The digital world we live in today affects every function in today’s organisations and to stay competitive we simply can’t afford to think in digital silos anymore. For the last 10 years, we have been talking about how we ‘do digital’

This seems a bit meaningless now as if you don’t ‘do digital’ you’re really not ‘doing’ at all. We need to remove the ‘digital’ label and simply see it as it is; a new approach to how we do business in a digital world. Every function needs to adapt and embrace this change as customers and the world around us demand it. Digital is not just a process or a skill that education alone will get us to, it is a mindset and a new way of thinking that must run throughout your entire organisation so business leaders have a clear plan and vision for your organisation and bring your people with you!

Where does Digital sit within organisations?

As Digital affects so many key areas, it is still quite a segmented function for many businesses but does predominantly fall either under the marketing remit or as a separate function. The digital function requires collaboration from multiple teams and is still a big challenge for many organisations to get it right. Marketing and Comms, Technology, Web, E-commerce, CX, Product, even Data Analytics can all fall under the digital remit. There is a big focus right now on reshaping the digital function and aligning roles and responsibilities away from functional channels.

What are the latest developments and roles within Digital?

There is great digital talent in the market right now but not enough to meet the demand. As businesses are ramping up their digital expertise there is a huge demand for digital talent across the board.

The biggest demand we are seeing is for Heads of Digital and Digital Transformation Experts to spearhead this process. Skilled Digital Marketers are also high in demand along with specialist roles within marketing such as PPC, E-commerce, CX, Social Media and Content specialists. Businesses are looking for candidates not only with the required hard skills in digital but are also placing a huge emphasis on key soft skills; ability to adapt well to change in an agile environment; manage change and be a critical and innovative thinker who is data driven by nature.

How do salaries compare with last year?

Salaries are up for digital talent across the board vs last year in line with overall market trends. Shortage and demand for digital talent is very much a contributing factor. At the most senior level the current average salary for a CDO/Digital Director is €159,500 (up 12% vs last year) and the average salary for a Head of Digital is €91,150 (up 5% vs last year). At the Practitioner level without team responsibility, a Digital/Online Manager is now paid on average €60,950 (up 9% vs last year) and at Support level, a Digital/Online Executive is being paid €33,055 on average (up 3% vs last year).

Top 5 tips on what it takes to be successful in Digital

1. Recognise the challenges for your business and what you need to do
2. Embrace the need for change and fully explore the possibilities available to you
3. Have a clear plan and strategy in place that has buy-in from the top down
4. Communicate your vision to everyone in your organisation
5. Invest in the right people!
6. Be brave and adopt a ‘fail first’ approach​

If you would like to know more please feel free to get in touch with me at anytime at jfahy@alternatives.ie.