#PandaPounds: Progression in Ecommerce - Part 1

“A year in a job is…”

Is it a long time? Enough time to still progress? Or is it still very much the beginning of a great opportunity? We asked our salary survey respondents this very question and it got us thinking. Just how important is progression in ecommerce and what does it mean within the industry?

We hear it all the time: “Ecommerce never sleeps!” Does this mean that fast paced ecommerce goes hand in hand with fast paced career progression? Are there more avenues to choose from? Does it change what people consider when they are choosing a new role? So many questions, but we are going to tackle them with the help of our trusted Salary Survey report. 

Is one year in a job really a long time?

So, let’s begin with the question we asked at the beginning. “A year in a job is…”

“One year is a very long time.” 5% of our respondents believe one year to be a very long time…interesting.

“It isn’t a long time if there is still room to progress.” This was the most popular response, with 59% of our respondents sharing the sentiment. What’s interesting is that the second half of the response…”if there is room to progress.” Do people expect a big leap forward after one year within a company? One year in a new role is quite the learning curve, no matter how long one has been in their career. Progression is always there to grasp, but it’s not always in the form of a new job title or a pay rise.

“It’s just the beginning!” 33% of our respondents believe there is still much to be taken from a role after just one year. Perhaps this is the time to think about next steps; one year has been completed and now it’s about how the next year can really develop a person’s career.

The remaining 3% of our respondents had differing views on the matter. Some agree that it is a perfect chance to establish your role and then start to consider next steps within that role. One respondent expressed the sentiment that the first year is absolutely vital to make your mark. It seems that our respondents feel that while progression is important, staying within a role will be less of a hindrance than jumping from role to role in the quest to progress.

However, one response really stood out. “A lack of leadership, benefits and uncompetitive salaries mean junior to mid-levels are highly susceptible to furthering their careers elsewhere.” So that poses the question: are companies promising progression but failing to deliver? This swiftly takes us to looking at how many ecommerce professionals left their roles because of the lack of progression opportunities – and what they are looking for in the future.  

Is progression important when finding a new ecommerce role?

As you can see, 41% of our respondents left their last role as it was time for a change. A further 26% left their previous role because their needs were not being met. These needs refer to what each respondent listed as important or essential to a role, especially when they are looking for a new opportunity.

Of the 26% who specified their needs were not met in their previous role, all of the respondents listed opportunity to progress as important or essential. How many respondents thought this overall?

312 of our respondents listed opportunity to progress as important or essential when looking for a new role. Quite a significant number, right? Well you’ll be surprised to hear that ‘opportunity to progress’ was actually the sixth most popular aspect of a role, a decrease from our 2015 survey report.

Despite other aspects of a role being considered more important to our respondents, such as ‘Feeling valued and respected’ or ‘Salary’, it is still quite a big response in favour of career progression. 

This blog shall progress in part 2…

That’s right, time for a breather. There is still a lot to get through in our focus on Ecommerce and career progression, so here’s a taster of what’s coming up…

• Is personal branding prioritised for career progression?
• Is there progression on the horizon for ecommerce as a whole? We look at our respondent’s predictions for their company growth and the ecommerce job market.
• How long have our respondents been in their current roles, and what are their expectations?

Make sure you follow all exclusive insights on the #PandaPounds blog page. As well as the follow up to this blog, there will be plenty of new behind the scenes ecommerce news. If you still haven’t read the full report, download your free copy here!

You can now read part 2 of our Ecommerce and progression feature here!