Tv-bay industry recruitment special

The last 12 months have proved to be challenging times for businesses in our industry and there has been mixed reactions on the best way to tackle the issues facing companies. Having been a part of the most difficult economic climate within the last decade a number of businesses are simply focussing on survival, staying afloat and consolidation. Having said that, other companies believe that to stay competitive in their market they must maintain their workforce whilst still looking to attract and add new talent. Although, this bold move of ongoing talent attraction by companies has clearly been at a significantly reduced rate to the previous growth enjoyed by businesses prior to the recession.
There is no hiding from the fact that the broadcast, media and creative industries as a whole have suffered. From the early signs of smaller post houses and production companies making cuts back in September of last year through to more significant moves by larger businesses proposing redundancies this year such as Autodesk, ITV and Quantel there has been a number of stories which have caught our eyes in the press. So how does this affect our business of recruitment within the industry?
Initially there were clear signs of companies becoming more cautious of investment in recruitment. Looking at the market in general we noticed less vacancies being signed off and given funding as senior-management sought to understand just how severely the situation with the economy would affect each individual business.
Having well established business relationships with a variety of companies has always served Christy Media well. We understand that being an efficient source for our clients and developing a professional relationship with each is important. Even with the well publicised down-turn in recruitment over recent months Christy Media still enjoyed one of our most successful months of business in January of this year which included a number of senior-level appointments. A sign that some companies were prepared to invest in new leadership and give the business new influence in a very competitive market place, in order to make the best of a challenging situation.
In addition to our regular business and key relationships we have continued to grow our business across areas such as IPTV, VOD and streaming media. Our team has seen new appointments including Andy Wilkinson, Sales Executive and Alan Mercer Sales Manager, France & Europe. Our business has also enjoyed regional growth with the launch of a Paris office and regular visits to the Middle East to address our clients’ needs in-country.
Deborah Wise, Business Delivery Manager for Christy Media, works on ensuring our clients requirements are managed and the relationships with key accounts are developed. With her experience in this area Wise adds, “Businesses need to regularly consider their staffing levels and the productivity of their workforce. Internal promotion and taking on new talent keeps the business in competitive shape and sets the standard for future growth.”
Having recently attended a number of industry exhibitions and held discussions with clients we have definitely noticed a more positive outlook on the economic situation. There definitely appears to be more confidence with more companies looking to recruit and an increased number of vacancies we are currently working on.
In October of last year Christy Media launched a new service, broadcastgraduate.com, an online network to support graduate talent entering the broadcast, media and creative industries. Often businesses look to obtain staff with experience in the industry With the increasing number of students taking up degrees within a variety of disciplines related to film, television, production, engineering, design and more the online network has grown significantly over the past 12 months. With over 2500 graduates registered and having partnered with over 50 businesses the aim of the site is to become a useful industry resource for finding the best new graduate talent available.
From the start of 2010 broadcastgraduate will be a providing a regular contribution to TV-Bay including vacancies available and interviews with graduates and companies.