National media attention focused on Beilby’s new Chief Executive Martin Nicholls as he took to the road with a dire warning for employers.

In a series of industry seminars, Mr Nicholls called on Australian businesses to batten down the hatches as the war for talent continued to heat up.

Strong economic growth and virtually full employment had created a serious shortage of skills and headhunting was rife as the demand for executive talent increased across all industries, he said.

“Headhunting is becoming a fact of life. Ten percent of all permanent positions in Australia are being filled by professional searchers which means that more than 5000 people around the nation are being approached to change jobs every working day.”

Mr Nicholls said training gatekeepers to be on the lookout for headhunters was the first step in combating the problem. It was common for headhunters to misrepresent themselves, using elaborate ploys to gather information about potential candidates under the guise of being conference or seminar organisers, journalists, new employees or market researchers.

“Research shows that 95% of headhunting incidents can be traced back information leaks within an organisation itself and companies often make it really easy for people to lure people away by publishing useful information, like telephone lists, job titles and staff profiles on websites.”

“While the cost of a bad hire can be 3 times the person’s annual salary, the cost of poaching can be far higher.

“Ultimately, employers need to accept that their top performers are likely to be targets and do everything you can to retain key staff by listening to their needs, recognising and rewarding performance, providing opportunities for career development and watching salary trends.”