Dylan was created 4 years ago as a reaction to the status quo. Created by entrepreneurs, not recruiters, who were tired of the usual recruitment hyperbole and wanted to offer clients a different proposition to the ‘same old, same old’.

Every industry needs new rock star talent and innovation to be the force behind the creative destruction of industry norms. Innovation can come from companies continually adapting but it so often comes from the new kids on the block who want to, and can, do things differently. Better.

This is why we are delighted to be sponsoring the Best Newcomer award at the next Marketing and Advertising Recruitment Awards. To give praise to, shine a light on and encourage the best newcomer to our industry.

We were nominated for a few awards too, not this one though of course, and we’re all smiles about making the finalists in 5 categories (including Best Recruitment Website for this site!).  That also includes Best Recruitment Consultant for our very own Ant and Recruitment Boss of the Year for Phil and Julian.

You can find out more about the MARA awards on their website http://www.ukmara.co.uk/

What is it?
Google+ launched on 28th June and is their 4th attempt at ‘cracking social’. Of course, social networks are popping up all over the place and whilst some quickly become obsolete (anyone remember Hi5, Ping!?) others, like this, are worth taking note of. Google+ took just two weeks to hit 10 million users globally, with many more trying to get invites to become beta users. Having failed with Wave and Buzz, this time, their focus is on a smarter, more intuitive interface with the ability to segment your friends, followers and any other group you want to create.

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The current market place for Digital is an interesting space. Over the last 12 months the demand for Digital has doubled. Integrated agencies have worked hard to develop their Digital offering, pure play Digital Agencies are expending their offerings to be 360 in their approach and Social Media, well, I think we all know that that is the new “cool kid” at School.

So how has this affected the job market? Well, it has created a skills shortage. Over the last 6 months we have 3 jobs for every one Planner, AD or Media expert. If you are looking for a role in PPC then it’s your lucky day as there is a huge demand for your skills.

So what does this mean for companies? It means they need to up-skill staff or hire in digital freelancers to stay with the pack. Training is often seen as time consuming and expensive so the freelance route is often taken as a quick fix and easy way out to filling the skills gap. The problem with being reliant on freelancers for your company’s digital skill set is that their knowledge leaves the building when they do.

Freelancers, to an extent, have a stranglehold over the market place. It’s in their interest to keep freelancing as they can earn more than their permanent counterparts and the Digital Skill Gap continues to flourish.

Some companies have responded to this by bringing in senior Digital suits to up-skill their staff whilst working on live projects. A famous International Marketing Agency has done just this. Alongside their Digital offering they have brought in a permanent Senior Digital suit to concentrate on educating the agency on Digital; getting the ‘off-liners’ talking to and thinking like the ‘on-liners’. The initial outlay of bringing in a permanent suit can be expensive but it is a brilliant and necessary long term investment.

Read more about my thoughts in this great article from Marketing “Filling the digital skills gap”

For an in depth guide to the the Agency Worker’s Regulations you’ll find a great guide from APSCo (Association of Professional Staffing Companies) here But first, to blow a few myths away Alison Treliving, partner at law firm Squire Sanders Hammonds, identifies five common misconceptions agencies have regarding the Agency Workers Regulations:

MYTH: Agency workers will have to point to a comparator in order to bring a claim.

Agency workers will not have to point to a permanent employee doing the same job as them to bring a claim. They will simply have to show that they would, for example, have been paid more if they had been recruited directly by the hirer to do the same job. Being able to point to a comparator could, however, be useful for agencies and hirers defending a claim to show deemed compliance.

MYTH: The regulations are not an issue for agency workers who are on a higher rate of pay than permanent staff.

Although such workers may not be able to bring any claim in respect of their rates of pay, they will still be entitled to holidays and rest breaks. If an agency worker can point to individual elements of pay that are less, for example a lower bonus, then he or she may be able to claim.

MYTH: From October 2011 we are going to be inundated with claims from agency workers.

We are unlikely to see claims coming before tribunals until at least mid mid-2012. Agency workers will not gain the right to equal treatment until they have completed the 12-week qualifying period, which ends around 25 December 2011.

MYTH: Agencies can simply take an agency worker off their books if they start being difficult about their rights under the regulations.

Agencies need to ensure that they do not treat agency workers less favourably because, for example, they make a request for information relating to their treatment or otherwise do something under the regulations. If found liable, an agency could be required to pay compensation to the agency worker.

MYTH: If there is a 12-month qualifying period to receive a bonus, agency workers will have to wait 15 months (i.e. 12 months plus the 12 week qualifying period) before they become eligible to such a bonus.

If there is a 12-month qualifying period to receive a bonus, this is counted from the start of the agency workers assignment. They do not have to wait 15 months.

This forms part of a wider article, Getting down to business on AWR, featured in the summer edition of Recruitment Matters.

I clearly don’t have Miles Young’s experience, nor have I been in the industry for 30 years and seen things come and go, however, I do have the fortunate position to be in the middle of the Digital revolution.

I genuinely believe there is a place for pure-play Digital Agencies. Just like there is a place for PR or SP Agencies. The issue isn’t the silo-thinking; it’s how the silo thinking is integrated into the bigger picture.

We need people who live and breathe Digital, people who are so passionate about the discipline that that’s all they know and/or care for. This is how we progress the discipline. We need agencies of excellence that do nothing else than Digital, offering amazing solutions and exciting Ideas.

What we need to be careful of is who is leading the Strategy. Digital is just another channel. Sometimes it’s the right one to use and sometimes not. There is a need for specialists and there is a need for pure-plays. Marketing is a big puzzle and Digital is an essential piece. Without pure-play Digital agency, we would be missing a huge trick.

Original quote from: http://dyln.it/bw2