With international borders opened as of 21 February, the report found that business leaders plan to hire international talent on a permanent basis in 2022, either because of, or in anticipation of, an inability to find the skills locally. Meanwhile, the majority (61 per cent) of Australian business leaders are also planning to hire international talent on a contract basis.
The tech industry is leading the push with 82 per cent of Australian CIOs planning to hire permanent IT talent from overseas and 75 per cent contract IT talent from overseas. This compares to 68 per cent and 65 per cent respectively for CFOs’ plans to look internationally to hire financial talent.
With recruiting from overseas now considered an essential part of the hiring strategy for many organisations, employers are seeking to offer and implement robust offshoring and relocation packages as a means of securing strong international talent.
According to the research, almost three in four (73 per cent) business leaders (and 84 per cent of CIOs specifically), said they’re likely to hire international talent to relocate and work in Australia. In contrast, many employers are embracing the remote workforce with 68 per cent of Australian business leaders saying they are also likely to hire international talent to work remotely, rising to 77 per cent among CIOs.
The race to hire top international talent means that employers are looking at an increase in starting salaries and packages to attract staff. The report found that four in 10 (40 per cent) employers in Australia plan to increase the initially planned starting salary for new recruits from overseas.
At the same time, 38 per cent are prepared to entice international talent with more paid leave, while 37 per cent will offer an upgrade to their job title. Additionally, 34 per cent are willing to loosen job requirements to attract international talent while 31 per cent will focus on offering professional development opportunities and career pathing.
David Jones, senior managing director, Robert Half Asia Pacific, said that in order to compete on the global playing field, Australian companies need to match the industry standards of the markets they’re seeking to recruit from, or risk being eclipsed by local competition.
“While focusing on competitive salaries is important, companies also need to home in on the motivations behind why professionals choose to relocate and offer tailored incentives to support their move,” he said.
“Candidates are not only evaluating the job against their career path but also whether it is worth disrupting their life for, so a compelling employer brand proposition is a vital component of candidate decision making.
“There is no doubt the current war for talent is placing pressure on Australian companies to focus on recruiting from overseas, but it is also evident that companies need to strengthen internal talent pipelines and be able to attract and retain local skills to develop a truly agile tech-first workforce. Organisations must be mindful of the fact that while international skilled migration will help mitigate skills shortages, we will also start to see talent leave Australia again as border restrictions ease around the world, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.”