rcsa web survey round 25 – december 2007. executive summary summary both business confidence and...
TRANSCRIPT
RCSA Web Survey
Round 25 – December 2007
Executive Summary
Summary Both business confidence and expected changes in volume of business have remained
exactly the same as last round at 70.5% and 5.3% respectively - there are no substantial differences between locations
There has been a slight improvement in the mix of skills and capabilities of applicants but the number of appropriate applicants hence the labour market remains tight
o All locations are finding very similar labour market conditions excepto WA has the most problems finding candidates for positions
Staff turnover has risen 4% to 33% pa and staff growth has dropped by 10% to 1.5% pa making this the lowest since July 2002. Obviously a tight labour market is taking its toll on staff growth
o There are no substantial locational differences There has been a substantial increase in permanent full-time employment and contractor
placements with a fall in on-hire placements The majority of placements are on-hire and the proportion of those placements as part of the
total has fallen from 92% of all placements to 80% - however caution needs to used in interpreting this level of change as a few large operators can skew the results
The proportion of total revenue for all services has remained stable except that recruitment services has risen 5% to 48% of the total
o SA & WA get a larger proportion of revenue from on-hired employeeso NZ gets a larger proportion of from recruitment services while SA and WA get less
Note: If locational differences are not mentioned, the differences are insufficient for comment
Executive Summary
Summary – issues of most concern Lack of suitable candidates remains the top concern. Difficulty in finding
suitable recruitment staff remains in second place although it has eased by 5%. The state of the economy has risen to 3rd place followed by cost of advertising. Maintaining profitability and price undercutting in the industry has dropped in concern
o NSW is most concerned about the state of the economy, financing growth and more concerned about employment legislation and OH&S issues
o VIC is more worried financing growth and less worried about the state of the economy and legal issues about on-hired staff, otherwise is average
o QLD is less worried about financing growth, maintaining profits, price undercutting, industrial relations and OH&S issues
o SA is more worried about retaining and finding recruitment staff, maintaining profitability, industrial relations, workers compensation, employment legislation, legal issues about on-hired staff and immigration issues and less worried about financing growth
o WA is more concerned retaining suitable recruitment staff and less concerned with financing growth, restructuring industries, the cost of advertising, workers compensation, employment legislation and legal issues
o NZ is least worried about finding and retaining staff, price undercutting, the state of the economy and industrial relations and most worried about lack of hiring intentions of clients and restructuring industries
Note: If locational differences are not mentioned, the differences are insufficient for comment
Executive Summary - Skills
The top 5 skills with the biggest shortages are business professionals and non-building professional engineers, associates and technician. These are followed by building professionals and electrical trades (building). Other trades remain in short supply. The shortage of health professionals and nurses remains substantial as does the shortage of receptionists and telephonists
The top 12 skills shortages being:o Business professionals o Non-building professional engineers o Non-building engineering associates and technicians o Building professionals o Electrical trades (building) o Building associates and technicians o Non-building electrical/electronic trades o Receptionists and telephonists o IT and telecommunications professionals o Health professionals o Metal trades o Other clerks
Excutive summary cont’d Special section – New media
Use of new media to source candidates is common with 88% approaching passive candidates, 77% using niche or specialist internet job boards followed by refer a friend incentives 62% and social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace (38%)
o NSW is more likely to specify other
o VIC is less likely to use social networking sites, niche internet job boards and other
o SA is more likely to use social networking sites, refer a friend incentives, niche internet job boards and approaching passive candidates
o WA is more likely to use refer friend incentives, approaching passive candidates and other
o NZ is more likely to use social networking sites, niche internet job boards and less likely to use refer a friend incentives, approaching passive candidates and other
Executive summary cont’d Special section – Effects of the labour shortage on respondents
Candidate shortages result in 91% using more time and resources and almost as many expect this to increase. The shortages are creating challenges for the organisations (81%). 85% are changing their methods including using new media (65%)
o The only significant difference is SA says the candidate shortage is causing more problems for their business than other locations
Process
Web surveyo E-mail business heads in both NZ and Australia
o Data collection began late November 2007 and completed 18 December 2007
o The total annual revenue of respondent companies is $1.87 billion up from $3.02 billion last round. The change is largely due to a smaller sample (126 cf 175 last round)
o The number of sole traders in the sample has dropped 4% to 10%
Demographics of sampleThe number of sole traders in the sample has dropped
Sole trader10%
Other90%
Trader status
$551
$455
$320
$82
$175
$142
$1
$1
$146
$1,874
42%
38%
27%
9%
15%
18%
2%
3%
25%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
NSW
Victoria
Queensland
ACT
South Australia
Western Australia
Tasmania
Northern Territory
New Zealand
(note multiple locations allowed sums to more than 100%)
Location company operates in
29%
24%
17%
4%
9%
8%
0%
0%
8%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
NSW
Victoria
Queensland
ACT
South Australia
Western Australia
Tasmania
Northern Territory
New Zealand
Proportion of revenue generated by location
Demographics of sampleThe total annual revenue of respondent companies is $1.87 billion up from $3.02 billion last round.
