Australia’s talent values workplace flexibility more than ever: Aquent
Aquent has released its 2022 Australian Talent Insights Report & Salary Guide, offering up insights as to whether the foreseen ‘Great Resignation’ will hit Australian shores, as well as the changing face of employee expectations.
The report, based on a survey of 1,635 digital marketing, creative, PR & development Talent in Australia – primarily across Sydney and Melbourne – delves into the new landscape of Australian business in the post pandemic context. Responses were collected across a number of industry sectors and position types with 54% of respondents in management positions and 78% of respondents in permanent roles.
Survey responses from talent across the digital marketing, creative, PR and development sectors. [click to enlarge]
The report sought to address the biggest concerns of hiring managers in the industry, tackling fears of the Great Resignation and the normalisation of the hybrid workplace. While the talent are more empowered than ever to ‘vote with their feet’, with 72% of employees surveyed asserting they would sooner look for a job with flexible work arrangements than return full time to the office, satisfaction is distinctly high. The number of employees actively looking for work has fallen significantly since 2021, with four out of five indicating they are satisfied in their current role.
However, 58% of digital talent remaining open to offers of a new role, and 40% are considering leaving their current role within the next six months, making it critical that employers are vigilant when it comes to ensuring staff retention. This is particularly pertinent given an increased level of job vacancies according to the Australian Government October 2021 Vacancy Report. With job vacancies at a 13 year high, there is no shortage of opportunities for employees who become dissatisfied with their workplaces, particularly on matters of flexible work.
While employee mobility remains high, survey results suggest that the chance of a Great Resignation style event are no higher in 2022 than they were last year.
The importance of flexible working arrangements are at an all time high for talent.
When it comes to talent retention, employers should not underestimate the importance of flexibility in the workplace, with flexible working arrangements rating as the highest priority for talent when looking for their next role. Of talent surveyed, 72% said they would look for a new role if their managers were not flexible around offering remote work. This is no surprise, with 73% of talent now preferring hybrid work arrangements, and 25% preferring to be fully remote.
While compensation was still a relevant issue for talent, it only came in at fifth place as a priority for their next role, with most respondents requiring a pay increase of at least 20% to entice them to change roles. Instead poor leadership has taken the lead as the key incentive for talent to leave their position, with nearly 30% of respondents citing this as the reason they left their last job.
Aquent is a global workforce solutions company that works across recruitment in the digital marketing, creative, and development industries. Its 2022 Australian Talent Insights Report & Salary Guide is the company’s fourth annual talent report, and provides data on the salaries for key job roles in the digital marketing, creative, and development spaces.
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