eGaming recruitment: going short in the long term

UNLIKE IN MANY SECTORS, gaming recruitment in 2009 was steady and healthy – and looks to continue that way throughout 2010.

Yet many changes are presenting themselves, including rapidly changing regulatory markets, the emergence of new products and the relocation of many businesses off-shore.

As a young sector that has only just recently started showing signs of maturity, a preference for permanent hiring has long been the trend, which is different to many other, more established sectors such as IT and Telecoms. For illustration, 88% of recruitment placements were made on a consultant or temporary basis across the UK as a whole in 2008-09.

Over recent months, however, we have seen a noticeable increase in demand for consultant requirements in egaming, coupled with a handful of our most experienced and recognised candidates turning their head to look for short term employment opportunities.

Although a maturing sector has certainly played a part in this, a lack of certainty in the market has also made a major contribution to a steady increase in short term appointments, with operators and, therefore, service providers unwilling or unable to commit to long term staffing strategies.

There are key roles, especially in the scratch card and skill games arenas, where a talent gap exists and a more short term strategy may need to be considered.

The 2010 strategy for many operators is to focus on core revenue generating products, reduce marketing spend and seek smart ways to do business efficiently. This has resulted in several major operators relocating offshore to minimise tax burdens. This strategy in itself has brought its own challenges and staffing locally is proving tough, which in turn has lead to the creation of very attractive packages to get talent into these locations.

In 2010, I see a gradual move into a consultant-driven market as a result of the changing landscape.

This will evidently have benefits for both sides, as candidates will be able to charge higher daily rates to clients to compensate for the lack of job security in short term appointments, while giving the clients greater flexibility to pursue a short term approach to get results without committing to long term overheads.

As the industry evolves and becomes increasingly results and technology driven, the need to harness new media such as social networking sites is also becoming key, and individuals who have expertise in these or solid skills in key areas such as acquisition and CRM will be increasingly valuable.

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