The change is largely due to a smaller sample (126 cf 175 last round)
Total
Ann
ual r
even
ue $
m
Total Australia=$1.22bApprox 92% of revenue
Demographics of sampleThe proportion of $100m+ companies dropped by 1% from last round to 4%.
24
41
14
6
12
4
0 10 20 30 40 50
Under $1m
$1M to $5M
$5M to $10M
$10M to $20M
$20M to $100M
$100M and above
% of sample
Annual turnover of companies
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
December (2007)
September (2007)
June (2007)
March (2007)
December (2006)
September (2006)
June (2006)
February (2006)
November (2005)
August (2005)
April (2005)
December (2004)
September (2004)
June (2004)
April (2004)
December (2003)
September (2003)
June (2003)
March (2003)
December (2002)
September (2002)
July (2002)
February (2002)
December (2001)
September (2001)
73%71%
75%78%
70%74%
68%71%
66%72%
76%72%74%75%
70%76%76%
74%69%
84%67%
81%85%
63%78%
22%18%
21%16%
20%19%
26%23%
29%27%18%
18%16%
19%22%
19%20%
19%20%
12%18%
13%8%
17%13%
6%10%
5%6%
10%7%6%6%6%
1%6%
10%10%
6%8%
5%4%
7%11%
4%15%
6%7%
20%9%
Confidence that business will improve in the next 3 months
%Agree %Neutral %Disagree
RCSA members confidence about business improvements in the next three months has increased slightly
DifferencesNone
Both business confidence and expected changes in volume of business have remained exactly the same as last round at 70.5% and 5.3% respectively.
Scale:0=strongly disagree50=neutral100=strongly agree
DifferencesNone
60.0
70.0
80.0A
ve
rag
e
I am confident that our business will improve over the next three months
2%3%4%5%6%7%8%
Av
era
ge
Volume (%) your business will change next quarter
Staff turnover has risen 4% to 33% pa and staff growth has dropped by 10% to 1.5% pa making this the lowest since July 2002. Obviously a tight labour
market is taking its toll on staff growth
Differences•There are no substantial locational differences
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
55%
60%
Sep
t (2001)
Dec (2001)
Feb
(2002)
July (2002)
Sep
t (2002)
Dec (2002)
Mar (2003)
Jun
(2003)
Sep
t (2003)
Dec (2003)
Ap
ril (2004)
Jun
e (2004)
Sep
t (2004)
Dec (2004)
Ap
ril (2005)
Au
g (2005)
No
v (2005)
Feb
(2006)
Jun
(2006)
Sep
t (2006)
Dec(2006)
March
(2007)
Jun
e(2007)
Sep
t(2007)
Dec(2007)
Av
era
ge
Staff turnover (% annualised)
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Sep
t (2001)
Dec (2001)
Feb
(2002)
July (2002)
Sep
t (2002)
Dec (2002)
Mar (2003)
Jun
(2003)
Sep
t (2003)
Dec (2003)
Ap
ril (2004)
Jun
e (2004)
Sep
t (2004)
Dec (2004)
Ap
ril (2005)
Au
g (2005)
No
v (2005)
Feb
(2006)
Jun
(2006)
Sep
t (2006)
Dec(2006)
March
(2007)
Jun
e(2007)
Sep
t(2007)
Dec(2007)
Av
era
ge
Staff growth (% annualised)
There has been a slight improvement in the mix of skills and capabilities of applicants but the number of appropriate
applicants hence the labour market remains tight
Scale:0=strongly disagree50=neutral100=strongly agree
Differences•All locations are finding very similar labour market conditions except•WA has the most problems finding candidates for positions
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Sep
t (2001)
Dec (2001)
Feb
(2002)
