Page 15 - ADNews magazine March-April 2022

Agenda
www.adnews.com.au |
March - April 2022 15
brand, delivering positive employee (or human) experiences and telling your story in credible and relatable ways.
“At the moment there is much confusion around what is important: are we in it together? Is it remote or hybrid or other? Are we developing our people or our tech (AI)?
“One of the claims organisations are making is about prioritising employee wellbeing or wellness and championing diversity. My challenge is – prove it. How are you fostering a genuine sense of team, personal value, connection? How much time do you spend talking and listening to your colleagues? Are you asking how people want to work or mandat- ing three days in the office? What rituals have you put in place to forge a sense of team in the last 22 months?
“Organisations who want to endure – this pandemic, a great resig- nation or other – need to authenti- cally connect with their people, cre- ating a sense of shared purpose, belonging and positivity.”
Pauly Grant at Publicis believes there are two factors contributing to the talent shortage.
In the 12 months to September 2020, Australian net overseas migration was 85,100 which was a significant decrease of 64.5% lower than the previous 12 months (Scanlan Institute). In the 2020/2021 year, net migration dropped to a negative level for the first time since 1946.
“This coupled with up to 10% of agency roles filled by visa holders meant we were all challenged by the lack of talent,” Grant says.
“On top of the stop in the flow of international talent, people are seriously evaluating their lives; what they want to do, and how they want to live.
“Many moved out of major cit- ies, changed careers to follow their passion project, or took on a com- pletely different craft. This has meant that we have lost many from our industry.
“At Publicis, we have responded in a number of ways, working with our global offices to secure staff internationally. We have launched our global ‘Work Your World’ initiative (media release provided) which enables staff to work around the
remote working has been smashed by our collective experience of the past two years – we can operate remotely with great success.
“It finally feels like the focus has moved to evaluating success on the quality of outputs vs duration of attendance. A win for everyone – employees and employers alike.
“Here in Australia, we don’t seem to be experiencing the ‘Great Resignation’ more the ‘Great Consideration’. There is no question that talent is re-evaluating what is really important to them and questioning the role work plays in their life. In response to that, organisations are having to re-imagine the way they operate to attract and retain top talent.”
The job market
In Australia, talent appears to be in short supply
Thomas Tearle at VMLY&R: “It’s a tough market right now, that’s for
sure. It’s up to us to ensure our business is strong, that people want to stay and that people want to join us because they believe in what we’re doing. “The Brit in me tells me that once the borders open up that things will
begin to ease but maybe that’s too simplistic a view. Time will tell.
“Of course benefits help but they must be real tangible benefits rather than tokenistic things. The things that made our office spaces fun are obviously less important now, although we wouldn’t be get- ting rid of them. We must invest heavily in our team’s lives and
careers to grow together.”
Claire Gallagher at Principals: “While the landscape may have
changed, the rules still apply – to position yourself as an employer of choice you need to build employee advocacy by creating a strong employer
“The focus has moved to evaluating success on the quality of outputs.” Kristy Camarillo, The Royals