As we look back at the sports industry over the last year, there have been a number of shifting trends when it comes to the hiring of new applicants breaking into the business, as well as the upward mobility of executives working their way into the C-Suite. Like the general business world, the job market in sports has seen marked improvement in the number and quality of executive positions as well as the number of available options for candidates.
For years, the power in the hiring process rested with the employer due to economic circumstances; however, we are now seeing a dramatic shift in searches towards candidate-driven processes. While the sports industry is as competitive as ever, more so now than in the recent past, candidates have greater mobility, better internal promotion ability and countless employer options, as many organizations in the industry are expanding workforces at a higher rate.
While the number of professional sports teams has stayed largely constant over time, the addition of jobs created by the growth of technology - from system engineering, to analytics and social media - has opened up thousands of additional positions that did not exist a decade ago. Moreover, the influx of billions in television and sponsorship dollars, coupled with increasing private investment capital into the business, has allowed for the proliferation of sports marketing, management and consulting agencies with deep coffers. Capturing and maintaining the interest of top talent is more difficult now than possibly ever before. Compounding this notion is the fact that retaining top talent for the reasons above is equally difficult.
What steps should an employer be ready to take to ensure the hiring of top talent? Primarily, the speed of hiring needs to be a priority. While it’s – of course – important to engage as many internal partners as possible and vet numerous candidates to determine the right fit culturally, it is also imperative that employers be ready to truncate a “normal” process to ensure they don’t miss out on top options. Especially while working with a search firm, employers need to trust in the extensive outbound recruiting and vetting process and be ready to move on a candidate that fills their needs.
This is particularly important with the tendency for hiring and firings to be more cyclical in sports than other industries. While many are familiar with the “coaching carousel” that occurs at the end of college football and basketball seasons, in reality, there are similar carousels for sales, marketing and any number of different verticals that occur once sports seasons end. Thus candidates with strong credentials often become hot commodities and are wooed by multiple organizations, furthering the importance for management to prepare for a quick hiring process before the need to fill a role actually arises.
Historically, organizations in the industry could often low ball candidates to take executive positions with the allure of working in sports, but a strong job market has caused companies to offer significant compensation packages that are competitive with comparable positions outside the industry. Even at the entry and mid-levels, where sports industry salaries have been notoriously low, organizations have been forced to increase pools and create incentives to attract talent that have realized they can make substantially more money outside the industry, particularly in sales, marketing and analytics roles.
Thus, when a top candidate is identified by an organization, the extension of an aggressive, attractive offer is more paramount than ever. This is not the time to try to get the “best deal possible” for the company; rather, the focus should be on showing the candidate how much you value their experience and want them to join the team.
Of course, when it comes to candidates, this is the best market in years to find growth in a career path. It is important to be open-minded and yet selective about what you pursue. Be conscious of how small the sports industry is, and be cognizant not to hurt current or future relationships by “kicking tires” on every position available. Be sure to gather as much information as possible – through colleagues, networking contacts, recruiters and research – to ensure a position is worth pursuing, and would take you in the direction you want your career to progress.
Based on what we’ve seen in the last year, this is an incredibly exciting time for both employers and candidates. With new ventures, business lines, technology and market engagement needs emerging in all sectors, the sports industry is seeing dynamic growth and abundant opportunity for exceptional pairings of employees and employers. With candidates approaching these processes in a fully-engaged manner and employers focused on quicker candidate selection, the industry is primed to continue the extensive growth we’ve seen in 2015.
This article was co-authored by Diana Busino, Vice President of Executive Recruiting at Turnkey Search.
Jason Belzer, Esq. is Founder of GAME, Inc. and a Professor of Organizational Behavior and Sports Law at Rutgers University. Follow him on Twitter @JasonBelzer.