July (2002)
Sep
t (2002)
Dec (2002)
Mar (2003)
Jun
(2003)
Sep
t (2003)
Dec (2003)
Ap
ril (2004)
Jun
e (2004)
Sep
t (2004)
Dec (2004)
Ap
ril (2005)
Au
g (2005)
No
v (2005)
Feb
(2006)
Jun
(2006)
Sep
t (2006)
Dec(2006)
March
(2007)
Jun
e(2007)
Sep
t(2007)
Dec(2007)
Av
era
ge
s
Labour market scores
It is easy to f ind appropriate applicants for positions
Applicants generally have the appropriate work ready attitudes
Applicants generally have the right mix and level of skills
Applicants generally have the right capabilities
Irrespective of appropriateness there are at least as many applicants for positions as needed
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
It is easy to find appropriate applicants for positions
Applicants generally have the appropriate work ready attitudes
Applicants generally have the right mix and level of skills
Applicants generally have the right capabilities
Irrespective of appropriateness there are at least as many applicants for positions as there are positions
8%
39%
28%
58%
30%
8%
33%
31%
32%
10%
84%
29%
41%
11%
60%
Labour market
%Agree %Neutral %Disagree
Labour market scores indicate a slight easing of the labour market but it remains tight
+5% -10%
+5%
-8%
-6%
Staff placed and on-hired workersThere has been a substantial increase in permanent full-time employment and
contractor placements with a fall in on-hire placements.
December 2007
September 2007
Note: variability may arise because of a few large numbers – this is a problem of small data sets
Mean Minimum MaximumPermanent full-time placements 60.58 0 1,450Permanent part-time placements 3.35 0 150On-hire employment 915.54 0 33,787Contractors 16.70 0 1,000
Mean Minimum MaximumPermanent full-time placements 79.59 0 5,200Permanent part-time placements 5.10 0 180On-hire employment 492.35 0 32,000Contractors 38.34 0 3,000
The majority of placements are on-hire and the proportion of those placements as part of the total has fallen from 92% of all placements to 80%
4% 7% 4% 5% 9%
14%
11%5% 5%
13%5% 5%
10% 7% 6%13%
1% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2%2% 0% 1% 1% 0% 1% 1% 0% 0% 1%
88%89%
84%
78%85%
72%
84%93% 93%
82%
92% 93%86% 89% 92%
80%
7% 4%
11%16%
5%
12%
3% 1% 2% 3% 2% 2% 4% 4% 2%6%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Ave
rag
ePlacement by type (%)
Permanent full-time placements Permanent part-time placements
On-hire employment Contractors
The proportion of total revenue for all services has remained stable except that recruitment services has risen 5% to 48% of the total
Difference from average•SA & WA get a larger proportion of revenue from on-hired employees•NZ gets a larger proportion of from recruitment services while SA and WA get less
33%
39% 40% 42%
36%38%40%
37%40% 41% 42% 41%
35% 34%37% 38%
36%
12%8%
12%15%
11% 13% 12%10%
7%10% 10% 9% 10% 10% 10% 10% 9%
38%
37% 37%35%
43%37% 44% 43% 43%45% 45%
42% 43%
47%
43% 43%
48%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%A
vera
ge
Service revenue (%)
On-hired employee services Contractor services Recruitment services
A substantial proportion of companies have neither contractors nor on-hire employees.
