Employees experiencing ‘brain drain’ across Aussie workplaces  

A recent report has highlighted that the intertwinement of skills shortages and poor knowledge sharing creates a “brain drain” throughout Aussie workplaces.

SafetyCulture has recently released a report highlighting the challenging period of change Australia’s frontline industries face. According to the report, a combination of skills shortages and poor knowledge sharing has created a “brain drain” that is affecting workers across various Aussie organisations.

As skills are taught throughout organisations, knowledge that is of the utmost value often comes from experience and mentorship. However, as the report highlighted, 62 per cent of Australian workers believe there will be a “brain drain” (i.e. loss of skilled and experienced workers) in their industry in the future – the highest of all regions surveyed.

For example, 62 per cent of Aussie workers believe that knowledge sharing (i.e. the sharing of knowledge that helps someone perform their role, deepen their skills or upskill) is ineffective in their organisation.

Combine that with the worrying numbers around skills shortages, which 60 per cent are fearful of, with 22 per cent reporting that these shortages already present problems and 41 per cent believing issues will present within the next three years.

Alongside this, the report also explained that IT systems are proving to be a direct barrier towards workplace productivity for frontline workers.

The data showed that, although workers fear the impact of new technologies such as AI could have on their future work, their frustrations reside with their current tools and IT systems.

Two-thirds (62 per cent) are not fully satisfied with these tools and systems. Of these, more than one-third (37 per cent) are dissatisfied with outdated systems, one-third (33 per cent) say they have too many tools and IT systems, and 30 per cent say their tools and IT are unfit for purpose.

According to the report, these ineffective tools and IT systems not only frustrate workers but also reduce productivity by slowing processes and causing unnecessary downtime.

Sam Byrnes, chief product officer at SafetyCulture, said: “Workers are only as effective as their tools. That’s why we’ve gathered insights from the frontline at every step of developing the SafetyCulture platform, helping us build an accessible, mobile-first platform that, above all else, meets workers’ true needs.

“These tools give onsite teams the knowledge, tools, and confidence to work safely, meet higher standards, and improve every day. It’s the power of improvement in their hands.”