#ExplainIt: HK marketers on how the industry can lure back top talent

Since the reopening of borders between Hong Kong and China, Hong Kong's adland is seeing more opportunities and it is no surprise that companies have to ramp up investments in marketing teams. According to Admango, the local ad spending in the city has surged significantly in the first quarter of 2023, reaching a total value of HK$6.85 billion with a YOY increase of 22%. Meanwhile, the adspend of the local travel industry saw an impressive YOY increase of 324% in the first quarter.

Furthermore, with the shift of consumer behaviours since the pandemic, companies in Hong Kong have switched to digital channels as part of their business transformation, therefore digital marketing skills such as data analytics, content creation, and digital marketing are high in demand.

According to a report by Deel titled“State of Global Hiring Report”, the top roles Hong Kong-based companies are seeking include software engineer, marketing, business development/sales, project manager, and developer.A check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw on LinkedIn over 4,000 marketing-related job openings in Hong Kong.

At the same time, Hong Kong talents are sought after by global companies for remote work, as Hong Kong talent is most commonly hired by companies based in the US, followed by the UK, Canada, Singapore, and Denmark, according to Deel’s survey. They are most commonly hired for the roles of software engineer, statistician, product, trader, and sales.

Karen Ng, regional head of expansion and market lead Hong Kong, Singapore, ASEAN, India, Deel, said: "Talent shortage is still a pain point in Hong Kong, but companies are looking globally to fill talent gaps, and are adding more remote workers to their workforce."

However, it is not as easy as we think it might be to seek for talent. According to a study by ManpowerGroup, 85% of employers in the city have difficulties in finding the talent they need in 2023, a 2% rise year-over-year and reaching a 17-year high. Meanwhile, the top five in-demand technical skills Hong Kong are IT & data (43%), engineering (28%), sales and marketing (25%), ESG risk/advisory/governance (22%) and sustainability/environmental (21%), according to the survey. 

But why is it so hard to hire marketing talent in Hong Kong? Some industry players believed that the reasons behind the ongoing talent crunch include decreasing opportunities available for young marketers, increase in marketers immigrating overseas and lack of employee benefits. 

In light of this, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out to local marketers for the first Hong Kong #ExplainIt series to find out what their take is on the local talent shortage and how the industry can lure back talent. 

Check out what they had to say.

Click on each picture to watch a video! 

1. Anthony Tsang, head of marketing and digital, Greater China, Oriental Watch Company 

2. Jaslin Goh, CMO, PayMe by HSBC 

3. Wilson Wong, marketing director, price.com.hk 

4. Philip Chau, vice president, group head of marketing, Regal Hotels International 

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