Q: With the lure of overseas opportunities perhaps more prevalent than ever, how can the Australian recruitment industry attract and retain local talent?

There are two distinct groups of professionals and managers currently working permanently overseas:

Those working to gain international experience over periods that typically stretch for two to five years. Indeed, a small minority do actually become semi-permanent expatriates.

And the others. Those that left because they couldn’t find the opportunities they were seeking in Australia. This is a major problem, with recent research estimating that as many as 300,000 of these very skilled Australians have fled overseas.

But who comprises category number two? Apart from being some of our very best, a lot of them have discrimination in common. They include gays, foreigners and that huge ‘minority’ group, women. Many get blocked from interesting roles or promotions so they are inclined to ‘vote with their feet’.

And what can we as recruiters do? Stop focusing on short-term commissions, start working on a Fee for Service model – and above all, stop hiring the ’25 year old travelling Pom’ who comprise approximately half the staff in the giant recruiters.

Solving this brain drain takes maturity, lots of recruiting experience, and a focus on your client’s interests. And it needs an international network of affiliate firm PLUS the ability to tap into expatriate communities overseas. These are the very factors that we at Abacus Recruitment Solutions are addressing with our Clients.