28
13
9
10
8
13
7
12
47
25
6
8
4
5
2
2
0 10 20 30 40 50
None
1 thru 19
20 thru 49
50 thru 99
100 thru 199
200 thru 499
500 thru 1999
>2000
% of sample
On-hire and contactor numbers on books
Contractors On-hire
35
17
11
13
10
16
9
15
59
32
8
10
5
6
3
3
0 20 40 60 80
None
1 thru 19
20 thru 49
50 thru 99
100 thru 199
200 thru 499
500 thru 1999
>2000
Number
On-hire and contactor numbers on books
Contractors On-hire
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Restructuring industries
Lack of hiring intentions by clients
Industrial relations
Difficultly in retaining suitable recruitment staff
Financing growth
Price undercutting in our industry
Maintaining profitability/fee levels
Cost of advertising
State of the economy
Difficultly in finding suitable recruitment staff
Lack of suitable candidates
26%
31%
36%
38%
39%
50%
52%
54%
58%
66%
93%
74%
69%
64%
62%
61%
50%
48%
46%
43%
34%
7%
%Agree %Disagree
Concerns for the present and near future (all respondents)
Lack of suitable candidates remains the top concern. Difficulty in finding suitable recruitment staff remains in second place although it has eased by 5%. The state of the economy has risen to 3 rd place followed by cost of advertising.
Maintaining profitability and price undercutting in the industry has dropped in concern.
Concerns for the present and near future (National issues)
In Australia concerns legal issues (56%) and employment legislation (53%) remain the top issues while in NZ immigration issues have risen 3% and remain the top issue
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Occupational Health and Safety Act (NZ)
Accident Compensation Act (NZ)
Employment Relations Act (NZ)
ACC levies (New Zealand)
Immigration issues (NZ)
New Zealand
Workers' compensation legislation (Australia)
Unfair dismissal and casuals (Australia)
OH&S Issues (Australia)
Immigration issues (Australia)
Employment legislation (Australia)
Legal issues about on-hired staf f (Australia)
Australia
16%
17%
19%
30%
67%
35%
37%
41%
49%
53%
56%
84%
83%
81%
70%
33%
65%
63%
59%
51%
47%
44%
%Agree %Disagree
Location differences
Note: <50=less than neutral50=neutral>50 = greater than neutral
Compared to average•NSW is most concerned about the state of the economy, financing growth and more concerned about employment legislation and OH&S issues•VIC is more worried financing growth and less worried about the state of the economy and legal issues about on-hired staff, otherwise is average•QLD is less worried about financing growth, maintaining profits, price undercutting, industrial relations and OH&S issues•SA is more worried about retaining and finding recruitment staff, maintaining profitability, industrial relations, workers compensation, employment legislation, legal issues about on-hired staff and immigration issues and less worried about financing growth•WA is more concerned retaining suitable recruitment staff and less concerned with financing growth, restructuring industries, the cost of advertising, workers compensation, employment legislation and legal issues •NZ is least worried about finding and retaining staff, price undercutting, the state of the economy and industrial relations and most worried about lack of hiring intentions of clients and restructuring industries
Variable NSW VIC Qld SA WA NZWeighted
aveSubstantially less than averageSubstantially more than average
State of the economy 69.00 53.00 67.00 63.00 59.00 50.00 60.54Lack of suitable candidates 92.00 85.00 94.00 89.00 91.00 90.00 90.05Lack of hiring intentions by clients 25.00 28.00 22.00 22.00 23.00 46.00 27.86Difficultly in finding suitable recruitment staff 80.00 68.00 76.00 79.00 73.00 45.00 70.50Difficultly in retaining suitable recruitment staff 46.00 40.00 50.00 61.00 59.00 36.00 46.56Financing growth 39.00 38.00 19.00 22.00 23.00 29.00 30.69Maintaining profitability/fee levels 52.00 59.00 48.00 65.00 62.00 59.00 56.26Price undercutting in our industry 54.00 57.00 39.00 53.00 52.00 41.00 49.95Restructuring industries 18.00 22.00 17.00 18.00 14.00 39.00 21.48Cost of advertising 53.00 50.00 50.00 50.00 38.00 57.00 50.54Industrial relations 41.00 41.00 25.00 47.00 33.00 22.00 35.20
