David Owens, an associate director at Digby Morgan’s Australian partner, Staff & Exec, casts an eye over the HR market down under.

“Actually, I’m sure the HR scene here in Australia mirrors that of the UK pretty closely. An increasing number of opportunities and a diminishing pool of skilled professionals – must sound familiar?

“Interestingly, HR seems to be becoming much more a field increasingly dominated by specialists. The generalists are still there in major numbers but anecdotal evidence suggests that in spite of the growth in the size of HR teams, the size of the senior generalist’s client groups doesn’t seem to shrink.

“The growth in numbers of people in HR teams around Sydney and Melbourne is primarily in the area of specialised HR support like remuneration, recruitment, performance management, occupational health & safety, learning & development and, of course, organisational design and organisational effectiveness.

“Australian CEOs are becoming much more demanding of their HR teams as they drive more accountability and ownership from their already business focussed HR business partners.

“The war for talent is acute and HR seniors are increasingly being asked to make a huge contribution to the nurturing and retention of key talent in a market place well known for its ‘mateship’ and networking.

“So, challenges abound and the financial returns are increasing as salaries begin to experience upward pressure. Combine that with the very high rates of participation among HR professionals in bonus plans or performance related pay and HR is a mission critical role that’s experiencing an upsurge in the perceived value of its contribution.

“Finally, you all know that it’s a great place to be. And, of course, the weather and beaches are much nicer than those at Clacton, Brighton or even Newquay”.

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