They’ll always call Australia home

Australia’s robust economy has defied the financial downturn that has savaged many other countries around the world. The brain drain of Australian talent that escaped these shores in pursuit of fame and fortune overseas is now looking over its shoulders and recalling fond memories of home. The reality is that as more Australian companies commit to re-hiring after a long market drought the expats now see bigger employment opportunities back here while the US and Europe in the main are still floundering in a financial black hole. And so the tide turns. Recruitment agencies here are starting to receive accelerating numbers of enquiries from expats seeking new opportunities of better jobs, higher paid jobs, more job security and the opportunity to soak up the sun on a decent beach once again. Yes, there is always a seasonal shift to these shores but the expats now have more reason to return.

With new job numbers increasing by 40,000 in October pushing the unemployment rate down to 5.7 percent compared to 7.9 percent in the UK and 9.5 percent in the US, there is good reason for them to pack their bags. The Australian Bureau of Statistics claims we worked an additional 13.4 million hours last month.

Helping them in their quest to head home are Australian employers who battened down the hatches during the economic storm, hid beneath their desks, stopped communicating and ignored the golden rules of employee engagement. These are the ones whose employer brand strength has been diminishing over the months, leading to disengaged employees who are now heading for the door. Many employers are waking up to the fact that the investment needed to build a robust employer brand is far less than the cost of replacing valuable staff. An employee exodus in the coming months has even been suggested by the more notorious media commentators. Expats here they come.


Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia with affiliates in Melbourne, Gold Coast, London, Singapore and Mumbai.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au