LinkedIn has recently reported the roles that are growing in demand in 2023.

We’ve asked Oakstone’s Divisional Directors what the competition for these roles is really like and how crucial they are for our SaaS and FinTech clients:

 

Customer Success 

What they do: Customer success individuals work with customers of a product or service to ensure their experience is the best it can be and improve processes in a company in order to build up lasting customer relationships. 

Most common skills: Software as a Service (SaaS), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Customer Retention

Most common industries: Technology and Media, Professional Services, Financial Services 

Current gender distribution: 51% female; 49% male

Median years of prior experience: 4.1 

Remote job availability: Ranges from 11.4% to 31.2%

“Every SaaS company is heavily focussed on client retention. Losing clients equals lost revenue, a lack of advocates and eventually a damaged reputation.

The right investment needs to be placed on customer success in advance of renewal dates, with a clear focus on user adoption and value creation for the customer. New logos are going to be harder to secure in an economic downturn so preventing the loss of existing clients is essential. 

Right now, there are more CSMs on the market than there are jobs in that discipline. I suspect companies are looking at a regional resource pool and thinking they can cut CSM hires and save costs by asking existing CSMs to handle a larger client base. That is feasible in the short term, however in the medium to long term, companies are going to see the negative effects of cutting corners. Existing CSM teams will be spinning too many plates to ensure customer outcomes are being delivered and it will ultimately end in decreases in revenue and reference ability. 

CSM is about proactive client engagement and management, not reactive problem-solving. No SaaS company can grow if they keep losing their clients.”

- Tristan Heywood, Oakstone Divisional Director

Sales Development Representative (SDR)

What they do: A sales development representative deals with sales prospecting, identifying and developing sales leads. These can come through marketing, email, newsletter signups, individual referral or social media, as well as cold outreach.

Most common skills: Lead Generation, Cold Calling, Software as a Service (SaaS) 

Most common industries: Technology and Media, Professional Services, Financial Services

Current gender distribution: 32% female; 68% male 

Median years of prior experience: 2.4

Remote job availability: 25.5%

In the current climate, companies are looking for people who can drive new business opportunities. Sales Development Representatives are vital to the lifeblood of sales organisations, so it is no surprise the competition for great SDRs is high. Unfortunately, SDR turnover is also notoriously high and if someone is an excellent SDR, they’ll likely only be doing this role for 2-3 years maximum before moving into a closing role. This also means companies should be constantly seeking SDR talent to avoid having open headcounts so they can continuously drive new business.

— Andy Strong, Oakstone Divisional Director

Chief Growth Officer

What they do: Chief growth officers lead a company's growth strategy across various pillars, including customer size and revenue. 

Most common skills: Growth Strategies, Growth Hacking, Strategic Partnerships

Most common industries: Professional Services, Technology and Media, Financial Services 

Current gender distribution: 28% female, 72% male 

Median years of prior experience: 6.9 

Remote job availability: 27.9%

A Chief Growth Officer is typically an interesting blend between sales and marketing, having commercial responsibilities but rarely leading a team. Companies tend to start looking for a Chief Growth Officer if their engagement model allows them to sell digitally or if they have an open-source product which is strongly influenced by the brand. 

Competition for Chief Growth Officer’s is reasonably high due to their rarity, but they are essential to businesses that want to action their growth plans. Businesses that are digitally focused and have hybrid sales and marketing growth may find it easier to hire a CGO than businesses outside this sector.

Businesses need to think carefully about their primary route to market so they can find the right person to accelerate their growth. It may be better for someone looking for a step up that has done a hybrid role of marketing and sales, rather than trying to make a marketing OR revenue leader work in the role. From my experience in hiring CGOs, the usual path to hire is finding a revenue leader who can adapt and embrace different route to market strategies, whilst complimenting the leadership team

— Steve Farr, Oakstone International Divisional Director

Enterprise Account Manager

What they do: Enterprise account executives manage the business relationships with existing key customers of a company, often across a specific territory. They also generate new business for their firm. 

Most common skills: Software as a Service (SaaS), Enterprise Software, Solution Selling

Most common industries: Technology and Media, Professional Services, Education 

Current gender distribution: 19% female; 81% male 

Median years of prior experience: 6.2 

Remote job availability: 39.9%

Businesses are finding it increasingly harder to win new businesses and there are often greater rewards that are more easily accessed within existing portfolios. Enterprise account managers are important for businesses; however, they are particularly relevant in this climate. Luckily for SaaS businesses, it’s not overly difficult to source and place good quality people into these roles at present either

— Andy Strong, Oakstone International Divisional Director

Growth Marketing Manager

What they do: Growth marketing managers seek to drive revenue and growth at a company by planning marketing strategies, activating new and existing customers and adapting their strategy based on the customer response.

Most common skills: Growth Strategies, Google Analytics, Conversion Optimisation 

Most common industries: Technology and Media, Professional Services, Financial Services 

Current gender distribution: 51% female; 49% male 

Median years of prior experience: 4.8 

Remote job availability: 23.5%

A growth marketing manager is a crucial role within SaaS businesses. Without someone in this role who is skilled and experienced, businesses risk limiting the leads to new business account executives, impacting their brand awareness and pipeline funnel. The competition for Growth Marketing Managers is not currently high, however, with the continuous growth of software companies, demand is likely to increase.

— Andy Strong, Oakstone Divisional Director

Cloud Engineer

What they do: A cloud engineer is responsible for overseeing a company's cloud computing services, including design, planning, maintenance, and support. 

Most common skills: Terraform, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure

Most common industries: Professional Services, Technology and Media, Financial Services

Current gender distribution: 16% female; 84% male 

Median years of prior experience: 4.8 

Remote job availability: 30.9%

Cloud engineers continue to host systems, applications and data in cloud-hosted environments enabling the ability to access change and improvements from anywhere at any time. The competition for cloud engineers is high, and companies need to make sure they act fast when presented with great candidates to avoid losing them to the competition

— Dan Hammond Smith, Oakstone Divisional Director

Software Engineer

What they do: Software engineers design and code software, coordinating with hardware engineers, QA teams and others to test the software before release. 

Most common skills: Java, Python (Programming Language), React.js

Most common industries: Education, Professional Services, Technology and Media 

Current gender distribution: 40% female; 60% male 

Median years of prior experience: 2.8 

Remote job availability: 2.8%

Software engineers develop, evolve, and enhance existing systems and introduce new and current technologies into legacy tech stacks. The competition for experienced and skilled developers is high and it tends to be competitive, on both sides of the fence. Businesses need to move quickly for good candidates and candidates need to make sure they are on their ‘A game’ to differentiate from others.

— Dan Hammond Smith, Oakstone Divisional Director