THIRTY-ONE per cent of Australian HR and finance managers believe a lack of qualified personnel is likely to be the main factor contributing to the staff shortage in the future.
THIRTY-ONE per cent of Australian HR and finance managers believe a lack of qualified personnel is likely to be the main factor contributing to the staff shortage in the future. Furthermore, paying higher market rates would be an effective way of finding staff in a shortage, according to HR and finance managers in:
Australia 19%
The UK 12%
New Zealand 12%
The survey also revealed a quarter of such managers in Australia were concerned employees will be more likely to leave their company when they believe the labour market improves.
Source: Robert Half International
Married to the job
SEVENTEEN per cent of Australians claim to have a work husband or wife, while 25 per cent of all CEOs believe they have a work partner – married in all but name and physical relationship. Furthermore, only 13 per cent of both males and females said this work partnership would last beyond their current jobs, although 18 per cent of CEOs believe their relationships would continue beyond their current job and the next.
Source: LinkMe.com.au
HR drags change chain
FORTY-FOUR per cent of HR professionals prefer not to follow new organisational standards instituted by their company boss, a survey of more than 800 Australian employees has found. Additionally, 15 per cent of people are absolutely intent on keeping things the way they are when it comes to organisational change, while enforcing change in the workplace is a particular issue for:
CEOs 31%
Mid-level managers 46%
Senior managers 43%
A further 48 per cent of employees said initiatives get announced with great fanfare but are never heard of again.
Source: Talent2
Workers are happy chappies
SEVENTY-FIVE per cent of people actually enjoy getting up to go to work or were at least feeling good about their job, according to a survey of 1,000 Australians. Twenty-four per cent wouldn’t change their job if they could, while 57 per cent were working more than 40 hours per week but most felt had found the ideal balance between work and leisure by taking frequent short breaks rather than traditional long holidays.
Source: Wotif.com
US: Oh, ye workers of little faith
JUST 40 per cent of US workers trust top management to always communicate honestly and 38 per cent believe leaders do a good job of explaining important business decisions. A survey of more than 800 organisations also found 49 per cent of workers said their organisation as a whole was well managed, 52 per cent believe their organisation’s senior management does a good job of establishing clear objectives while two-thirds felt a strong sense of commitment to their organisation.
Source: Mercer
CEO pay packets going up
FIFTY-ONE per cent of Australian organisations position pay for their CEO above the market mid-point (median). A survey of more than 2,800 executives found that 31 per cent of organisations target the market median when setting their CEO’s remuneration while the incidence of organisations aiming to position their CEO’s pay at the middle of the market has significantly dropped since 2004 – when 40 per cent of organisations were aiming for the market median.
Source: CSi
Government managers struggle with leadership
SEVENTY-FIVE percent of government managers are either currently implementing or preparing to implement rapid organisational change. However, 65 per cent are concerned about their ability to translate new strategies and initiatives into actions and results, and nearly two out of every three managers are most likely to acquire new leadership skills through personal initiative more than through other learning opportunities, such as formal training, informal coaching, and higher education.
Source: The Forum Corp
Skilled migrants a wasted resource
FIFTY per cent of recent migrants to Australia who are employed rarely use their highest qualification –despite 61 per cent of all migrants entering on skilled migrants visas between 2003–2005. Research has also found skilled migrants who have internationally recognised qualifications are sometimes rejected by Australian professional and trade bodies.
Source: Australian Mosaic (FECCA)
UK job satisfaction and commitment on the wane
SIXTY-FOUR per cent of UK workers are not satisfied with their jobs. In addition, the survey of 1,100 found 59 per cent felt a strong sense of commitment to their organisation, while employees across the UK also felt:
Proud to work for their organisation 60%
Management understood problems facing them 50%
Encouraged to come up with new ways of doing things 46%
The survey also found many employees believe the culture in their organisations better serves management in giving orders rather than gathering ideas and, as a result, employees often feel unable to suggest improvements to work processes.
Source: Mercer
Flexible working culture the way forward
EIGHTY-FOUR per cent of UK employers believe flexible working practices have a positive effect on retention. Research has found more than half of UK organisations feel efforts to fill vacancies have benefited from the implementation of flexible working practices and a further 70 per cent believe flexible working has a positive impact on motivation which can help increase productivity.
Source: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)
Companies fail to track coaching outcomes
FORTY-SEVEN per cent of US organisations provide coaching to their executives and managers, but only 38 per cent regularly monitor the activity of the coach involved. A survey of 212 organisations also found they evaluate:
How well coaching meets goals 52%
The satisfaction of those receiving coaching 49%
Return on investment from coaching 40%
Sixty-two per cent of organisations do not track the number of coaching meetings being held, the stage of each coaching assignment and what coaching processes are being used.
Source: Right Management Consultants
