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Australia – One in five is in the wrong job

03 September 2015

One in five people is in the wrong job and their low engagement levels are estimated to cost the ASX100 companies AUD 6 billion (USD 4.2 billion), reports the Australian Financial Review.

Global employment firm Right Management, part of the ManpowerGroup, finds once people transitioned into other roles, there was an average increase of 15.4% in improved engagement.

The report surveyed 857 outplacement candidates and compared engagement levels from a worker's pre-transition role with their new job.

The report estimates by moving individuals into a position where they are engaged, organisations could increase annual revenue by 0.7% t which would produce AUD 6 billion (USD 4.2 billion) in annual revenue across the ASX100.

Right Management talent and career management practice leader AsiaPacific, Tim Roche said people get socialised into careers.

"They go to university, often to go to university they make a selection based on their entrance mark or what their parents are suggesting or trying to influence and what their friends are doing," Mr Roche said.

"Typically they wake up at 35 and think how did I get here and more importantly how do I get out of here. It's not until they reach outplacement that their strengths, values and interests are analysed and then they go 'ah-ha I am in the wrong space and I need to shift'."

Mr Roche said companies hire staff based on experience, exposure and education, which works 80% of the time. But he said companies instead need to take a strengths based approach.

Right Management principal consultant Ian Till said the one in five who changed roles or industries, did so out of desire.

"Organisations need to have really robust career discussions with their staff and be open to the fact that some people may want to move."

He said they should not try to hold on to talent because they were "good talent but not doing something they love, but to look at the individual instead." 

However, whether or not someone is in the wrong job depends on several factors, including the role, the organisation or the work pattern – full-time employment, part-time and the flexibility offered.

PwC people business managing director Jon Williams said it also depended on what cycle of life the employee was in. But inertia was the biggest reason people stayed in roles that they did not enjoy or were not suited to.

"People have a simple fear of change," Mr Williams said.

Mr Williams said a recent survey PwC conducted with employment social networking site LinkedIn found Australia had a higher number of employees moving jobs but staying within the same sector, compared with other countries.

"This is a problem as there isn't a moving of new skills," Mr Williams said.

"Moving doesn't always create value. Companies need to look for people who fit. Skills are the least important, it's more important to select candidates on value, ethos and fit, skills can be learned."

Australian Institute of Human Resources president Peter Wilson said although the report was somewhat selective, in that it was a survey on people who were using outplacement services following a redundancy, the figures were similar to previous studies.

He said according to the Gallup Organisation talent assessment, 25% of employees were positively engaged in their roles, 60% were neutral and 15%  were not engaged.

Mr Wilson said this was better than the international average which shows 20% of people were not engaged. "Smarter companies are usually surveying and speaking to staff regularly [so] that they can gauge the level on engagement," Mr Wilson said.

"There are benefits to having a higher number of engaged employees and companies will see the benefits from productivity and performance to lower turnover of staff."