Monday Morning Impact – March 18
Gartner: 87% of Marketers Are Concerned About Technology Replacing Jobs
Many people in marketing departments are confident in their abilities, and yet concerned about the longevity of their jobs – especially as capabilities like artificial intelligence gather momentum. A Gartner survey of 627 marketers between August and September of 2023 found that 89% of marketers are concerned about layoffs at their company. While the majority of marketers are optimistic about their career progression and skill preparedness, 55% report experiencing mismatched job expectations in their current roles. This is compounded by uncertainty and undue burden from marketing technology: 61% of marketers reveal they have encountered a technology and/or process change in the past 12 months. In addition, marketers also cite instability in leadership as a factor, with 20% having experienced a recent change in senior marketing leadership.
“These findings should be a red flag for CMOs, as high environmental uncertainty, mismatched role expectations and martech burden can lead to burnout as well as increased attrition,” said Iliyana Hadjistoyanova, Director, Advisory in the Gartner Marketing Practice. “CMOs must refocus their talent strategy and prioritize development with a strong focus on upskilling and change management to ensure their function is prepared in the face of ongoing disruption.”
Despite the acceleration of GenAI, which 47% of marketers are already using, the majority expressed concern about technology replacing jobs in their industry. In fact, a Gartner survey of 822 business executives between September and November of 2023 revealed that 26% of marketing leaders plan headcount reductions as a result of GenAI in 2024.
“When employee fears go unchecked, an environment of increased uncertainty will insufficiently prepare marketers for a successful future,” said Hadjistoyanova. “By developing robust talent plans that incorporate the use of GenAI and work to increase skill preparedness, CMOs can mitigate its impacts on employees’ wellbeing, leading to overall engagement and retention. These actionable steps must address role transition and fit-for-purpose employee learning, as well as cover technology and process changes related to GenAI adoption.”
Gartner clients can learn more in the report: “AI Opportunity Amid Talent Turmoil: 2023 Marketing Talent Survey.”
Channel Impact®
The data underscore companies’ tremendous opportunities associated with generative AI and martech, but leaders need to be cognizant of employee attitudes and fears in order to preserve employee security and stable business processes.
CompTIA: Add AI Fluency to the List of Desired Digital Skills
Active job seekers are aware of the growing impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the workforce and are adjusting their job search efforts accordingly, according to a new report from CompTIA, an IT trade association based in suburban Chicago.
CompTIA’s “Job Seeker Trends” report for January 2024 shows the market remains active, with 27% of respondents – about 44 million individuals – pursuing a new job or career change during the past three months. This includes people currently employed and those actively looking for work.
Two-thirds of active job seekers report being aware of discussions around AI and its potential impact on the workforce. All age groups are using or plan to use AI-enabled career tools to help with their job search. Millennials are most likely and Baby Boomers least likely to do so.
Understanding the fundamentals of AI are cited by 34% of job seekers as an important digital skill needed in today’s workforce. A net 90% of job seekers acknowledge the importance of digital skills generally regardless of industry or occupation category.
“It’s encouraging to see the vast majority of workers recognize the need for continuous learning and building their digital fluency in AI and other areas,” said Hannah Johnson, senior vice president, tech talent programs at CompTIA. “An investment in upskilling will serve them well whether they choose to stay in their current field or seek a fresh start in tech or another field.”
The time commitment required to look for a job remains the top challenge in pursuing a new opportunity, cited by 47% of job seekers, an increase of 4 percentage points since June 2023. Asked how they respond to lack of success in their job search, 49% of respondents said they will carry on and make the best of their current situation, and 28% will redouble efforts to pursue internal advancement opportunities with their current employer.
CompTIA’s “Job Seeker Trends” is based on an online survey of 1,001 individuals conducted in January 2024. Data was weighted to approximate a target sample of U.S. adults based on gender, education, age, race, and region.
Channel Impact®
Channel partners must deal with a variety of effects impacting the workforce, ranging from widespread layoffs to technological advances that many workers see as threats to their job stability.
Pure Storage Updates Partner Program for the Subscription Economy
Pure Storage, a Santa Clara, California-based company focused on data storage technologies and services, has announced updates to its partner program intended to help partners adapt to changing models in the technology field. According to the company, customers are opting to pay rates over time as they react to the impact of new technology adoption on their infrastructure needs. Subscription services now account for nearly half of Pure Storage’s revenue.
The program transformation will focus on greater automation, enhanced tools, and a new pricing model to provide partners with a simple MSRP and programmatic discounting based on partner type, tier, and deal registrations. New updates to the company’s existing quote configuration, pricing model, and tools are intended to help partners leverage automation to conduct independent configurations and quotes, as well as backend electronic data exchange (EDI) integration for order placement.
Pure Storage will also be making updates to its Salesforce reporting experience, Partner dashboard, and recruiting & onboarding tools, providing partners with a more cohesive experience across the platform. In addition, the new Partner intelligence dashboard provides visibility into all of the partner’s engagements, as well as guided proactive recommendations on upgrade/upsell/renewal opportunities.
“As a service-led company, we are proud of our industry-leading subscription services and our partner-led approach,” said Global Partner Sales VP Wendy Stusrud. “With this next evolution, we aim to empower our partners to drive more value and impact in the as-a-Service economy as they meet the dynamic global technology needs of today.”
Channel Impact®
The updates are expected to strengthen partner empowerment, scale, and preference.
Stay in the Know
Keep tabs on what’s happening in the channel and the impact it will have on the partner community by subscribing to Channel Impact communications.
Recent News
Search Buzz
Buzz Categories
