|
Geelong Business News
Get engaged
February, 2007
"Employers are feeling the pinch as unemployment in Australia hits record lows, according to the results of an Employment Trends Survey released by Select Australasia. Over a third of those surveyed rated retaining their existing staff as their biggest human capital challenge, with close to a third rating sourcing new talent as their greatest test for 2006.The inaugural 2006/07 Select Australasia Employment Trends Survey captures insights into a range of issues in a challenging operating environment for employers, including approaches to attracting and retaining staff, recruitment methodologies, and the importance of workplace diversity.It suggests that skills shortages are being felt most acutely in the area of experienced and professional workers, or those in the $50k-$80k salary range, followed by support and administration staff. Competition for talent is likely to continue, with over a quarter of those surveyed indicating that they will be looking to increase head counts over the next 12 months.An independent research study published by leading Melbourne based recruitment and Human Resource Consulting firm, 1st Executive, suggests similar problems. It suggests that employee engagement rather than industrial relations legislation is the biggest people issue facing employers. The 1st Executive study on "Australians' Attitudes to Work - The Great Divide", presents some alarming findings for managers and business owners who are already facing a battle to retain their best people. "The study reveals that most employers are not demonstrating the skills, the systems and the will they need to keep their best people. This will intensify the problem of skills shortages for many employers," said Andrew Thoseby of 1st Executive.The most confronting statistic for employers in the study is that almost 90% of employers and managers believe that around 80% of their workforce will be stable for the next two years while 74% of employees said they would change jobs in that time. Over 60% of employees believe their career paths would require them to leave their current employer. "These statistics prove that employees who care about their careers are going to make choices about where they work, in what kind of environment they work and for whom they work" continued Thoseby, "their own choices are making the negative publicity around Work Choices irrelevant, they will vote with their feet" he concluded.Other major findings of the report reveal:
- Job diversity does not have a major impact on employee retention
- Challenge in a job is a significant factor in employee retention
- Almost 50% of new hires experience a failure from management to provide clear direction within days of commencing a new role.
- 89% of managers say that they conduct performance appraisals at least every twelve months yet 49% of employees have not been appraised in the 12 months."
|
