Last updated on October 29th, 2023 at 08:20 pm

INTERNATIONAL professional services recruitment firm Morgan McKinley has released its Asia-Pacific employment monitor, which shows employment opportunities across the region have grown by 37 per cent from the first quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year. The report found job vacancies had also grown 18 per cent from January to March this year.

Asia-Pacific chief operations officer Richie Holliday said Australia was emerging from a difficult period for jobseekers, with salaries largely flat and little liquidity in the job market because candidates were reluctant to move. “The environment has also been challenging for hiring organisations,” Mr Holliday said. “There is a lot of pressure to rotate people internally, which means that organisations miss out on the opportunity to benchmark against the whole market.” He said companies were focusing on diversity and ensuring shortlists were composed of female and male candidates, but he said there was a shortage of quality female talent, which might make recruitment difficult. Mr Holliday said there had also been strong growth in China, but it was not the most cost-effective location for foreign companies to base large numbers of staff. He said there had been a particularly high demand for senior compliance and risk professionals in Hong Kong and, with Japan’s ageing population, there was a lack of young, well-qualified candidates for professional positions.

Following Rein
EMPLOYEE assistance and organisation development provider Assure Programs has appointed Kate Connors as its chief executive. Ms Connors has been acting chief executive since last year, and was chief operating officer for more than 12 months after being appointed to the senior position in February last year. The Melbourne-based executive moved to Assure in 2012 after the business joined the international Ingeus group of companies. Assure has operations in each mainland state, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Ms Connors has replaced Ingeus’ managing director and founder Therese Rein. She has a masters of psychology from Curtin University and has worked in the public and private sectors, including as national manager for Advanced Personnel Management.

Bad boss takes a toll
A WHITE paper prepared by recruitment consultants Robert Walters has found that poor leadership is the main factor that negatively affects individual performance. The white paper, Developing High-Performing Teams to Drive Business Performance and Engagement, surveyed more than 250 hiring managers and almost 700 professionals across Australia and New Zealand on the factors that help build high-performing teams. The paper found 80 per cent of professionals believe poor leadership affects trust and openness. When professionals were asked what negatively impacted their performance most, 32 per cent claimed poor leadership. This was followed by not having clearly defined goals and objectives, and not being adequately recognised for high performance. The survey found 63 per cent of organisations might be missing out on talent due to inflexible selection criteria, and more than half of professionals felt their organisations did not do enough to reward performance. Almost half said they were managed with a top-down leadership style, with leaders making decisions without consultation.

CFO puzzle cracked
RECRUITMENT firm Hays has found the attributes of an effective chief financial officer are commercial nous, the ability to co-operate and a willingness to work hard. Hays surveyed 500 workers for the DNA of a CFO report, finding they were typically men in their 40s and 50s who worked long hours, networked, had extensive experience, were good people managers, possessed strong general management skills, and made time for a work-life balance. The survey also found strong people skills were as important as financial skills. Hays Accountancy & Finance regional director Lynne Roeder said many accountants entered the profession with the aim of becoming a CFO. The survey found 55 per cent worked between 46 and 55 hours a week and 29 per cent more than 56 hours, and 57 per cent had worked outside Australia or New Zealand during their career.

© The Australian

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