Like many other sectors, the events industry isn't immune to the global talent crisis. Photo Credit: Gettyimages/Oleg Lyfar
There are highly qualified and successful individuals on the market that are looking for a career change and a new opportunity. These individuals can be extremely successful and help an organisation reach a new level even if they do not come from the industry themselves. - Sally Lu, Freeman
Many people left the events industry during the Covid-19 pandemic, so how is the industry responding to staff shortages as in-person events return?
Natalie Ackerman, EVP, talent and inclusion at Jack Morton says that people across all industries left jobs during the pandemic, and the events industry wasn’t immune.
“We worked hard to retain staff and pivot skills to support this shift – such as deepening a focus on digital/virtual,” she says. “These skills will continue to be critical in the future. The reality is that pretty much every business, in every industry, is experiencing a talent crunch. Reevaluation of personal purpose, a sense of work fatigue brought on by nearly 24 months of video calls and reduced social interaction, resulted in people needing a break.”
She believes that the fact that every industry is facing this crisis means that talent is out there, and people are open and willing to try something new or make a change. Ackerman says that agencies need to attract those with a desire to learn.
Natalie Ackerman (Left); Sally Lu (Right).“You also need to upskill managers to be able to mentor and share their best practices,” she adds. “Everyone can gain knowledge from learning from others. Early in the pandemic we were quick to bring on people with experience in broadcast or digital content, since much of what we were doing virtually translated to the on-screen experience.”
Sally Lu, Freeman’s managing director in China, says that the quantity and the speed of business returning throughout the event industry is causing an added obstacle to recruitment, as organisations are attempting to bring back a high volume of professionals very quickly, in roles that traditionally have taken longer to fill.
She says that one common phenomenon that occurred in Asia especially, has been the extent to which the talent market has been reshaped. Freelancers, for example, are becoming a crucial component of the talent supplementary pool and Lu is also seeing professionals joining from outside of the events industry to fill the talent gap.
“There are highly qualified and successful individuals on the market that are looking for a career change and a new opportunity,” she says. “These individuals can be extremely successful and help an organisation reach a new level even if they do not come from the industry themselves. The job market and the industry has evolved; it may also be necessary for an organisation’s processes and procedures to evolve too, in order to continue to be successful in this new market.”