Workers' compensation legislation (Australia) 38.00 39.00 30.00 50.00 25.00 36.38Employment legislation (Australia) 63.00 49.00 50.00 68.00 48.00 55.37Legal issues about on-hired staff (Australia) 65.00 50.00 58.00 67.00 50.00 57.94Immigration issues (Australia) 53.00 43.00 48.00 58.00 52.00 49.76OH&S Issues (Australia) 44.00 37.00 25.00 35.00 35.00 36.32Unfair dismissal and casuals (Australia) 36.00 35.00 38.00 41.00 30.00 35.91
Skills issues
18%
32%
21%
21%
22%
17%
20%
10%
12%
21%
13%
10%
21%
16%
13%
11%
8%
10%
14%
16%
26%
11%
17%
15%
13%
16%
12%
22%
17%
8%
15%
19%
7%
12%
14%
15%
17%
14%
10%
8%
17%
11%
14%
13%
8%
14%
12%
21%
18%
12%
11%
21%
12%
10%
9%
18%
29%
17%
20%
13%
2%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
2%
4%
2%
0%
3%
1%
0%
0%
2%
11%
0%
1%
1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1%
0%
1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
2%
0%
0%
0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Business professionals
Non-building professional engineers
Non-building engineering associates and technicians
Building professionals
Electrical trades (building)
Building associates and technicians
Non-building electrical/electronic trades
Receptionists and telephonists
IT and telecommunications professionals
Health professionals
Metal trades
Other clerks
Nurses
Carpenters and joiners
Plumbers
IT and telecommunications technicians
General managers
Machine and stationary plant operators
Scientif ic technicians
Medical technicians
Supply of skills by occupation in order of total shortage
Shortage long term
Shortage short term
Neutral
Over supply short term
Over supply long term
Skills shortages by occupation – top 20The top 5 skills with the biggest shortages are business professionals and non-building professional engineers, associates and technician. These are followed by building professionals and electrical trades (building). Other trades remain in short
supply. The shortage of health professionals and nurses remains substantial as does the shortage of receptionists and telephonists
To
tal
sho
rtag
e
44%43%38%36%35%33%32%32%29%29%29%29%28%28%28%26%25%25%24%24%
11%
9%
10%
13%
4%
11%
7%
9%
4%
7%
6%
11%
10%
5%
7%
7%
4%
8%
7%
4%
4%
13%
14%
13%
10%
17%
10%
14%
12%
17%
13%
14%
9%
9%
9%
6%
6%
9%
5%
5%
7%
5%
11%
17%
14%
18%
27%
16%
16%
13%
19%
14%
22%
13%
23%
20%
17%
21%
22%
21%
26%
21%
24%
0%
1%
1%
0%
2%
2%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
2%
2%
0%
2%
0%
1%
1%
2%
0%
0%
1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1%
0%
1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1%
1%
1%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Bricklayers
IT and telecommunications trades
Vehicle trades
Mobile plant operators
Sales staf f (not professionals)
Drivers
Building & construction labourers
Roofers
Trades assistants and factory hands
Wall tilers
Other personal service workers
Mining labourers
Scientists
Food trades
Agricultural labourers
School teachers
Social professionals
Rail drivers
Farm managers
Waiters and restaurant staf f
Cleaners
Supply of skills by occupation in order of total shortage
Shortage long term
Shortage short term
Neutral
Over supply short term
Over supply long term
Skills shortages by occupation – bottom 20
To
tal
sho
rtag
e
24%23%23%22%21%21%21%21%21%20%20%20%19%13%13%13%13%13%12%11%9%
Top 10 skill shortages by location
NSW1. Business professionals
2. Non-building professional engineers
3. Non-building engineering associates and technicians
4. Building professionals
5. Building associates and technicians
6. IT and telecommunications professionals
7. IT and telecommunications technicians
8. Electrical trades (building)
9. Non-building electrical/electronic trades
10. Scientific technicians
VIC1. Business professionals
2. Non-building professional engineers
3. IT and telecommunications professionals
