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The majority of Australia’s finance leaders are planning to hire more people, according to data from a recent report.
A recent report from workforce management platform Rippling has provided some insight into the 2025 hiring plans of Australia’s finance leaders.
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The majority (77 per cent) of finance leaders in Rippling’s State of Hiring report – taken from a survey of 500 business leaders conducted by market researcher Censuswide – said they planned to hire more people in 2025.
More than half (58 per cent) of respondents surveyed said they were willing to look overseas to fill key skill gaps; however, this figure was lower than that for business leaders across all industries (89 per cent).
Rippling noted local skill shortages remained a key concern, with business leaders across all industries citing high demand for areas such as critical thinking (33 per cent), cyber security expertise (30 per cent) and industry-specific certifications (29 per cent).
Meanwhile, 77 per cent of finance leaders said they planned to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools in their hiring processes.
Matt Loop, Rippling vice president and head of Asia, said Australian businesses are showing remarkable resilience in expanding their global workforces “amid economic uncertainty and shifting regulations”.
“It’s encouraging to see this groundswell of cautious optimism as we head into 2025,” Loop said.
“When businesses grow, so does the economy, and it’s clear that companies are committed to sustainable growth, even as they tackle skill shortages and adapt to regulatory complexities.”
Generational shift
The report also provided some insight into the candidate selection process for finance leaders, with almost half (48 per cent) saying they were less likely to hire a candidate who wouldn’t work onsite five days a week.
Loop also noted the challenges provided by Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012), with business leaders in the report citing the cohort’s preferences for remote work (28 per cent), unwillingness to work outside standard hours (28 per cent) and limited long-term commitment or company loyalty (31 per cent) among their main concerns.
“Businesses are rethinking flexibility to better align with productivity and team cohesion,” Loop said.
“While flexibility remains important, we’re seeing a shift towards a more balanced approach that supports operational goals and reflects evolving workforce dynamics. This shift poses challenges in attracting and retaining Gen Z employees, who favour remote work and high flexibility.
“Employers need to find a balance by creating growth pathways that respect these preferences while also ensuring that essential skills and experience are developed along the way.”
Challenges of hiring
In a feature for The Adviser’s August 2024 magazine, Aaron Hockey, Lendi Group’s general manager for network development, commented on the challenges of growing a team.
“We still continue to see brokers hire staff in traditional admin and personal assistant roles,” Hockey said.
“However, as the demands of broking and customer expectations have evolved, so, too, has the scope of these support roles, and we now see many support staff taking on responsibilities beyond loan administration, including lead nurturing, community engagement, social media, and local area marketing.”
Hockey noted that the majority of Aussie retail stores have at least one team member employed in an administration or client service capacity, creating a natural development pathway into broking.
“Many of our franchisees offer admin roles as a development pathway into mortgage broking, and over the past 12 months, over 20 store admins have ultimately transitioned into full-time broking roles,” Hockey said.
[Related: Finance leaders flag top challenges for new financial year]
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