Australian businesses are under investing in effective people performance strategies

Sydney – June, 2010: The People Performance Report released today by Kelly Services and CareerOne.com.au indicates that Australian businesses may be under investing in effective people performance strategies.

Research for the People Performance Report investigated the strategies and methods used by 289 Australian businesses to achieve, build and sustain a high performance workforce and has revealed that while many organisations recognise the need to develop a high performance culture, they aren’t investing enough time and resources to identify, develop and train people, and business growth is suffering as a result.

A cross section of Australian businesses contributed to the research, which explored topics such as employee retention and turnover, tenure, HR functions, high performance culture strategies and barriers to implementing a high performance work culture.

The report reveals that a large cross section of Australian companies recognise how high performance strategies can enhance business performance. They have some methods in place, but are willing to learn more and to explore new ways to work with their employees to create a strong workplace culture.

The People Performance Report reveals that:

• close to 40% of respondents stated that they ‘somewhat’ have a high performance culture and 7% ‘not at all’
• while employee turnover in 2009 was low at less than 10%, 6% of corporations had turnover rates of more than 31%
• a strong leadership team appeared to be the best asset in gaining a high performance work culture
• organisations that outsourced components of the HR function saw improved efficiencies in human performance
• case studies on other high performing work cultures were seen as valuable tools by HR managers
• lack of good people management was the biggest barrier to building a high performing culture
• many organisations appear to under invest in identifying, developing and training their people.

Managing Director of Kelly Services Australia Karen Colfer said the timing of the report is crucial for helping Australian organisations determine and implement effective strategies to cultivate workplace performance for the upcoming financial year.

“The economic downturn has meant that many businesses may have lost focus of one of their greatest assets –employees,” said Karen Colfer.

“The People Performance Report showed that Australian businesses are looking to rectify this lack of focus through a number of strategies including outsourced HR functions to achieve improved efficiencies in staff performance. This is a great opportunity for workforce solutions providers like Kelly Services to help organisations meet their staff management and performance goals.”

Chief Executive Officer of CareerOne.com.au Michael Harvey said, “While the apparent under investment in people performance strategies may be reflective of the economic conditions of the past two years, I am confident that renewed optimism in the employment sector would mean companies are now ready to refocus on cultivating high performance workforces.”

The Kelly Services and CareerOne.com.au People Performance report is available at www.careerone.com.au/peopleperformance

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