Job seekers go easy even as market looks up



If you are looking for a job, recent surveys bring some more good news. Australia emerged from the global financial crisis faster, and in better shape, than anyone anticipated. The downturn lasted one quarter instead of several. Unemployment peaked at 5.75 per cent, nowhere near last year’s budget forecast of 8.5 per cent. And for the past six months or so, economists have been predicting sunnier skies ahead.

There’s more confidence among employers too. The Advantage Job Index showed that in March the growth in full-time jobs finally eclipsed the growth in part-time roles, a phenomenon that characterised the downturn.

Jobs grew in accounting administration and office support, advertising and media, building and construction, education, engineering, financial services, IT, sales and marketing and customer service.

Leading the way was growth in human resources roles, indicating that employers are investing in their people. The only sectors to suffer negative growth were legal, hospitality and tourism.

Two years ago, employers, looking at reasons to retain staff during the downturn, could only suggest that future skills shortages might be a problem. Now they’re far more emphatic that there’s an issue with attraction and retention. In April, Pricewaterhouse Coopers released its Private Business Barometer, a survey of chief executives and senior directors of 751 Australian private businesses turning over between $10 million and $100 million per year.

They found 57 per cent plan to hire full-time equivalents in the next six months, 41 per cent believe a shortage of talent to be a major constraint on hiring, and 89 per cent expect average wage rises of 7 per cent.

Global recruiter Randstad has just released its 2010 World of Work Report, a survey of 3000 HR professionals, business managers and chief executives across Asia Pacific. This research revealed that 23 per cent of respondents believe attracting top talent will be a major challenge for 2010, a large leap from the 13 per cent who believed this in 2009.

Stephen Shepherd, operations director at Randstad, says he has seen similar optimism among his clients. “We are seeing customers who are saying, fingers crossed the GFC is over and Australia continues to recover,” he says. “It’s too early to call the end, but optimism is definitely back on the right foot.”

Redundancies, restructures, ramped up workloads, frozen salaries and improved employer optimism is inspiring recipe for disgruntled workers to move on, or so you’d think. However a major exodus doesn’t seem to have happened just yet.

This puzzles Bob Olivier, director of global recruitment group Advantage. He’s been tracking advertisements for the past 10 years and has seen some strange inertia among jobseekers recently.

“The nature of candidate behaviour in the last three months has absolutely stalled me. Normally now there’s two cycles at play. People returning from the beach after Christmas with a new year’s resolution, then clients start to advertise,” he says. “This would suggest a bumper period for placements, but so far there are few signs.”

Olivier suggests skills shortages may be more about fewer active jobseekers, rather than not enough talent all up, as employers indicate. His discussions with others in the industry suggest they see similar patterns. “It might still happen, but people have not returned to the job market in droves.”

Olivier says gen Y, traditionally the generation with the itchiest feet, are not moving as much. “Maybe the downturn has shaken them to their core,” he says. “They realise that employment is a responsibility to be cherished, that they’re not owed a living. Perhaps they’ve seen their friends being fired.”

Randstad’s research supports Olivier’s perceptions that people are cautious about moving. They report a “relatively loyal” workforce, with 61 per cent of respondents not intending to move jobs within the next 12 months. The research shows employees are most likely to stay with organisations for two main reasons, a strong reputation and employer brand (19 per cent) and a competitive salary and remuneration package (15 per cent).

CareerOne research reports something similar. An annual survey of 1000 jobseekers indicates people are more considered about changing jobs, and when they do, they seek out things such as stable environments, good management and a team structure that supports them.

As part of the CareerOne study, researchers divided the market into seven segments based on what motivates people to change jobs. They’ve found notable shifts this past year in the needs of workers in different industries and occupations. One example is the finance industry, which previously was dominated by people focused on career progression and success. Now more finance workers appear to seek a supportive environment, indicating they now value their team more highly and require more support.

So what of the future? Are employees actually more considered about moving on and cautious about what they move to? Are employers one step ahead in thinking that their employees will be more active in the future? Shepherd suggests skills shortages are not too far away, “We’re only a few unemployment percentage points away from people talking about it more radically.”

However, those employers anticipating they’ll just need to increase wages to attract and retain talent may need to rethink their understanding.

Research from Private Business Barometer says its respondents still use remuneration as their top competitive tool. The Randstad researchers ask whether employers are actually in the dark when they report their employees’ motivations. They found only 52 per cent of employers conduct regular employee satisfaction surveys and just 17 per cent have a senior manager dedicated to measuring and maximising workplace engagement.

Article from The Australian, May, 2010.