2024 HR & Recruitment Reflections

Every December we finish off with a blog reflecting on the year that has been. It’s my favourite blog of the year to write. Not because it’s the last blog of the year and signifies holidays ahead, but because it forces me amongst the chaos and hecticness of Christmas, to stop and reflect on the year that was.

I came into 2024 with a pretty comprehensive plan for the year ahead however as I reflect, that plan certainly had a lot more twists, turns and detours than what I had anticipated. Based on my discussions throughout the year with business owners, I don’t think I’m alone in that regard. It’s been a really tough year with business slowing, and some industries appear to have felt it a lot harder than others. We have seen many businesses enter administration or simply close, a reflection of the tough economic climate. We have seen more redundancies than we have in the last few years, more businesses conducting organisational reviews to see where they could trim the fat, create efficiencies and cut costs.

While hiring has slowed, finding talent certainly isn’t easy. The unemployment rate remains relatively low. Statistics tell us employers across Victoria are reporting a decline in recruitment challenges in comparison to previous years. However, the theme seems to be while there are more candidates applying for vacancies the lack of suitable candidates is still an issue in many cases. These stats align with our experience recruiting across a variety of sectors this year. Application numbers are definitely up however the caliber of applications is still hit and miss. Many employers have continued to focus on upskilling their existing workforce because they haven’t been able to source the caliber of talent externally.

One of the most common questions I am asked is what am I seeing happen in the market and this year that’s been a difficult question to answer. Most of the time there are common themes and challenges that I hear from businesses however, at this point in time, it’s hard to pinpoint themes and trends. Some businesses are still doing it really tough with sales or customer spend significantly down, while others are reporting they feel they are through the thick of it and are feeling positive about 2025. The feedback varies greatly from industry to industry however even within the same industry what one business is reporting is quite different to the next.

2024 was a big year on the HR front with another minimum wage increase. Many businesses really felt the pinch of the 3.75% increase. The rising costs of living have certainly played in to conversations about employee salary expectations and negotiations.

There were many changes rolled out as part of the Closing the Loopholes bill and many employers are navigating the changes that came into effect in August. The Right to Disconnect has been a hot topic of conversation and how businesses navigate that is currently playing out. I’ve heard many many times business owners scoff and say ‘what about my (the business owners) right to disconnect?’ One theme I am seeing is many business owners are tired and resilience is low. The challenges from covid, rebuilding off the back of covid, challenges in finding talent, challenges in retaining talent and then simply being exhausted from managing people coupled with navigating the impact of the slowing economy are wearing business owners down.

Changes to the casual employee definition and independent contracting have been other hot topics in the employment legislation space.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to be another hot topic of discussion. Like any new technological advancement, there are the early adopters who are leveraging and embracing AI, while there are plenty of cynics, predominately due to concerns with errors and inaccuracies and the potential repercussions of those errors.

From a recruitment perspective the most sought after skill sets as requested by employers this year have been communication skills, relationship building, the ability to lead and manage, initiative and problem solving. It certainly feels like people with a growth mindset are becoming harder and harder to find. With the focus on upskilling our people, training and development programs have also focused on the development of these same skills.

The great divide of work from home still exists and employees still value the flexibility to work from home however I am seeing less and less businesses across Ballarat and regionally offer WFH or they are really reigning it in. Will WFH being a thing of the past in 2025?

Just like any other year, for me and for Inspire HQ there were plenty of champagne popping moments, equally balanced with the swallowing razor blade moments (champagne and razor blades is a phrase commonly used to describe the recruitment industry). As someone who doesn’t take easily to stopping and smelling the roses, (I’m often already focused on the next goal or project), this is a skill I have been working on. So, in the last couple of days before your team takes a break for Christmas, don’t forget to remind them of the big and small wins, to stop and smell the roses. I’ve learnt a little time for reflection is a great way to farewell the year that was.

Our team will be taking a break from blogging during January however we will be back from February to continue to share our recruitment, human resources and careers insights, expertise and knowledge with you.

From our team to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a safe, happy and successful 2025!