NZ business confidence overtakes Australia

Researchers have found that Kiwi’s have more confidence in the future of their companies than Australian’s do in their own which has prompted experts to warn Australian businesses that an exodus of important talent could be on the horizon as Australian workers and out talent pool from other countries look to opportunities in New Zealand instead.

The studies showed that confidence in Australian businesses has stagnated amongst business leaders whilst the confidence of New Zealand business leaders has grown considerably. A survey found that confidence amongst Kiwi business leaders jumped by 69% over just ten months with many of them feeling that their businesses were growing and had positive futures ahead. The Australian respondents to the survey however felt that their businesses were shrinking and had decreased confidence in the future of their businesses. Many of them had negative projections of the future of their businesses compared to the much more positive projections of their New Zealand counterparts. It was said that New Zealanders had much more confidence in the futures of their businesses and this optimism was likely to be a self-fulfilling prophecy with New Zealand businesses likely to perform better simply because they were more likely to take steps to improve their businesses with a more positive outlook in place.

The higher level of confidence and optimism in New Zealand businesses is very likely to attract Australians overseas as they seek to get away from shrinking businesses and less positive work environments. Experts have said that Australian business leaders will need to be careful to send the right messages and signals to employees to ensure that confidence rises and to ensure that they avoid losing talent to New Zealand companies. Australian businesses will need to ensure that they make employees feel good about the future of their businesses.