The biggest challenges facing SME's in Australia includes finding, hiring and retaining the right talent, according to the latest study by Michael Page.
In fact, 50% of SMEs surveyed said they settled for hiring someone who was “okay” as opposed to someone who was “fantastic”.
Another major concern for SMEs was attrition, with 35% of those surveyed saying a new hire exited the company within six months.
These challenges were cited by SMEs in Australia who took part in the Michael Page SME Hiring Challenges Survey 2016.
All the participants owned or worked in small or medium-sized business in the last 12 months, employed between 15 and 100 staff, and had been involved in the hiring of at least one new staff member across director, manager and general staff level.
Matthew Gribble, Regional Managing Director, Page Group
ANZ, said top talent forms the core of every business and the feedback from the market survey has helped them identify the areas where SMEs in Australia are struggling to secure top talent.
“Australia’s competitive hiring landscape makes it imperative to adopt a strategic approach to talent acquisition,” said Gribble.
“In order to secure the top talent required to move the business forward, SMEs need to focus on proactive and targeted employee engagement.
“No company is too small to invest in building a strong employer brand underpinned by a clear employment value proposition.”
Michael Page found the following key recruitment challenges for SMEs in Australia:
- Hiring is expensive: 43% of SMEs consider the cost of hiring talent steep
- A time-consuming hiring process: 47% thought the total average time of 35 hours spent to hire a new recruit was excessive
- Attracting strong employees is difficult: 46% of SMEs agree that they struggle to find suitable jobseekers for their roles
- Poor retention limits business growth: Over 35% of SMEs believe that their difficulty in attracting and hiring the best people is a barrier to business progression
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