Automation the answer to inflation, say Australian businesses

“In response to rapidly rising interest rates and a looming economic downturn, businesses operating in industries which aren’t perceived as recession-proof, such as retail, food and beverage, and leisure may be feeling the most pressure,” said Mr McNaughton. 

“For these businesses, automation is key for navigating uncertain economic times. It should lead to efficiencies, allowing value to be added in other parts of the business when revenue and profit might not be at its highest.” 

Nearly 50 per cent of Australian businesses told Grant Thornton they would look to use automation tools along with incentivising employees to work more efficiently this year

Even though overall business confidence dropped 17 per cent from the first half of 2022, companies increased investment in technology by 7 per cent in an effort to increase automation tools, found the firm. 

Australian firm’s IBR results also showed the battle for skilled workers had translated into businesses looking to provide greater flexibility to attract staff, with a four-day working week being considered by more entities. 

Grant Thornton’s research found that 30 per cent of Australian businesses had already implemented a four-day working week to further incentivise staff, with an additional 24 per cent of respondents declaring they wanted to implement it as soon as they could. 

“It is also great to see the IBR results have reinforced our firm’s decision to roll out a nine-day fortnight as it shows finding efficiencies is an important goal for Australian businesses in 2023,” said Mr McNaughton. 

“Businesses who trust their employees to work smarter and not harder over a shortened working week will succeed in attracting and retaining the best talent in a very challenging job market.” 

As the possibility of a recession looms over 2023, Mr McNaughton said businesses needed to ensure they were fully optimising their existing systems and striving to improve efficiency to better protect themselves from the impact of inflation and an unrealised recession.

“As a result of the IBR research findings and in response to a potential recession, it is critical Australian businesses look for ways to find efficiencies in their business throughout 2023 - whether that be through automation of current manual processes, fully utilising existing software, or incentivising staff,” he said.