Employers lament GFC staff cuts: survey

A survey has just been undertaken by Sweeney Research on behalf of HUDSON,  a recruitment group in Australia, New Zealand as well as throughout Europe, USA, China, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore.

It has been suggested that businesses in Australia and New Zealand may have cut into the muscle when they tried to trim the fat with staff redundancies during the economic downturn, a survey has found.

Sweeney Research surveyed 605 employers and 1690 employees across Australia and New Zealand.

The survey found 84 per cent of employers surveyed in both countries believed they had made too many redundancies during the global financial crisis and many now lacked people power.

Hudson chief executive Mark Steyn warned that the talent exodus predicted last year had gained momentum.

“Almost two-thirds of employers and employees alike say their teams are under-resourced and 54 per cent of employees say the team they work in is now weaker,” he said in a statement.

“During the downturn, many organisations ‘cut the fat’ but these results suggest that many also ‘cut into the muscle’.

“Employers desperately need to bolster not only the size, but also the strength of their teams to bring their businesses back to a place where they can compete effectively in their markets and establish a solid foundation for sustainable, long-term growth.”

From a survey such as this and the results suggests that Australia and New Zealand have trimmed to such an extent that those coming from off-shore may have the ability to find employment with such Companies as they try and pick up the slack to build their businesses and remain competetive.

The writer has also read another article which has suggested that the short-fall in Skilled Workers is evident in the increased number of applications for Skilled Visas and will most likely have a flow-on affect to “457″ Business (Long Stay) Visas which are also on the increase.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) have also just recently made an announcement to alter the way their Parramatta Office will process ENS & RSMS visa applications. Due the large increase in applications in 2010, they are now transferring approximately 1,700 application, at random, to either Perth or Melbourne DIAC offices to speed up the processing of these visas.