“Australia and New Zealand are not outliers”
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Australia and New Zealand’s Peak Body for Recruitment, Consulting and Staffing (RCSA) says data released by the World Employment Confederation (WEC) revealing a global move towards flexible working models, proves we are in line with the rest of the globe.
In a survey of 715 senior executives from across the world, 92% of respondents said they’ll need a more flexible workforce in the next two years to fill labour market gaps, keep up with developments and shield permanent employees from volatile workload shifts. 80% of Australian and 100% of New Zealand executives surveyed agreed.
The data was gathered by the WEC to support its ground-breaking The Work We Want campaign which was launched in Australia today by RCSA. The study was commissioned to shed light on the scale of the challenges relating to how people work and how organisations manage talent.
The release of the data aligns with what recruitment and staffing professionals are seeing on the ground in Australia and New Zealand. Post Covid, and with the emergence of AI and technologies supporting hybrid and remote working models, the desire for flexibility in the workplace has increased. RCSA CEO, Charles Cameron says the campaign data proves that Australia and New Zealand are not an anomaly when it comes to workforce trends.
“We are not outliers. The data in the WEC reports highlights we are facing the same challenges experienced on a global scale and that the way people want to work and the way employers want to hire has fundamentally shifted worldwide. It’s time for governments to recognise this shift by using policy to support these changing employment dynamics in today’s world of work,” says Charles.
The first of three waves of data focuses on talent planning in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It looks specifically at how employers are increasing flexibility to meet challenges and opportunities.
Most organisations surveyed reported they are struggling with big skills gaps in key areas, particularly in digital expertise.
- 81% of senior executives say AI and tech disruptions require them to radically rethink skills and resources across large areas of the workforce.
- 88% of respondents also admit they plan to increase their use of agency workers in response to the market dynamics.
“12 of the 16 Australian, and 9 from 10 New Zealand companies surveyed say they are looking to increase their engagement with agency workers. The data highlights how vital agency workers have become in today’s employment and economic landscape, says Cameron.
“In Australia, New Zealand and across the globe, businesses are looking towards that flexible workforce to plug holes and employees are enjoying the freedom of casual work. 75% of Australian and 70% of New Zealand senior executives surveyed by the WEC say employees now value flexibility around where or when they work as much as factors like compensation.”
The second wave of data released looks at “The Missing Workforce” and how businesses are filling talent gaps. Respondents say that a major part of the strategy to redress the imbalance between labour market supply and demand is by supporting talent from underemployed sectors of the workforce, such as people who are long-term unemployed, the disabled, people with criminal records, and people from ethnic minorities.
“Our members across Australia and New Zealand are very active in that department, says Cameron.
“It once again shows that we are on the same page as the rest of the world. We are on the precipice of a global change in how the world views work, it’s great to see that our trajectory is the same.”
Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of the WEC “The Work We Want” campaign is available to view now, with the third and final wave of research to be released soon.
You can explore the campaign at the link below
