Building Capability Before You Need It

Most business owners I speak to aren't worried about finding opportunities. They're worried about having the people to deliver them.

A new client lands. A contract gets signed. Growth is on the horizon.

Then someone resigns.

Or a critical role sits vacant for months.

Or a key leader leaves with years of knowledge and relationships.

Suddenly the challenge isn't winning work. It's having the capability to execute.

The latest Occupation Shortage Report - March 2026 found employers participating in the survey filled only 68.2% of advertised vacancies, with hiring becoming more difficult across both metropolitan and regional Australia.

At the same time, the skills businesses need are changing. The Hays 2025 Skills Report found 85% of surveyed hiring managers reported skills gaps affecting performance, particularly in leadership, communication and problem-solving.

Here in Western Australia, demand for capability remains strong. WA employed 1.69 million people in June 2026, while mining employment reached a record 135,693 on-site full-time-equivalent positions in 2024

And it's not slowing down.

Industry modelling suggests 48 WA resources and energy projects could require more than 11,000 additional workers by 2029.

But talent shortages are only one part of the story.

The rules around employing people have changed significantly over the past few years.

Businesses are now navigating new casual employment rules, labour-hire reforms, right-to-disconnect obligations and stronger compliance expectations around employee pay and entitlements. Since January 2025, intentional underpayment of employee entitlements can constitute a criminal offence.

At the same time, workplace wellbeing has moved well beyond yoga classes and employee assistance programs.

Psychosocial hazards such as stress, burnout, bullying, fatigue and workplace conflict are now recognised workplace health and safety risks that employers are expected to identify and manage.

This is why workforce strategy is no longer simply an HR conversation.

It's a growth conversation.

A risk conversation.

And increasingly, a competitive advantage.

The businesses that seem to be navigating this best aren't necessarily hiring faster than everyone else. They're building capability before they need it.

They're developing leaders, planning for succession, investing in emerging talent and thinking about workforce capability with the same discipline they apply to sales, operations and financial performance.

A Quick Workforce Health Check

Ask yourself:

Talent

• If a key person resigned tomorrow, would we know who could step in?

• Are we building relationships with future talent before vacancies arise?

• Do we have a strategy to attract and develop emerging talent?

Capability

• Do we know what skills we'll need three years from now?

• Are we developing future leaders internally?

• Is knowledge being transferred before experienced people leave?

Risk

• Have we reviewed our pay, classification and employment practices recently?

• Do managers understand their obligations around workplace behaviour and psychosocial risks?

• Are we confident our workforce practices would stand up to external scrutiny?

Continuity

• Could the business continue operating effectively if two key people left unexpectedly?

• Does our workforce plan support our growth plan?

• Is succession planning a regular leadership discussion?

If several of those questions made you pause, you're not alone.

The biggest workforce risk facing many businesses today isn't recruitment.

It's assuming capability will be there when we need it.

The question for business owners is no longer:

"Who do we need to hire?"

It's:

"What capability will our business need next, and what are we doing today to build it?"

Because in a market where skills are scarce and expectations continue to evolve, capability is becoming one of the few competitive advantages that can't be bought at the last minute.