News
Employers are facing another tough year, with the majority identifying the battle to attract staff as the biggest human capital challenge. Two thirds of Australian businesses currently struggle to attract staff, according to the 2008 Vedior Asia Pacific Employment Trends Survey. “The shift from retention to attraction reflects the overall climate of the continued shortages […]
When it comes to ease of doing business, Sydney scores some high points. Ranking fifth in the MasterCard World Centres of Commerce Index in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and African Region, Sydney has performed better than Melbourne, which came in at ninth. And when it comes to the world economy, Sydney is 12th, ahead of […]
Is there actually a skills shortage, or has it just been exaggerated? According to Need, recruitment trading portal and marketplace, the skills shortage is really just a creation of inefficient HR and recruitment practices. “Almost every industry in Australia is claiming there is a skills shortage, there are genuine shortages in some professions, such as […]
While businesses are now aware of Business Process Management (BPM), only half are actually committed to using automated systems to improve efficiency. According to a recent University of Western Sydney (UWS) study, businesses are still using programs such as PowerPoint because there are few employees with the necessary training. Business owners will no longer be […]
Wage growth pressure is rising, and small businesses wage increases have climbed from five percent to 5.2 percent in the last year. And encouragingly, staff turnover has seen a small drop from 13.6 percent to 12.7 percent, found the Australian Institute of Management’s (AIM) National Salary Survey 2008. “Small companies are continuing to find it […]
Happy with your career? Well, 2.2 million working Australians aren’t. In fact, more than half of Australian workers fell into their career path and 64 percent are keeping an eye out for new career opportunities, according to a survey commissioned by Chandler Macleod’s CMyPeople, an online competency assessment system. “Not only does Australia have an […]
Are you one of those employers who annoy their employees outside of office hours on their mobile devices? If you are, you’re not the only one. More than a third of employees get hounded even after they clock off, according to a recent LinkMe survey. But if you are, you might want to stop, because […]
A new eco-friendly business trend is emerging as more shoppers stick the “no junk mail” sign on their letterbox and instead log onto Australia’s first carbon-free online portal, Catalogue Central. The switch from paper to pixels comes as a result of shocking statistics suggesting that 320,000 tonnes of junk mail is delivered into Australian letter boxes […]
The Australian dollar opened weaker today for the 10th consecutive day as more traders buy into the undervalued US currency. At 7am, the Australian dollar traded at US$0.8838/43, down from yesterday’s close of US$0.8868/71. During the overnight session, the Australian dollar traded for as low as 0.8798, its lowest in six months. Suncorp group treasury […]
A recommendation in the Australian Law Reform Commission’s privacy report calls for more thorough credit reporting, which the Australia Privacy Foundation says will allow business to take advantage of consumers. Foundation chairperson Roger Clarke called the move intrusive. “What’s sometimes called ‘positive’ reporting and sometimes called ‘comprehensive’ reporting [are] both gloss words which essentially mean […]
South Australia’s Office of Consumer and Business Affairs is running an advertising campaign to remind consumers of their warranty and refund rights in the state, including ads in newspapers and an information hotline. Consumer Affairs Minister Gail Gago, believes some businesses do not provide consumer with correct information about warranties. In SA, all products are […]
More and more, Australian companies are turning to offshore markets to reduce the cost of business services. But while one in three Australian companies are taking their business offshore, two in three Australians believe outsourcing work damages the economy, according to a recent Talent2 survey. “Outsourcing is a pretty contentious issue and many are concerned […]
Productivity Commission chairman Gary Banks has encouraged continued tariff reform, particularly protection for car manufacturers, to increase national productivity. Banks referred to the recent failed Doha round in Geneva and said it was not an excuse for special interests to get in the way of reform. “The latest multilateral World Trade Organization failure should, if […]
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has found that supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles have been able to work state planning laws in their favour, preventing independent competitors from operating in the same location. Contained in the ACCC’s report into grocery prices was the following: “The complexities of planning applications, and in particular the […]
Overall consumer spending may be dropping, but ethical consumerism is on the rise. More than 90 percent of women look at a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices before making a purchasing or employment decision, found a poll conducted by Heat, marketer to women. The environment and gender equality topped the list of important issues, […]
Queensland will host Carbon Market Expo Australasia 2008, Australia’s first expo wholly dedicated to carbon-related technology and services. The expo will be a mixture of conference and trade show featuring keynote speakers, panel sessions, workshops and a showcase of clean-tech specialists. “The new Australian Government’s commitment to the introduction of an Australian Emissions Trading Scheme […]
Apple is opening another retail store on August 9, this time, in Chatswood. The hands-on store will give users the opportunity to try out the entire Apple range, including the iPhone 3G, iPod touch and MacBook Air. Like every Apple store, it also offers personal training through the One to One program, alongside free workshops […]
More than 20 percent of managers do not respect their employees, or enjoy working with them, found a survey conducted by James Adonis, management consultant. And 39 percent don’t believe they’re good managers. “There are two main issues here,” says Adonis. “The first is that there’s a large chunk of managers out there who strongly […]
Energise Enterprise, the Brumby Government’s month-long festival for small business was launched today by Victorian Small Business Minister, Joe Helper. The event will host more than 360 state-wide activities and is expected to attract about 30,000 business owners. “Now in its third year, the festival highlights our small business calendar, and its success is shared […]
Businesses, across all industries, are making payments at least four weeks past the standard term. Private companies are averaging 60.9 days to settle accounts, and public companies are averaging 58 days. Big businesses with more than 500 employees are the worst culprits. “The impact of the credit crunch on business’ ability to access funds adds […]
