Businesses still want to keep staff

While many businesses are looking to reduce staff numbers and even impose pay cuts on workers during the downturn, a new survey shows businesses are trying their hardest to keep employees. The survey, commissioned by Hewitt Associates, shows 79% of Australian organisations questioned are developing strategies to retain staff – but two thirds say they will cut jobs anyway.

The most common methods for retaining current staff include hiring freezes, salary freezes, delayed salary reviews and forcing employees to take accrued leave.

But despite any methods used to help retain staff, 63% of organisations predict job cuts, with the average cut being about 5.5% of the total workforce. The respondents say 61% of the cuts will occur in administration roles, with 41% in sales.