Economic woes threaten to derail progress

Report reveals short-sighted cuts might impact long-term ability to attract and retain talent

Randstad Enterprise has launched its 2023 Talent Trends Report, surveying over 900 C-suite and HR leaders in 18 markets, including Australia, on their priorities on talent and career development for the year ahead. 

Now in its 8th year, the 2023 report reveals Australia is leading the way when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), with 90% of business and HR leaders confirming that DEI is embedded into their talent strategy and integral to everything they do, compared to the global average of 81%. 

Despite over three-quarters (78%) of respondents saying DEI is extremely important to their workforce and 68% saying it has a positive impact on their business, nearly half surveyed (46%) suspect companies will de-prioritise DEI this year. 

According to Randstad’s 2023 Workmonitor, the de-prioritising of DEI  could have a significant impact on talent attraction and retention as almost half (44%) of Australian workers say they wouldn’t accept a job if the company wasn’t making a proactive effort to improve its diversity and equity practices and half (50%) say they would quit a job if they didn’t have a sense of belonging.

Acquiring the right talent is still a major challenge for Australian businesses, with almost half of respondents (42%) saying talent scarcity remains one of their biggest pain points or is having a negative impact on their business - the highest number recorded in the history of the Talent Trends Report.

Anthea Collier, APAC Managing Director, RPO & MSP; interim Country Head of Australia, Randstad Enterprise, said: “In a wildly competitive market, Australian employers will continue to invest in employer branding to help combat the skills shortage and compete for the right talent. 

However, the opportunity to enable growth, attract specific skills, and create a distinctive brand as the ‘employer of choice’ is to strengthen DEI, not reduce investment in DEI strategies. Now’s the time (when your competitors are potentially cutting budgets) to properly embed your DEI strategy into your organisation’s talent infrastructure and blueprint, so you can access a broader and more diverse talent pool to help overcome the talent shortage and reap the rewards in retention.“