Home topics small-business-resources Image credit: Eric Prouzet on Unsplash Recruitment Small Business Recruitment Australian workers shortage reaches crisis point: What SMEs can do Heidi Heck November 22, 2021 The Australian labour shortage, first reported in early 2021, has reached a crisis point. For SMEs with less access to attractive cash bonuses or large paychecks than larger businesses, the challenge of attracting talent is more complicated than ever. So how can small businesses find and keep great staff? Dynamic Business chatted with Craig West, CEO and founder of succession planning service Succession Plus, about how SMEs can battle the worker shortage. The new world of work “I think there’s a combination of things, almost like a perfect storm coming into play,” said Craig. “Firstly, of course, COVID restrictions and the ending of skilled migration for two years have led to a massive shortage of skilled workers in Australia’s economy. “People have changed the way they work. They’ve gotten used to working from home three or four or even five days a week. They used to working remotely and doing things online rather than face to face”. The combination of changed working exceptions and a lack of skilled migration has left Australian firms in all sectors and industries of the economy are struggling to fill vacant positions. Craig continued: “I think there’s a particular shortfall in professional services firms, including my own firm. We use a lot of accounting, business valuers and legal and technical analysts, and we just can’t find people.