Digital Design Careers: Employee Sentiments in 2024

Digital Design recruitment has been one of the leading specialisms here at Cranberry Panda for many years. Establishing a career in eCommerce is an exciting prospect, with so much potential.

Do digital design professionals agree with this sentiment? Our annual eCommerce salary survey amplifies the voices within the industry, offering a platform for professionals to express their opinions. Each year, we analyse the data to deliver exclusive insights from the various departments that keep an eCommerce business running. 

So, it's time to focus on all things digital design and creative! All the insights presented in this blog are from the digital design and creative respondents only!

Digital Design salaries - did they increase?

In our overall salary survey results, 61% saw an increase in their salary. When taking the data from the digital design respondents, 46% received a pay rise. This leaves 54% who said their salary stayed the same. 

To dig deeper, we also asked respondents to rank their salary satisfaction out of ten. The average score was a disappointing 4.7/10. This correlates with the fact that the majority of these respondents did not see any pay growth in the last 12 months. This is further proven when we asked respondents to rank their company's pay progression plan - digital design professionals ranked it 3/10. 

Despite promising growth in the eCommerce industry overall, this segment of our respondents are not seeing the benefits of this. Even though 46% did receive a pay rise, it indicates that the increases might not be meeting expectations or industry standards.

Our 2024 digital design & creative salary benchmarks have been published - check them out!

Digital Design team growth 

Have digital design teams grown? 53% of digital marketing respondents shared that their team has grown, while 27% said their team had shrunk. 

Reasons for growth included larger clients being brought on, rapid expansion and requiring new skills. On the other side, redundancies and restucturing were the main reason for reducing team size. However, could another reason be attributed to the salary dissatisfaction detailed above? 

Diversity in creative teams

We recently covered the 2024 diversity & inclusion insights from the eCommerce industry. So, let's see what digital design & creative professionals think about this topic! When asked to rank the diversity of their workforce, they shared an average score of 5.6/10. From our respondents overall, the average rank was 5.8/10. So, this is in line with the general sentiments of the whole industry.

It could definitely be higher. The lower score could be due to insufficient efforts in recruiting diverse talent, a lack of inclusive policies, or inadequate representation. Companies must ensure all departments are adhering to D&I policies.

Mental health and well-being within digital design roles

Are digital design professionals satisfied with their current roles and responsibilities? At the moment, 73% believe they perform best when working in a hybrid capacity. The remaining 27% are happiest when they are working fully remotely. With no one selecting 'full time in the office' it's a clear sign for employers to continue offering hybrid working to improve employee performance and happiness. The fact that no one selected 'full-time in the office' clearly indicates that employers should continue offering hybrid working arrangements to boost employee performance and happiness.

We also asked the respondents to rank their workload out of ten. The digital design segment gave an average score of 6/10, with 10 being a 'heavy workload'. This score is moderate, not quite leaning towards the heavier side. However, there still needs to be a balancing act. Individuals who did rank their workload higher shared that it is responsible for increased anxiety, frustration and decreasing career motivation.

Here to help with your digital design recruitment!

We are here to help you! Submit your CV if you would like to discuss new opportunities or submit a recruitment enquiry for hiring support. For full insights, click below to download our 2024 report!