Skills shortage forcing major rethink

The inability to attract and retain good staff, and the combination of rapidly escalating commercial rents and a shortage of warehouse and office space, are hurting small business in Western Australia.

For SMEs, the twin issues of staff and leaseable premises rank a close second behind bank financing and cash flow.

Not only are the right people hard to find in the first place, but small businesses are fighting a losing battle for them with the bigger companies servicing the state’s booming resources sector.

Relocations West Pty Ltd’s Pauline Pietersen said businesses in Perth and other areas were losing staff to the north because a package worth $60,000 a year in the metro area was worth between $90,000 and $100,000 a year in the Pilbara.

Margaret Weaver from management education company Carepoint, which helps screen people prior to employment, sees people taking three medicals in their efforts to play potential employers off against each other.

Major companies, which thought they had secured a worker’s services, were finding their offer of employment had been beaten by 30, 50 or 70 per cent, she said.

It was becoming increasingly important for companies to offer non-monetary enticements, such as those related to lifestyle, to secure the right employees.

Icon Business Solutions’ Deborah Pitter said companies needed to consider the potential employee’s value set, what they wanted from life.

“Perhaps someone wanting career advancement, something different, or a bit of flexibility in their work hours. Many of the big companies can’t offer that and are more rigid in their requirements,” Ms Pitter told the forum.

“But if someone wants to work two weeks on, two weeks off in the mines, we can’t compete with that. None of us [SMEs] could pay an unskilled worker $120,000 a year.”

Steve Cartwright’s FX Digital Pty Ltd has more work than it can handle.

“But when this happens, quality can become a problem. And trying to find the right staff is almost impossible,” Mr Cartwright said.

For that reason FX Digital has forged a joint venture with an Indian company, which has 20 web and internet developers.

Walker’s Candy Co owner Cassandra Stipanicev said a major problem was in the kickbacks the government paid to the local Joblink network.

“The job networks get a kickback from the government for every person they place. So, in fact, it is better for them to place 25 people with you and that they all leave. There is no time duration,” she said.

Compendium’s Michael Ratner said businesses soon learned to avoid the system because it didn’t work.

Because of this it was increasingly necessary to retain existing staff.

Ms Stipanicev said Walker’s Candy had ensured an excellent retention rate by taking very good care of its staff – offering staff special leave, birthday presents and social functions.

“Our staff are involved in every step of our process, so they get to contribute to the decision-making process,” she said.

“Not one of our employees stays just for money.”

Melissa Romano adopts a similar policy at ice-cream franchise Gelatino, but is constantly bemused by the lack of work ethic among others in their early 20s.

“I am amazed by it. Why aren’t they working like me? They are really becoming like bludgers,” she said.

Part of Ms Pietersen’s business is to find office space and she reflected the view of the SME group that it was getting tougher.

“Whether it is warehouse or office space, we really do struggle to get the right premises within budget,” Ms Pietersen said.

“It is actually the budgets that are blowing out more than anything. And it is the same with residential, whether it is rental or purchase.”