4. Building professionals
5. Building associates and technicians
6. Electrical trades (building)
7. Receptionists and telephonists
8. Non-building engineering associates and technicians
9. Nurses
10. Carpenters and joiners
Top 10 skill shortages by location
Queensland1. Business professionals
2. Non-building professional engineers
3. IT and telecommunications professionals
4. Building professionals
5. Building associates and technicians
6. Electrical trades (building)
7. Receptionists and telephonists
8. Non-building engineering associates and technicians
9. Nurses
10. Carpenters and joiners
South Australia1. Non-building professional engineers
2. Non-building engineering associates and technicians
3. IT and telecommunications professionals
4. Business professionals
5. Building professionals
6. Building associates and technicians
7. Electrical trades (building)
8. Non-building electrical/electronic trades
9. Carpenters and joiners
10. Plumbers
Top 10 skill shortages by location
Western Australia
1. Building professionals
2. Non-building professional engineers
3. Non-building engineering associates and technicians
4. Business professionals
5. Building associates and technicians
6. IT and telecommunications professionals
7. Mining labourers
8. Building & construction labourers
9. IT and telecommunications technicians
10. IT and telecommunications trades
New Zealand
1. Business professionals
2. Electrical trades (building)
3. Non-building electrical/electronic trades
4. Non-building professional engineers
5. Non-building engineering associates and technicians
6. Health professionals
7. Medical technicians
8. Metal trades
9. Receptionists and telephonists
10. Building professionals
Special section
Use of new media to source candidates is common with 88% approaching passive candidates, 77% using niche or specialist internet job boards
followed by refer a friend incentives 62% and social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace (38%).
Difference from average•NSW is more likely to specify other•VIC is less likely to use social networking sites, niche internet job boards and other•SA is more likely to use social networking sites, refer a friend incentives, niche internet job boards and approaching passive candidates•WA is more likely to use refer friend incentives, approaching passive candidates and other•NZ is more likely to use social networking sites, niche internet job boards and less likely to use refer a friend incentives, approaching passive candidates and other
5
32
38
62
77
88
0 20 40 60 80 100
Second Life or other virtual worlds
Other
Social networking sites (e.g Facebook LinkedIn MySpace)
Refer a f riend incentives
Increasing the use of niche/specialist internet job boards
Approaching passive candidates
% of sample
Use of new media to source candidates
Other includes•Network groups•Referrals from other business•SMS subscriptions•Conferences
Candidate shortages result in 91% using more time and resources and almost as many expect this to increase. The shortages are creating challenges for the
organisations (81%). 85% are changing their methods including using new media (65%)
Difference from average•The only significant difference is SA says the candidate shortage is causing more problems for their business than other locations
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
We are using more time and resources finding candidates than we were a year ago
The quality and/or scope of candidate servicing and candidate care will increase further as a result of the tight labour market
We are changing the methods by which we source candidates
A candidate shortage is creating significant challenges for our business
The quality and/or scope of candidate servicing and candidate care has increased as a result of the tight labour market
We have started using some of the new media listed in the above section as a result of candidate shortages
91
90
85
81
80
65
7
8
12
12
16
22
2
2
2
6
5
13
Impacts of candidate shortages
%Agree %Neutral %Disagree