Michael Page Logo

Main menu

  • Home
  • Jobs+

    Searching for a job?

    • Job search
    • Submit your CV
    • Resume and cover letter advice
    • Salary guide
    • Salary comparison tool
    • Global opportunities
    • Contracting jobs

    Quick job search

  • Contracting+

    • Hiring in the Mobile Economy
    • Hiring Contractors
    • Why hire Contractors
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Page Timesheet Portal
  • Recruiting+

    Looking to hire?

    • Recruitment services
    • Contract recruitment
    • Hiring in the new mobile economy
    • Executive recruitment
    • High volume/project recruitment
    • SME recruitment
    • Job Advertising: ReachTalent
    • Salary benchmarking tool

    Submit a job spec

    Our recruitment expertise

    • https://www.michaelpage.com.au/
    • Accounting & Finance
    • Banking & Financial Services
    • Construction
    • Digital
    • Engineering & Manufacturing
    • Health and Life Sciences
    • Hospitality & Leisure
    • Human Resources
    • Legal
    • Marketing
    • Mining, Energy & Resources
    • Procurement & Supply Chain
    • Property
    • Retail
    • Sales
    • Technology
  • Advice+

    Advice

    • Advice
    • Career advice
    • Management advice
    • Market insights
    • Resume templates

    Transformational Leadership

    • Eight Executive Trends for 2020
    • Leading Women

    ABC's of Technology

    • https://www.michaelpage.com.au/
    • Download Humans of AI report
    • Download Humans of Blockchain report
    • Download Humans of Cybersecurity report

    Popular topics

    • Interview advice
    • Resume advice
    • Salary negotiation
    • Promotion advice
    • Staff retention advice
  • About+

    About us

    • Who we are
    • Work for us
    • Media releases
    • Diversity & inclusion at Page
    • Our Partnerships
  • Join PageGroup+

    Join PageGroup

    • About PageGroup
    • Why choose us?
    • Your role here
    • Use your skills
    • FAQs
    • Apply now
  • Contact+

    Contact us

    • Contact us
    • Find our offices
    • Looking to hire?
    • Submit your CV
    • Timesheet Portal
    • Feedback
Sign In
Saved jobs (0)
Saved jobs (0)
Sign In
Login or Sign up
Search for a job

You are here

Home>Advice>Management advice>Staff development>Hiring>WA employers putting digital innovation front of mind

WA employers putting digital innovation front of mind

by Brodie McDougall
-
06/02/2018
WA employers putting digital innovation front of mind

There continues to be sharp growth in digital services employment in WA, with the sector outpacing increases in most other job types over the past few years.

Social marketing, content and SEO strategy positions have become key to many local businesses, following global trends where there’s been a shift to separating traditional and digital marketing roles. More than half the businesses Michael Page deals within WA say digital is critical to their overall marketing mix, and the company has seen 57% growth in digital contract role recruitment this year alone.

Jane Muirsmith, from Perth-based digital consultancy Lenox Hill, says the state’s digital industry still has room for significant growth and maturation despite an already-healthy 20% year-on-year increase in WA’s digital workforce over the past 3 years.

Muirsmith says, “Perth has come such a long way in the last few years. Large WA companies have often looked to the East Coast for full-scale digital services in the past, but the pool of experience and talent here is making it more viable for them to use local people.”

Digital workforce investment boosted thanks to efficiencies in automation

The contraction of the resources sector hit many WA jobs hard, but as cost-cutting was rolled out across the state, digital services and digital marketing picked up. This can be attributed in part to the financial efficiencies of switching customer service and marketing activities to more automated models.

Businesses are realising how much more cost effective and time effective it is to move a portion of their customer interactions and marketing campaigns into a digital focussed environment.

Companies continue to increase digital budgets and invest heavily in content marketing, with a strong interest in video content development and production.

Increased spending to transform WA’s digital services landscape

Small and medium businesses surveyed by Michael Page intend to increase both marketing spend and digital spend over the next year. Companies of varying sizes dedicated 20% of their budget last year to upscaling and transforming their digital landscape.

