Staff attrition in NW online businesses: what are the challenges for the sector?

The digital sector is booming. In the North West, the industry is becoming a key player and is growing fast. Research by Manchester Digital highlights that digital content and ICT industries account for 45,800 jobs in the Greater Manchester area and generate around £2bn p.a. and this growth shows no sign of abating.      

Nationally, there are now more than 270,000 businesses classed as 'digital.' It's an exciting, dynamic and fast-changing sector, where new technologies and trends can very quickly become game-changers.

However, we also know that online businesses can face a number of challenges when it comes to staffing an in-house digital team. The challenges range from an acute shortage of staff who are trained and capable in online marketing, to a lack of suitable training courses in digital marketing and computer sciences.

Our recent study confirmed that there are generally low retention levels for members of staff in digital marketing roles in-house. On average, candidates who are being recruited into in-house digital roles are remaining in their role for less than two years. Most businesses are recruiting for a specialist digital role to their in house team at least once a year - and the majority are replacing an outgoing staff member, not building a bigger team. A massive 87% of recruitment is to service staff attrition, replacing existing members of staff who leave.

This can leave businesses struggling to adequately fill vacant roles. High turnover also impacts on employee morale, and means that more company time is spent on recruiting, inducting and training new staff members.

Read the full report here to find out some of the reasons why staff turnover is so high, and what steps we recommend online businesses could take to help them get to grips with this issue.