Introduction
It’s all about confidence
We’re all keen to know the latest
regarding the global economy and
listening to the radio recently I heard one
journalist comment that “it only takes a
few minutes for the nerves to kick in, but
regaining the confidence takes a lot
longer” which seems to sum up the
current situation fairly well.
Obviously we can all see that the issues
dominating world headlines have had a
similar impact on confidence here as they
have around the globe. The local climate
has cooled in no uncertain terms with the
inevitable effect of slowing what was an
overheated and unsustainable job market.
In terms of the impact this has had on
salaries, the key change has been that the
“premium” employers have had to offer
new recruits has all but disappeared with
starting salaries for new employees largely
in line with that of their existing
employees. This has, of course, led to a
significant moderation in salary increases
across the board.
The public sector is a bastion of
consistency despite conditions, with many
candidates perceiving it as a sector that
offers genuine career growth and security.
The highly publicised commitment to
infrastructure by both the Australian and
New Zealand governments has also seen
many candidates redefine the scope of their
job search to include the public sector.
In Accountancy & Finance, there are areas
of consistent demand such as insolvency,
risk and compliance across Australia. As
employers looked to increase efficiencies
and reduce costs, those candidates with a
track record of effective cost management
have also retained their strong market
position. Temporary and interim roles were
also increasingly used as an effective way
to manage peaks in workload. In New
Zealand, similarly, the focus has been on
insolvency and business recovery where
candidate demand remains high although
salary increases were rare. Management
accountants, cost accountants and financial
and performance analysts with a NZCA
qualification are all in high demand, in
particular those with extensive experience in
the manufacturing or FMCG industries.
In Construction & Property, as with most
industries, there are “up” sectors and
“down” sectors in Australia. Competition
to win contracts within the public sector
has created high demand for experienced
estimators and managers with strong
business development skills. In New
Zealand infrastructure also figures largely,
with continued investment and the
commencement of new projects in 2009,
particularly in roads, rail, water and
energy, ensuring its strength.
Activity and demand in the Resources &
Mining sector remains largely at the mercy
of commodity prices. However, Mining
Engineers remain in strong demand as do
Process and Chemical Engineers. In Oil &
Gas the salaries, contract rates, bonus
payments and relocation packages that
previously had to be offered to be
competitive have recently levelled.
Contract rates are now 10% to 15% lower
than in the third quarter of 2008 and bonus
payments are also considerably less.
Human Resources salaries largely
remained consistent over the past financial
year and no major changes are foreseen
for the coming year. Demand has
understandably swung away from the
focus on talent attraction and recruitment,
towards key business functions such as
learning and development as well as OHS.
In Procurement, as the focus on cost
management intensified for many
organisations, demand increased in
Australia for sourcing and procurement
professionals as well as for category
managers with high-level expertise in large
indirect spend categories. This was also
the case in New Zealand where high
demand for experienced forecasting
analysts, demand planners, purchasing
analysts, procurement managers and
strategic sourcing managers is driving
employers to become more flexible and
offer top market premiums for candidates
with strong experience.
In Information Technology, whilst the
depth of the skills shortage has reduced,
there are pockets of very specific
expertise that remain in high demand such
as development of J2EE and Microsoft
.NET. In addition to certain technical
streams, effective project management
and business analysis capabilities are also
needed to ensure projects are effective,
timely and run on budget.
So what of the outlook?
As I write this, a series of significant
measures have been announced – the
Australian government has just launched a
number of initiatives to retrain workers in
order to combat the expected rise in
unemployment, some of the banks are
freezing mortgage payments for
retrenched workers and the G20 has
announced their trillion dollar package.
Economic indicators in the Australian and
New Zealand economies seem to give an
inkling of some stabilisation. The OECD
say the Australian economy is “better than
most” and apparently even our resources
prices are “better than awful” (AFR
6/4/09). With regards to New Zealand,
the ANZ Bank’s Economic Outlook
published in April states “the economy will
come out of a recession in the second
half of this year”.
Business confidence will be critical to any
recovery. If we all hold our nerve and look
to maximise the positive we will have the
effect of nurturing any “green shoots” as
they appear. In terms of recruitment, there
are still many roles in demand in specific
areas, and therefore there will still be
pressure on salaries in roles that
incorporate elements such as revenue
generation, cost reduction, risk
management and niche skills in IT
and Engineering.
Forward thinking employers will still be
focusing on their human resources
planning even in these times. It wasn’t that
long ago that people were our greatest
asset and, indeed, we think they still are!
We all need to remain committed to our
staff – at least those who are adding value
to our business. If you do have a need to
recruit, don’t be tempted to think that the
increase in candidates on the market will
necessarily make finding the right person
any easier; use all means to ensure your
organisation has the right team in place to
emerge stronger for the experience. In
fact, those who have been recruiting have
found that while their shortlist may be
longer, they have still achieved a better
outcome by relying on our expertise to
prise out those applicants who may
otherwise be reluctant to consider a
career move in this market.
Candidates need to focus on
commitment, capability and contribution.
Ensure you are adding value to your
employer, be proactive about the
contribution you make, keep your skills in
line with what the business needs to
deliver and be focused on making the
most of your career opportunities.
Nigel Heap
Managing Director
Hays Asia Pacific
May 2009
