With both consumers and businesses heavily impacted by the looming Federal Election, productivity across Australian organisations is dropping.
Businesses in Australia are struggling with productivity levels and retention, with 27% of businesses in Australia citing downtime and knowledge loss from employee turnover as a primary impact on productivity levels, according to Randstad’s World of Work Report.
With many organisations uncertain of the impact the Federal Election’s results will have on their business, many change initiatives are slowing down, thereby hindering opportunities for growth and productivity.
Steve Shepherd, group director of recruitment & HR at Randstad, warned against this overly cautious approach.
“The problem with adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach in the lead-up to and post-election is that six months can go by where businesses have not been fully productive to drive profitability and growth, which can impact employee confidence, morale, retention and turnover levels,” he stated.
Shepherd acknowledged why business leaders may be fearful of the future, with weak consumer sentiment and a mixed economy (some sectors are thriving, others faltering) adding to the stress of a possible change in Government.
However, the flow-on effects of a change in Government will often not impact organisations for months or even years. As such, overly cautious employers may lose their leading positions or competitive advantages.
“The challenge for leaders is to know how to effectively navigate their business through a changing environment, ensuring it remains flexible and fluid, adapting to changing market conditions and being innovative while capitalising on opportunities,” he said.
Shepherd believes HR should be turning its attention towards retaining top talent through internal changes, consolidating and realigning their workforce for future growth as opposed to simply standing still.
