NINETY-FOUR per cent of Australian workers believe that a workplace with a mixture of young and old provides a broader and more beneficial skill-set for their employer
NINETY-FOUR per cent of Australian workers believe that a workplace with a mixture of young and old people provides a broader and more beneficial skill-set for their employer. However, 71 per cent of employees aged 40 and over are more likely to think they work harder than those aged 18-39. Of the 446 workers surveyed, they enjoyed working most with people:
Their own age 83%
Older 57%
Younger 52%
Interestingly, 68 per cent of people aged 40 and over said they enjoy working with people younger than themselves whereas only 38 per cent of those aged between 18 and 39 said they enjoy working with people younger than themselves.
Source: CareerOne
Employees do their homework
SIXTY-EIGHT per cent of employees admit to checking blog sites and Googling regularly to see if the company they are working for is travelling well. A survey of 537 workers also found more than one quarter search the net to see what their bosses are up to professionally and personally, while only twenty five per cent of workers say their boss looked them up when they applied for the job.
Source: Talent2
Number crunchers work harder than ever
SIXTY-SEVEN per cent of Australian financial directors work an average of 46 hours a week or more than their counterparts globally. A significant 76 per cent of Australian financial directors also agree they suffer from increased stress levels compared to two years ago. The main factors contributing to growing stress levels are:
Understaffing 32%
Increased workloads 61%
Compliance deadlines 40%
The survey also found the shrinking of finance teams due to an ongoing shortfall of finance talent in Australia is having a knock-on effect on financial directors’ workloads and stress levels.
Source: Robert Half Finance & Accounting
Flexibility key to retention strategy success
EIGHTY-FIVE per cent of Australian employees believe flexible work arrangements would keep them working longer for an organisation. Some 55 per cent cite flexitime as the best organisational policy their employer could provide to achieve a better work/life balance, while only 8 per cent cite career leave and 6 per cent maternity/paternity leave. The research revealed that 62 per cent of respondents are not prepared to take a lower hourly pay rate in order to be able to work flexibly or part-time.
Source: Institute of Chartered Accountant
Apprenticeships in too hard basket
EIGHTY-FIVE per cent of employers maintain the reduction in apprenticeships is a contributing factor to the national skills shortage. Despite government attention to the issue of skills shortages, 12 per cent of companies surveyed have increased the number of apprenticeships in 2005 – only 2 per cent more than in the previous year. Employers say there are too few applicants as one of the reasons why increasing the number of apprentices/trainees is difficult.
Source: Catalyst Recruitment
Clothes maketh the boss
FIFTY-FOUR per cent of job applicants are put off by poorly or unfashionably dressed bosses, because applicants believe the way interviewers presents themselves is a reflection on company culture. A survey of 800 people has found job applicants in the 18-24 year old age group are 62 per cent more interested in their employer’s dress sense and appearance than peers in the 55 years and older bracket (42 per cent).
Source: LinkMe.com.au
CIOs have eyes on the top job
SEVENTY-THREE per cent of CIOs aspire to become a CEO in the long-term and 69 per cent said that the CIO role has given them the necessary leadership skills to make this move. The survey of 156 CIOs also revealed that 88 per cent believe CFOs and COOs are of the opinion the CIO is unable to step up to the CEO job. Furthermore, 31 per cent said that due to the nature of the IT business, CIOs only manage a narrow group of people compared to their business counterparts, but only 65 per cent believe they have enough opportunity to be creative in order to make the step up to CEO.
Source: Talent2
CEOs still the boss
SEVENTY-FOUR per cent of boards believe that the CEO is still primarily responsible for setting the agenda for board meetings, a survey of 1,103 directors has found. The directors also said that not enough boards were taking charge of their own agendas, and they also felt management succession planning was not being:
Discussed regularly 66%
Handled satisfactorily 47%
Addressed 26%
Despite growing board independence, 47 per cent of directors believe board leadership should emanate from the CEO versus a non-executive chairman or lead director.
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP/Corporate Board Member magazine
Contingent workforce management tricky
MANY organisations cannot answer critical questions about the use and impact of contingent labour on their organisations, a study of 363 HR professionals in the US has found. Large enterprises are spending an average of 7 per cent of overall company revenue on contingent labour, typically representing hundreds of millions of dollars, while major opportunities exist for organisations looking to achieve greater returns on contingent labour by leveraging centralised contingent workforce management technology.
Source: Taleo Research
Middle management less happy
JUST FORTY-EIGHT per cent of middle managers reported they were satisfied with their organisations compared with two-thirds last year. A third of the 225 American middle managers surveyed also described their organisations as mismanaged. The most frustrating aspects of their jobs were:
Compensation issues 47%
Work/life balance 40%
Lack of clear career paths 35%
Only one-third of middle managers reported that their companies were good or excellent at managing compensation (33 per cent), flexible work arrangements (34 per cent) and communication between supervisors and subordinates (37 per cent).
Source: Accenture