The public sector is also spending up on digital. The WA Labor government’s 2017 budget allocates $71 million over the next 3 years to “workforce renewal and the redesign of service delivery.” The funds will be directed into digital transformation, frontline services, and the recruitment of entry level employees. This amount represents 20% of the $3.5 billion of budget repair and savings measures projected over the forward estimates, with $1.7 billion of the savings coming through public sector redundancies.

Instant access to digital marketing data great for business

The ability of companies to access data around their digital activities almost instantly is a huge drawcard and is contributing to the rise of digital jobs growth. Showing a business hard numbers around campaigns, and being able to see outcomes almost immediately, is something traditional marketing has never been able to do.

This ease of viewing metrics may be another reason companies are increasingly creating digital roles. Muirsmith believes being able to show direct outcomes of digital strategies means employers are becoming more open to increasing their staffing in the sector.

Muirsmith says, “If companies experience success with digital [strategies], they understand exactly what is working and can add staff accordingly; they get to see results quickly and that’s great for the digital industry as a whole.”

Digital contractors and consultants big winners

Small and medium WA businesses are more frequently recruiting contract roles in digital strategy and management. This is in line with a worldwide trend towards workforces increasingly made up of contract, consultant and freelance staff.

Contractors are being brought on board to set up digital strategy, advise on systems a company should be using, plan content strategy and educate staff on interoperating real-time data.

A business may not be in the position to work with an agency to manage their digital processes offsite, finding it more cost effective to bring in consultants on a project basis and then hiring someone more junior to implement the strategy once it’s been agreed on.

Michael Page predicts further investment into digital in 2018-19 in WA. Whether the roles created will be contract or permanent comes down to individual businesses. If a company has already seen value in someone performing a contract role, they may be keen to make a permanent hire because the return on investment is already proven.

Want to speak with a digital specialist in WA? Contact us now.

Previous article
Western Sydney profile: Nathan Birch
Western Sydney story: How Nathan Birch is investing in the heartland
by Future City Minds - Western Sydney
Read article
Next article
17 honest reasons to leave your job
by Tatiana Zinkivska
Read article
If you are looking for a job, visit the Candidates section

 

Are you Hiring?

If you are an employer and would like to discuss your hiring needs, fill in the form below and we will call you back.

 

Advertise Your Role With Us

Advertise Your Role With ReachTalent

Michael Page Logo
  • Read our BlogRead our Blog
  • Follow us on FacebookFollow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on InstagramFollow us on Instagram
  • Follow us on LinkedInFollow us on LinkedIn
  • Watch us on YouTubeWatch us on YouTube

General

  • Our response to COVID-19
  • Unauthorised data breach
  • Page Personnel Australia
  • Page Executive
  • Email disclaimer
  • Investor site
  • PageGroup corporate site
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Site terms
  • Site map
  • Feedback
  • Change country/region

Accreditations

ISO 9001 Certified

ISO27001 Accreditation

Jobs by function

  • Accounting & Finance
  • Banking & Financial Services
  • Construction
  • Digital
  • Engineering & Manufacturing
  • Healthcare
  • Hospitality & Leisure
  • Human Resources
  • Information Technology
  • Legal
  • Marketing
  • Mining, Energy & Resources
  • Procurement & Supply Chain
  • Property
  • Retail
  • Sales
 

Mobile Apps

Get it on Google Play

Our offices

  • Brisbane
  • Melbourne CBD
  • Melbourne South East
  • Perth
  • Sydney CBD
  • Sydney North Shore
  • Sydney West
  • Canberra

Contact

  • Feedback
  • Looking to hire?
  • Submit your CV

Michael Page is part of PageGroup. Michael Page is a trading name of Michael Page International (Australia) Pty Ltd (ABN 58 002 872 264). Registered Office: Level 32 Grosvenor Place, 225 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000
© PageGroup plc