In uncertain economic times, the pundits are still unsure if the USA is in recession or about to go into one and what impact this would have on the world economy. With much of the European Union also on shaky ground, analysts are still predicting that with our resources boom, Australia should be able to ride out a world downturn but this would rest heavily on how India and China fare.
Tough economic times usually result in rising unemployment, and various areas in the manufacturing sector are already shedding jobs. At the same time, many organisations in Australia continue to face difficulties in both attracting and retaining staff, and this is not only in the well documented skills shortage areas.
The lure of lucrative remuneration packages from the resources boom has certainly been a drain on civil engineering, technical and trades areas, having an immediate impact on Local Governments.
Alongside this, demographic factors such as baby boomers reaching retirement, including many opting for early retirement, and our steadily declining birthrate over a number of decades, is now resulting in the number of young people entering the workforce not keeping pace with those leaving it.
Today, younger workers have a vast array of career choices, they can be more selective about who they will work for, and for how long. They are likely to change jobs every two or three years usually in a rapid climb of the promotion ladder. They can also make career changes with easier transition available to move to a vastly different profession than the one they originally trained for.
Councils, like most other employers, realise that it is very much an employee’s marketplace.
To address both the recognised skills gap areas and, more and more, to fill positions across the spectrum of Local Government operations, councils must be competitive. They must ensure they are an employer of choice – that is they are offering conditions and ongoing incentives that encourage workers to want to work for council and once onboard that they want to stay.
In this edition, our Training and Development feature showcases how various councils are targeting both younger employees through initiatives including traineeships and future leaders programs, and at the other end of the career spectrum, how they are providing incentives and flexibility to encourage older workers to either return to the workforce, defer their retirement or consider semi retirement.
Gone are the days when workers as young as 45 years faced age discrimination in seeking employment. With a very mobile younger workforce, many employers now find that it is older workers who are more settled and likely to stay, not to mention the raft of experience, established work ethics and mentoring skills they can bring to an organisation.
Attracting new employees is one thing but just as important is providing a positive working environment where all staff feel they are making a difference. This is paramount to retaining quality staff.
Empowering people so they are confident to make suggestions about change and better ways of doing things, and encouraging people to be a part of working out solutions so they will take ownership of the issue is the best way to bring about change.
In an increasingly competitive marketplace, and in uncertain economic times, it will be those organisations that continue to nurture and support their most important asset – their people – that will come out on top.
Any budgetary decisions to cut back on training and development initiatives, or taking people for granted, will come back to haunt those organisations that venture down this risky path.
