Square Counts Down To Christmas With Sydney’s Biggest Advent Calendar
Hopefully this news will get you in the Christmas spirit. Either that or go and stand in Westfields for nine hours.

Zitcha & Broadsign Partner To Drive Global In-Store Retail Media Market
Zitcha and Broadsign have teamed up to integrate the Broadsign out-of-home (OOH) advertising platform with Zitcha’s retail media platform. The collaboration empowers retailers to maximise and monetise in-store digital display networks and enables advertising partners to easily view and book available in-store inventory and review campaign performance alongside the retailer’s other media channels. With the […]

B&T’s Search For Australia’s Greatest Ad Part 5!
B&T's vote for Australia's greatest-ever ad is much like the recent referendum sans the mudslinging and Kamahl.

Ignite the Thrill: National Drag Racing Championship Unleashes Media Campaign Via Murmur Group
If there's one sport in the world that's thumbing its nose at global emissions, it's probably drag racing.

Rethink Ink: Is It About Time You Reconsidered Print?
Print's not merely an excellent vehicle for brands, it's also perfect for getting the barbecue alight for the sausages.

Double Rainbouu & 7-Eleven Launch Exclusive Summer Fashion Label
Today, 7-Eleven has announced a one-of-a-kind collaboration with the popular Sydney-based anti-resort wear label Double Rainbouu. Dropping tomorrow, December 1, just in time for summer, this limited-edition capsule will infuse the fashion brand’s rebellious spirit with a distinctly iconic 7-Eleven flavour. The unisex collection features five must-have styles comprising two signature Hawaiian shirts, a peaked cap, a bucket hat […]

Cannes In Cairns Media Accreditation Open Now!
Work in media? Want to cover next year's Cannes In Cairns? There'll be no free piña coladas without this form.

In-House Agency Council Research Report: 78% Of Marketers Now Work With An In-House Agency
In-housing is definitely an industry hot button topic. Admittedly still a long way behind office affairs.

OMA Announces Winners Of The Q3 Creative Collection Competition
Who doesn't love the out of home medium? Apart from the very real chance of being shat on by a bird.
I recently sat in on a round table with some of Australia’s leading agency heads discussing the exact problem of ‘solving for talent’ and complaining about the strain on their businesses as a result. When asked what they were doing about it, not one mentioned the adoption of tech as a way forward.
So it’s refreshing to hear that some in the industry are ‘wisening’ up to the fact that change isn’t necessarily bad. That reskilling and redirecting teams to value add projects/tasks isn’t a dirty word.
Now if we could only just get more c-suite Agency folk to look beyond their short term rev targets and focus in on better ways to work and margin 🙂 – it would mean better results for clients and more interesting work for their teams.