During the past years the Russian media industry has seen spectacular growth. In fact, so rapidly has it grown that it has done so at a rate that outstripped the rate at which professionals working in this sector could improve their expertise and professionalism. Consequently, the sector has witnessed compromising by companies when it comes to solving HR issues, including an increase in cross-industrial career moves and salary ‘races to the top’ (i.e. compensation packages often became unreasonably high, far in excess of the skill level and professionalism of many of the market’s participants).
The recent economic turmoil has induced a period of introspection and consolidation in what had become a highly saturated and intensely competitive market. The industry, as could be expected from such a severe downturn, was one of the first to enter the acute phase of the current crisis. Different forecasts indicate that the media will contract by some 15 to 30 per cent. Whether or not this transpires to be the case, it is certain that the sector faces 2-3 very tough years.
Market players are currently trying to make sense of the situation. As a result, the importance of effective HR practices has increased exponentially as the imperative to restructure staffing policies compels firms to be highly selective and take great care in managing their existing talent and sourcing new staff. The current emphasis is on building professional management teams that can adapt business strategies to a crisis situation and yield results under the unfavorable circumstances.
Pynes & Moerner consultants help their clients in the media to meet the market requirements. They have completed search assignments for the leading media companies and holdings in the country, including, among others: The Walt Disney Company, Conde Nast, STS Media, Prof Media, Independent Media Sanoma Magazines, Zvezda Media Holding, DST Advisors, Media3, Expert Holding, Gameland, European Media Group, Yandex.
The practice focuses on searching top-managers with the following functions: Holding CEOs, Business Unit DIrectors, Commercial Directors, Business Development Directors, Advertising Directors, Content and Production Directors, Distribution Directors, PR Directors, Publishers and Editors in Chief, Media Business Unit Directors.
