The challenges around finding and retaining staff were a hot topic of discussion for panellists at this month’s launch of the annual BDO State Business Survey.
A massive 87 per cent of respondents to audience polling said they had trouble finding and retaining staff and, of those, most cited a shortage of suitably qualified candidates and intense competition for the same skills.
They also reported more movement in staff generally, but also losing more skilled workers moving interstate than might have expected given the COVID situation.
“We hear that regions are really busy, tourism is booming and it’s fabulous, but I’m hearing some horror stories of businesses that are open, have the demand, but haven’t got the staff” said panel facilitator and Business SA Chair Nikki Govan.
Listen to the discussion in the video:
The eighth annual BDO State Business Survey was launched at Lot Fourteen on September 16 with the panel discussion featuring business leaders including Jennifer Lynch (McLaren Vale Grape Wine & Tourism Association CEO), James Packham (Harcourts Packham Managing Director), Julianne Parkinson (Global Centre for Modern Ageing CEO) and David Fechner (BDO Corporate Finance Partner).
The BDO SA State Business Survey is open for responses until September 30 and the results provide a detailed insight into the day-to-day experiences of doing business in South Australia.
