Shortage of talent a big worry
KPMG report shows challenges
IT’S official: Australian bosses are not so fussed about where and when we work, they just worry about whether we have the talent for our jobs and where they will find enough workers to fill the gaps.
A report released on Wednesday reveals chief executives are fixated on recruiting, retaining and upskilling staff, while worry about remote and hybrid work has slipped down the scale and is increasingly seen as “business as usual”.
An impending economic slowdown in 2023 sees leaders also focused on revenue and operational issues, including around digital transformation and cyber security, according to the annual KPMG report, Keeping Us Up at Night, which surveyed 473 senior executives.
The report found 77 per cent of leaders said talent loomed as the biggest challenge in 2023, compared with 69 per cent last year. Remote working, which rated as the third-highest issue in 2022, is now down at No.16.
KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne said the talent shortage could be solved in part by an aggressive targeting of people in countries such as the US and the UK, which were in recession or heading for recession.
“Our economic forecast is that GDP growth (here) is going to slow down into the low 1 per cents by the end of this year, largely on the back of a pullback in consumption activity, due to the fact that spending patterns are going to come back as interest rates and monetary policy bites,” he said.
“But the thing that’s really different about the impending slowdown is that it’s coming on the back of the tightest labour market that Australia’s seen for about 50 years.”
Dr Rynne said that this created opportunities to hire talent overseas. “Those markets may be very lucrative hunting grounds for skilled migrants. We’re not expecting to see a blowout in unemployment (here).
“And with the rest of the world slowing down dramatically, it may be the opportune time for Australia to lift its aggressive targeting of skilled migrants in those jurisdictions that are going to slide more rapidly than Australia.”
Dr Rynne said household spending this year was likely to be more “considered” and business would be “in a much more competitive landscape in chasing that consumption dollar”.
KPMG chair Alison Kitchen said the report showed a return to “nuts and bolts” issues, such as staffing and the state of the economy, and “talent, digital and cyber” were seen as the most important challenges over the next three to five years.
Ms Kitchen said that anecdotally bosses wanted people back in the office more and there was still some frustration at hybrid work.
“Most CEOs, if you ask them, would still say my preference would be some greater level of return, but I can’t think of a single client who says we don’t recognise that there are now some things that are better done remotely,” she said.
“No one expects everyone to come back 100 per cent.”