The Cost of a Redlining Economy

I read this with interest over at The Entreprenuerial Mind:

"The result for new jobs will be towards more highly skilled, highly trained and well-educated employees. But another characteristic will mean even more than in the past for the world's greatest economy - creativity....Workers and employees that contribute to this approach will be in high demand now and in the future. In their jobs these people work more with ideas and better ways of doing things."

I couldn't agree more with that; organisations will need creative people to survive and prosper.  They will need people to help them be better, help them to find solutions to problems.  They will need to become obsessed about finding and keeping talent.

But what to do when unemployment is at a 25-year low (5%), and many companies are finding it hard to hire any suitable staff, let alone the high in demand cool creative and talented types? You hit a bit of a supply and demand bottleneck, that's what.

How do I know? Because that is exactly what is happening to us here in Australia.  Our economy has hit a speed limit and according to Deputy Reserve Bank Govenor Glenn Stevens, it's going to stay there until more is invested in business capacity and infrastructure and the workforce became more productive.

"Become more productive"...I reakon that's where most businesses in Australia should be focussing.  We work hard here in Australia, put in lots of hours, we toil and sweat away our days away, no question.  But efficient?  Forget about it.  There is so much room to improve the productivity of this country, we have so much untapped potential.  Our economy is redlining but we have'nt gotten out of third gear yet!

But to be more productive and reach our real potential we are going to need to find more talented, creative people.  More smart people.  More skilled people.  More people who can think of better, smarter, more innovative ways of doing things.  More competitive ways of doing things.  Otherwise we'll just keep dumbing down our workplaces, winding them back to the Taylor times, and believe me this is starting to happen...

What to do?  Education?  Immigration?  Something else?