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The burden of the recruitment process combined with an acute skills shortage is changing the mindset of managers, says one offshore recruiter.
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Millennial managers recoil from hiring, take on extra work instead
20 March 2023
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10 minute read
Managers willingly take on extra duties if it means they can avoid the fraught hiring process brought on by the acute skills shortage, according to one offshore recruiter.
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Vice-president of growth at Cloudstaff, Chris McDonald, said recruitment problems stemmed from a straightforward lack of suitable candidates.
“The reality is that Australian talent pools have all but run dry; there simply aren’t enough working-age people in the country to fill open roles and drive economic growth,” said Mr McDonald.
“With specialist skills severely lacking onshore, accessing these roles offshore means Australian workers and the Australian economy are better positioned to thrive and grow.”
Cloudstaff research found a generation gap in recruitment attitudes, with 55 per cent of Millennial-age managers believing overseas workers would be required to tackle skill gaps compared to only 19 per cent of Baby Boomer managers.
The firm said an openness to hiring overseas reflected frustration with the domestic recruitment process, with 73 per cent of Millennial managers claiming that writing job descriptions, placing ads, conducting interviews and onboarding took up too much of their time.
By comparison, only 48 per cent of Baby Boomer managers felt the same way.
Cloudstaff’s research found six in 10 Millennial managers thought the hiring process was so difficult they would prefer to give up and take on extra work themselves.
Mr McDonald said the results reflected the changing workforce.
“The workforce has changed considerably since Baby Boomers started out in their careers. Australia already relies heavily on overseas workers in the form of migration,” he said.
“In fact, the 2021 Australian census showed that for some professions such as general accounting, more than half (51 per cent) of the current Australian workforce was born overseas. It’s therefore not surprising that younger leaders are more open to working across borders.”
“The days of people needing to live close to their workplace are over, smart companies today hire where the talent lives. While the tech industry pioneered that model years ago, Covid ended up being a worldwide training program for every company globally in how to manage remote workforces and work with remote colleagues.”
Mr McDonald said all that was needed from business leaders to combat the labour shortage was a mindset evolution in those still reluctant to look abroad.
“While this research indicates a generational shift, it also highlights a particular mindset; a global view of the world that values the contribution an individual can make, whether they sit in Manila or Melbourne.”
“Many of the small businesses we work with have MDs and CEOs over 55 and have been successfully outsourcing functions overseas for many years.”
“This isn’t hard. It just needs a small leap of imagination.”
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