Looking for employees? Should you be looking at your systems first?

The tight employment market brings a whole new set of challenges for businesses. A recent report by NAB has revealed that one in five (19%) Australians are looking at changing their jobs. Compared to last quarter, this figure is down slightly; however, it still shows Australian workers are looking to take advantage of the tight labour market. 

On top of the 19% who are actively looking to change roles at the moment, there is a whopping 43% who currently choose to stay up to date with new opportunities, despite them not presently considering leaving their job. 

There is clear evidence of who in the workforce is leading this rapid change. Young workers are the most likely to consider changing their jobs in the current labour market.  

NAB Executive for Business Metro, Michael Saadie, said: “the pandemic had fundamentally changed the labour market and employers now had to look at different ways to attract and retain talent; be that new types of leave, wellbeing initiatives or learning and development.”

There is plenty of advice on attracting and retaining quality employees—flexible work, engagement, recognition etc.

One often overlooked factor is the generational shift within the workforce and what these younger, more agile employees are looking for. 

Workers now expect modern systems and streamlined processes.

Often we hear people expressing frustration at

• old, clunky software,
• disconnected systems,
• double handling of data input,
• not having easy access to the information they need.

Consider you have two employees. One is very comfortable with how things are done now, and they resist change and want to maintain the status quo. Despite putting in plenty of effort, they may not be as productive as they could be due to the inefficient systems in place. Let’s call them the Traditionalists. 

The second employee actively seeks to improve processes, eliminate inefficiencies, and maximise productivity. They want to see the best return for their efforts and not be bogged down by inefficient systems. We can refer to them as the Progressive.

Both work just as hard as each other, but which is your better employee? It is a tricky balance to please them both. If you look to modernise and improve your systems, you risk getting the Traditionalist offside. 

If you stick with your current situation, the Progressive will likely look for other opportunities elsewhere. 

It is essential to review your business processes regularly to find areas for improvement. Efficiency and productivity are key areas to focus on when doing these reviews. Just because you have always done something a certain way – does not mean it is still the best way to do it today.

Start with your big-ticket items. Which business processes are your staff spending most of their time on? Payroll? Accounts? Project Costing? Estimating? Inventory?.. the list goes on. The more time your team spends on these areas, the greater the opportunity for efficiency gains.

After this initial discovery phase of your review, it is time to look for ways to improve those processes that take the most time in your business. Software changes daily, and it is vital to make sure you are using the software you have to its full potential and ensure you are using the best software to fit your business’s needs. Many tools are solely created to increase productivity and reduce manual tasks, e.g. mass emailing invoices based on previous setups or EDI integration with your supplier to instantly create PO requests.

Using the above as an example, saving a minute or two on an invoice may not seem like much, but times that by a few hundred or thousand invoices and you are freeing up hours of your employees’ time. Time they could use to focus on other more critical tasks, like finding new jobs or chasing outstanding money.

Thrive can help you do a business review that covers both your software and the processes you currently have in your organisation. While finding the time to look at your business from this perspective can be challenging, the gains far outweigh it. You could see improved productivity, faster and more efficient processes and better use of your resources. It is critical to keep the talent you have within your business. Let us help you achieve that and attract more in the future.

If this is something you feel your business could benefit from, give one of our team a call today on 1300 868 474 and let’s find some time to make your business even more successful.