Pivoting is so 20/21. What was your ‘back to normal’ year like? Mine was anything but and I am not alone.
A Bonkers job market for one!
The job market has remained phenomenally strong throughout the year, making navigating a candidate tight market challenging. Those organisations that live their values and can articulate a vision for employees to get behind, having honed their Employee Value Proposition (EVP) reap the rewards by being the first in line for top talent. A whopping 64% of organisations are struggling to hire, let alone retaining staff.
Labour shortages are pushing salaries in an upward direction with Technology, Life Sciences and Mining planning to hand down the highest median pay rises at 3.5% (AFR), but the rate of increase is barely keeping up with inflation (6.25% by the end of FY). Employers have had to get creative and think of alternate ways of attracting and retaining talent part of which is offering a clear purpose and vision for staff to get behind as well as any non-financial benefits tailored to the needs of their employees including flexible ways of working.
What else rocked our world?
A Bonkers global environment.
Growing global uncertainty, a war in Europe, record-breaking heatwaves, entering a third La Nina cycle, devastating floods, loss of rights to abortion in the US, global surging inflation, the death of a Monarch, planet earth – population 8 Billion and a change of federal government locally, have all had their impact including the first significant changes to our industrial relations system since the commencement of the Fair Work Act 2009 with the new Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act 2022. This Act amends workplace conditions and protections, workplace relations laws relating to bargaining, job security, gender equality, compliance and enforcement.
All the while COVID, this time Omicron rages on, but this is our ‘back to normal’ year remember.
Its Bonkers when we consider just how far we have come.
We have changed, and boy have we pivoted. We have embedded flexible working models, we are seeing the value of having an EVP, we no longer drag ourselves into work when ill by way of showing that we are loyal (mercifully), the daily commute is no longer, daily. While many of us struggle with cost-of-living pressure as inflation bites deeper I believe that we should remain optimistic as we reflect on what we have all had to navigate this year. So much has happened. Many of you have started whole new careers, hopefully for the better.
Thank you for sharing part of your 2022 with the RR team. Thank you for your continued support, it is genuinely appreciated.
After all of my dodging and weaving, I will finish my own Bonkers year off with Omicron, which seems fitting. C’est la vie. I greatly look forward to getting 2023 underway when we can do it all again. Have a safe and happy festive break.
Sources
Russell Kennedy
Aust Fin Review
Dept of Employment and Workplace Relations
