Kantar’s report reveals that media leaders focus on AI talent recruitment, innovation through internal training and external hiring to adapt to industry changes.
The growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the media industry has drastically changed the skills that industry leaders are looking for. According to a recent report from Kantar, 72% of media leaders say they have to reshape their organizations’ talent and skills to keep up with the changing media landscape. This leads to changes in recruitment practices, with 66% of those surveyed saying they feel it’s important to recruit outside the media industry to meet these changing needs.
“There was an acknowledgment… telling us that they think they need to substantially reshape skills in their organization,” said Gary Brown, head of brand communications at Kantar.
The study by Kantar Media evaluated results from 1,110 respondents across 53 markets. All respondents are involved in the media industry and have some data involvement.
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Skills, updated
Despite the buzz, AI ranks fairly low as a desired skill among media industry professionals, with 27% of respondents saying it is a very important skill. According to the study, this is in sharp contrast to communications and storytelling skills, which 79% rank as very important — more than any other skill.
However, this doesn’t tell the whole story. While the demand for AI talent remains fairly low, demand will likely continue to grow. Nearly 70% of respondents predict AI skills will be very important within the next three years. Similar tech-based skills, such as handling large data sets and data science skills, are expected to follow a similar trajectory.
“In terms of which of the skills that are going to increase in importance over the next three years? That’s where you see that skills gap,” said Brown.
While AI skills are expected to be a bonus for incoming recruits, many organizations are looking internally for AI development. Over a quarter (26%) of respondents state they would like to grow skills in-house, while an additional 14% would prefer to recruit talent in-house. According to the report, only 23% of respondents would prefer to source AI talent externally. However, 32% of respondents preferred a mix of approaches.
Industry shakeup
The media industry seems desperate for change, with 90% of respondents saying they want to recruit people who will challenge companies’ practices. According to the report, 66% feel it is important to recruit talent from outside the media industry.
The shifting media landscape
- 90% of industry leaders want to hire people who will challenge what they are doing
- 66% want to hire outside of the media industry
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Ultimately, findings support an industry desire for change, with a clear focus on diversifying and updating talent pools. Developing this talent goes beyond recruitment, with many respondents indicating plans for in-house training. Of the organizations planning to develop talent in-house, 63% of respondents plan on doing so through training. This is followed by eLearning, with 39% of respondents planning on implementing this method.
“There’s no consensus out there as to what organizations should be doing,” said Brown. “We see this as being very much a conversation starter, right? We’re trying to help diagnose the problems, but we’re not coming up with all the solutions because they will vary depending on who you’re talking to.”
