HR in 'unusual situation' managing recruitment, redundancies, retention and reorganisation at same time
More than a quarter of organisations in Australia are planning to make redundancies in the September 2024 quarter, according to a new survey among HR professionals.
The latest Quarterly Work Outlook report revealed that 27% of employers plan to carry out redundancies in the third quarter, up from the 23% in the previous one.
According to the report, 60% of HR professionals in the public sector are anticipating job cuts this quarter, nearly double from the 31% in the June quarter.
Source: The Quarterly Work Outlook report
However, the report found the percentage of employers that are still planning to hire staff remained high at 68%.
But there was a slight decrease recorded in the public (88%) and the private (62%) sectors, according to the survey.
Source: The Quarterly Work Outlook report
The Australian HR Institute (AHRI), which released the report, said the findings reflect a "strong and balanced overall employment outlook."
AHRI CEO Sarah McCann-Bartlett added that the increase in redundancies were more likely to be from restructuring instead of job cuts.
"This is potentially about the different skills that are needed as more organisations embrace digitisation, automation, and AI in pursuit of higher productivity and growth," McCann-Bartlett said in a statement. "The redundancy figures could therefore be about restructuring and preparing for the future rather than cost savings."
The strong hiring intentions among employers come amid persisting recruitment difficulties, according to the report.
It found that 39% of employers are still experiencing recruitment difficulties, with public sector employers (46%) experiencing it more than private sector employers (40%).
"While recruitment difficulties have eased somewhat since mid 2023, they remain high," the report read.
Turnover also remained consistent at 15% in the latest AHRI report, with "considerable variation across organisations."
Nearly half of organisations (49%) said the total annual average employee turnover for the 12-month period was less than 10%, while more than a quarter (27%) said the turnover average was 20%.
"Twenty-seven per cent of organisations reported that total annual average employee turnover was 20% and above, suggesting ongoing retention pressures," the report read.
McCann-Bartlett said HR professionals are in an "unusual situation" where they're managing recruitment, redundancies, retention and reorganisation at the same time.
"While this may seem paradoxical, it reflects the increasingly complex ways employers are changing the composition of their workforce through digitisation, automation, and AI," she said.
"To reap the productivity benefits of these changes to technology, HR professionals also need to adopt a systematic approach to consulting, involving, and training across the entire workforce."
The latest Quarterly Work Outlook report surveyed more than 600 senior HR professionals and decision-makers in Australia to determine the employment trends in the third quarter of the year.
