Upskilling over Recruiting
This post is part of our “Future-Fit Talent” series, drawn from our latest survey of 280+ Australian HR and L&D professionals. Each week we unpack a different insight from the research and share practical steps you can apply right away.
“Retention is the new recruitment” might feel like marketing spin, yet the numbers say otherwise. Training and development tops the investment league table, with 62% of HR professionals planning larger budgets. Leadership development and employee engagement share second spot on 47% each, while investment in candidate recruitment lags at 31%. The message is clear: polishing the talent we have beats running ever-costlier external searches.
Meanwhile, high-potential identification remains under-funded at 23%, a gap we see every day when managers struggle to pinpoint tomorrow’s leaders.
Development spend is also becoming smarter. 43% plan to augment training needs analysis with AI within the next year, letting us map skills gaps in minutes instead of weeks. That dovetails with wider tech adoption as 41% are boosting budgets for automation and analytics.
So, how do we ensure those extra dollars translate into real capability and lower turnover?
- Link skills to strategy. Run a talent audit: what will the business need in 24 months, and how far off are we?
- Diagnose, don’t guess. Assessment data already held on file pinpoints individual gaps; no one sits through generic modules “just in case”.
- Turn learning into mobility. New skills stick when people see an immediate career path; internal marketplaces and project boards make that tangible.
The payoff is retention: employees stay when growth is obvious and personalised.
Ready to dig deeper? Watch our “Future-Fit Talent” webinar on-demand to explore the data in full. We’d love to hear what stands out for you.