Research shows 2 in 5 Aussie businesses looking to hire

Broader economic concerns are not deterring the hiring intentions of Aussie businesses, according to research released by HR tech group HiBob.

HiBob’s Growing Pains report sought to uncover the impact of the global economic downturn on HR professionals working in mid-sized organisations in Australia.

The report found two in five Aussie businesses are looking to grow employee headcount in the coming months.

Nearly half (48 per cent) of these businesses are looking to hire operations professionals, while just over a quarter (26 per cent) are looking to bolster customer support teams. Meanwhile, 21 per cent are looking to hire more people in IT.

Damien Andreasen, HiBob’s vice president for Asia Pacific and Japan, says the figures reflect the confidence mid-sized businesses have in navigating current uncertain economic pressures.

“Most people may assume that since the economic downturn, businesses have had to batten down the hatches to survive. And while that’s unfortunately the case for many, we’re seeing Australia’s mid-sized organisations fighting back, and looking to grow despite the economic situation in which they find themselves,” Mr Andreasen said.

“But hiring is only part of the challenge. Onboarding has become much more difficult in this environment of uncertainty, so engaging with new employees in a way that supports them from day one has become much more important. An effective onboarding process ensures that employees start adding value to the business quickly.”

According to SEEK’s July Employment Report, released last week, the number of job ads increased by 0.8 per cent. This is the first time they’ve increased, albeit slightly, since January’s report.

NSW recorded the highest increase in job ads among the states and territories, rising 3.6 per cent, followed by Queensland at 1.1 per cent, Northern Territory at 0.6 per cent and Tasmania at 0.2 per cent.

Demand for hospitality and tourism workers drove the overall increase in job ads, rising 12.4 per cent month-on-month. This was followed by trades and services job ads, which recorded a 2.2 per cent rise, accounting job ads (a 1.2 per cent rise), and manufacturing, transport and logistics jobs ads (a 1.1 per cent rise).

Despite good hiring intentions, research from Gartner found that 50 per cent of candidates backed out of a job offer after accepting it over the past year. This raises a question mark around what companies can be doing to obtain critical talent.

Being transparent with prospective employees is a strategy worth implementing when looking to secure this talent, according to Jamie Kohn, senior director at Gartner HR practice.

Many jobs don’t bother to include salaries, perhaps in the hopes of being able to negotiate. This may be a detriment to companies, however, as 68 per cent of candidates said they expect to see salaries in job advertisements.

Meanwhile, 64 per cent said they’d be more likely to apply for a job that has the salary listed, while 44 per cent said they’d decided against applying for a job due to compensation not being included.

Similarly, back-to-office mandates are deterring candidates. Gartner found that 75 per cent of workers whose job allows them to work remotely prefer to do so more than half of the time. In fact, 47 per cent of employees were looking for another job to increase their flexibility.

“When it comes to pay transparency and return to office mandates, organisations can either enhance or impede their talent attraction efforts based on the decisions they make,” Mr Kohn said.