Nick said...
It's an interesting one. As the classic western economies go into meltdown, in Oz (and WA in particular) we're experiencing unprecedented demand for skilled workers. But there is still a retention issue.

I think it's got to be more than just pay rises. Money is important but it only goes so far, and for so long. It's like a sugar-rush: tastes really good but is pretty short-lived. I would have thought it's much more about employee engagement and much better quality management and leadership? In the more traditional sectors such as infrastrcture and engineering, people are still promoted because they are effective technicians, not because they are effective managers. These skills are learnable of course, but money and time does need to be invested. However, with the kind of turnover rates Clare's piece mentions, even if retention was upped only slightly, that investment would pay for itself in next to no time.

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