Bayside Group

Retain your Workforce

With low unemployment levels and skills shortages, a slight increase in pay isn't enough to retain valuable employees.  Projected economic growth over the next ten years in the engineering sector, in conjunction with low unemployment levels at just 4.3 per cent [1] and more than 28 per cent of our workforce aged 50 and over, businesses will need to work hard at finding and retaining skilled professionals.[2]

Retaining employees can not only speed production rates and save countless hours of administration, it is also highly cost-effective.  Recent studies have shown it could cost up to three times the amount of an employee's salary to replace a skilled position.  This means companies could potentially be spending millions in filling vacant positions. 

These days, many professionals are leaving their job at the drop of a hat for the promise of bigger and better things.  "Employees have higher expectations and know the market is saturated with vacancies.  Many are likely to leave at just the slightest increase in pay," says Sean Blanche, Queensland State Manager for Bayside Personnel, specialist engineering recruitment agency.

"The best way for businesses to avoid staff turnover is by taking proactive measures.  This means employers must invest in their employee's long term.  Part time training programs can upgrade skills and fast track their career progression within the company; offering ‘completion bonuses' for employees who see projects the whole way through; and also financial compensation and promotion can empower employees and demonstrate employee loyalty," Blanche advises.

It is also imperative that when businesses employ they look for the best ‘cultural fit' for both parties.  When talent pools are low, companies should look to experts in the field who are well equipped to assess a candidate's motivation, experience, and cultural fit.  Using a recruitment consultant also allows for less time-consuming administration costs, and results in a better sourced and higher quality candidate. 

"When choosing a recruitment agency, it's best to look at the amount of industry knowledge they have.  At Bayside Personnel, all of our consultants have an engineering background, gained through education, work experience, or both.  Therefore we understand the dynamics of the business and only select candidates who will uphold business standards and over time grow with the company," says Blanche.

The biggest human capital challenge in companies today is finding and retaining quality employees.  By being proactive in keeping ‘employees happy' and ensuring the right cultural fit; employers can save on hefty administration and staff turnover costs while increasing productivity. 

Bayside Personnel assists businesses in attracting and retaining pipeline professionals across Australia and the Middle East.  As part of a Labour Agreement awarded by the Federal Government earlier this year, Bayside Personnel is one of only a few recruiters with the ability to sponsor overseas professionals for on-hired work in Australia.  Bayside Personnel recruits construction professionals, pipeline engineers, consultants, project managers and government regulation staff to the pipeline industry. 

This article first appeared in The Australian Pipeliner Oct 2008 edition.

[1] Australian Bureau of Statistics, July 2007

[2] The Age Employment Forecast December 2006 - February 2007