Outdoor Industry Growth: Catchup or Rebound?
As early as November 2020, I was sounding the alarm that not only was the pandemic not impacting the outdoor industry like it was so many others, but that the industry should be positioning itself for growth when it comes to hiring. If only I knew then how right I was. At the time, Highline’s own research seemed to point towards executive candidates becoming more emboldened to explore new opportunities—and why not? If there’s one pastime everyone could count on during social distancing, it was outdoor recreation.
Fast forward to May 2021, and the industry is asking itself if the recent growth has been just a game of catchup—consumers making up for pent-up demand—or if it signaled a true rebound. If a recent article from Barron’s is to be believed, it’s a true rebound… And much more. Fitness tracking apps saw as much as a 40% increase in activity in 2020 compared to 2019. Running brand Brooks estimates that it added 2 million new customers to its base. Cycling sales were up 75%, with over $1 billion in sales.
No matter where you look in the outdoor industry, the getting is good.
As if we needed more evidence to that fact, all someone needs to do is turn to outdoor industry job boards and recruiting websites to see just how many positions are open and in need of filling. While we don’t believe any business is going to find the kind of quality executive talent it needs on a job board, we commonly review the boards to put together what we call the Highline Hiring Index. It’s our proprietary barometer for measuring the competitive landscape for executive hiring in the industry, and it tells us that things are right back where they were two years ago.
If you’ve been following Highline for some time now, you might remember us talking at length about the outdoor hiring gator jaw that was making it a challenge for outdoor hiring managers to actually fill roles right up to the pandemic. On a simple line chart comparing open positions to available talent, the lines opened wide like a hungry gator’s jaw. And as unintuitive as it might feel in 2021 to be thinking about a tight hiring market, things are no easier for hiring managers today than they were before any of us had ever heard of COVID-19.
That’s not to say that talent isn’t ready to make moves again. Despite the sustained growth the outdoor industry saw throughout 2020, it was simply too precarious of a time for anyone to want to think about making a move. Vaccines weren’t available yet. People were keeping socially distant, so travel was essentially nonexistent. Today, however, vaccination rates are going up, and reports like the one from Barron’s have executive talent back on track to consider their next career move.
So, what does that mean for outdoor brands? It means there has literally never been a time in history when the concept of employer brand has been more important than it is today. If your organization hasn’t been acting like they need to pull out all the stops to impress candidates, it’s time to change that. If you’re ready to start, I can recommend three key steps to take right now:
- Update Compensation Benchmarks: However recently you’ve established benchmarks for the particular positions you need to fill, it’s a good idea to do it again before moving forward. Certain skills like digital marketing or anything to do with growing a direct to consumer business have seen explosive growth in the last 15 months. That means competitive compensation structures can and do change dramatically even in a short period of time.
- Embrace Work Arrangements: For many executive positions, making a career move doesn’t necessarily have to mean making a physical move. Every business has been forced to reckon with establishing remote work tech and procedures, and if they’re working, embrace them as a way to reduce friction in the hiring process.
- Customize Your Hiring Process: Along those lines, it’s important to realize that all of the in-person meetings and travel around the interview process might need to change. If you do plan to fly in candidates, make sure you’re providing a safe environment, and roll out the red carpet. Cater in meals, provide reliable and clean transportation, and cut back on the back-and-forth to the office.
At this point, all three of those considerations might be a foregone conclusion for your organization, and that’s a good thing. My overriding point is this: Taking advantage of this unprecedented growth opportunity means hiring the right people, and that’s maybe harder today than it’s ever been.
In other words: Don’t leave anything to chance.
SCHEDULE A 20-MINUTE PHONE VISIT
———–
About the Author: Tony O’Neill is the Founder and President of Highline Outdoor Group — the purpose-driven executive search firm for forward- thinking outdoor industry and sporting goods companies and brands.