Turkish Hürriyet redesigns the workforce
17 November 2015
Turkish Hürriyet redesigns the workforce
Thu, 19 Nov 2015 | By Sarah Marquet
Since March 2012, revenue from print media has declined 11% and is only forecast to fall further, she said following her recent talk at LinkedIn Talent Connect in London. Initially, she explains, the company tried to move people over from the print division by training them in the workings of digital media — search engine optimisation (SEO), for example. But many, of whom a number had devoted 15 to 20 years to Hürriyet, were unable to learn the skills and had to be let go.
Building the digital division has been equally hard. Unable to attract people to build the digital infrastructure via traditional and social media advertising, the company organised a 48-hour hackathon for coders to develop a talent pipeline, as well as targeting people from other companies.
Staffing the digital division is the current challenge as all hires must both speak Turkish and understand the local culture. They also need some understanding of digital media, though journalism skills will be taught. Also being hired are data scientists and analysts.
This challenge has seen Köseoğlu Okçu and her team track down Turkish talent all over the world — Silicon Valley, for example — as “they don’t exist in Turkey”.
In the coming year, the organisation will increase the headcount in its digital division by 200 and decrease print by 100. Hürriyet currently employs 1,500 people, with 600 new hires since 2012. The transformation is expected to be complete by 2018.
FROM DECEMBER 2015'S RECRUITER MAGAZINE
As demand grows for digital content, Turkish media conglomerate Hürriyet is “redesigning the workforce” to support its digital transformation, its HR director Tuba Köseoğlu Okçu tells Recruiter.Since March 2012, revenue from print media has declined 11% and is only forecast to fall further, she said following her recent talk at LinkedIn Talent Connect in London. Initially, she explains, the company tried to move people over from the print division by training them in the workings of digital media — search engine optimisation (SEO), for example. But many, of whom a number had devoted 15 to 20 years to Hürriyet, were unable to learn the skills and had to be let go.
Building the digital division has been equally hard. Unable to attract people to build the digital infrastructure via traditional and social media advertising, the company organised a 48-hour hackathon for coders to develop a talent pipeline, as well as targeting people from other companies.
Staffing the digital division is the current challenge as all hires must both speak Turkish and understand the local culture. They also need some understanding of digital media, though journalism skills will be taught. Also being hired are data scientists and analysts.
This challenge has seen Köseoğlu Okçu and her team track down Turkish talent all over the world — Silicon Valley, for example — as “they don’t exist in Turkey”.
In the coming year, the organisation will increase the headcount in its digital division by 200 and decrease print by 100. Hürriyet currently employs 1,500 people, with 600 new hires since 2012. The transformation is expected to be complete by 2018.
