Recently, e-commerce, digital and online have been the order of the day. Logical of course with the accelerated digitalization by Corona, even in industries that until now thought they didn’t need it. But there are far too few digital professionals to meet the demand. Here are some practical solutions with which we have helped our clients so far. Finding the possibility in the limitation

• • There is a huge demand for 2nd and 3rd stagers with digital experience, much greater than the supply. So we go out of our way to find and attract the right candidate for our clients. And if he/she is really untraceable we create opportunities that are sometimes interesting for other people as well.

• • Of course, the process begins with making sure the job opening is more interesting to the intended candidate than at the competitor. But the current employer also often pulls the candidate with a promotion or pay raise. Each. Put yourself well in the target audience and make sure your arguments match their needs.

• • If the content is right, the next challenge is to reach the right people. And to stand out among all the parties pulling for them. A personal message showing that you have really immersed yourself in the candidate, for example, works wonders. Attention is key. Find a playful way to seduce the candidate.

• As soon as there is interest, a rammed hiring process must be ready. That seems like a cop-out but still goes wrong very often in practice. As a client, realize that not only are you selecting during the interviews but so is the candidate. Therefore, make sure all the candidate’s questions are answered and he or she walks out the door with a wow feeling.

If it does take longer than desired, what are solutions?

• • Startups are less scarce and they are often interested in a digital position where they can master the craft. A potential who gets good guidance can quickly build skills. On several occasions we have placed a junior who was paired with an experienced interim digital professional so that the junior grows on the job. With intensive guidance at the beginning, ending in a limited number of coaching hours. This seems to work very well.

• • Alternatively, one of our interim online specialists can temporarily fill the position to allow more time to recruit the right permanent candidate.

• • It also often helps to take a good look at what competencies are really needed, in the short and long term. In an advisory meeting we sharpen this further together. Some things can be placed temporarily or permanently with an external agency, with colleagues or with an interim professional. So that the job profile contains fewer must haves, which increases the target group and thus the chances.

• Sometimes we take a senior digital professional from our network with us to a client if the profile is not quite sharp yet. This allows us to establish an even more attractive and sharper profile for recruitment.

‘Digital-free’ positions no longer exist Looking at existing teams, much can be done there too to strengthen digital skills. Fortunately, many experienced marketing, communications and sales professionals have done training in Digital marketing in recent years. And above all, they have gained practical experience. After all, digital skills are commodity by now. Still need to catch up? Then carefully examine who in the organization has knowledge and skills to brush up on others. And which external sources can help. Something as simple as a few days’ internship at your own online agency can make a big difference. Not everyone needs to be a specialist, but even in the “classic” commercial roles, practically every employee should be able to form an informed opinion about it and direct projects. “No shit Sherlock,” you might say. But digitalization is only accelerating, so continuous training remains important. Free consultation There is of course much more to say on this subject. We would be happy to advise you on optimizing the digital skills in your team. Both for recruiting new employees and strengthening your current team. We therefore offer a free one-hour strategy discussion. Let us know if we can help you with this.