Courier boss tells Aussies to start shopping “now” as massive hiring drive kicks off

Australia Post boss Paul Graham has issued an urgent warning to Aussies ahead of the festive season this year.

Australians are being told to start ticking off their Christmas lists now as Australia Post kicks off its seasonal hunt for Christmas casuals early.

Australia Post boss Paul Graham says Aussies should start tapping their credit cards “now” if they want to guarantee Christmas presents will be on time, warning supply chain issues may still be a problem.

“I think the merchants are in much better shape than they have been the past couple of years. But if we get a similar sales surge as we have got the past couple of years, there will be some challenges,” he said.

More than 44 per cent of consumers have started to budget for Christmas, according to new research from Everyday Rewards.

Aussies are being told to get a wriggle on when it comes to Christmas shopping. Picture: Tim Carrafa

As almost three quarters search for special promotions, subscribe to retail email offers and use loyalty cards, a mere 11 per cent say they won’t begin preparations until the final week before Christmas, the study found.

Mr Graham is putting pedal to the medal this year, with hopes of roping in thousands of staff ahead of the pre-Christmas rush for casual workers.

He is kicking off the post service’s seasonal recruitment process more than two months early to fill up to 7000 roles amid the national worker shortage.

Mr Graham said he was confident that Australia Post could find 5,000 to 7,000 pairs of hands in the lead up to Christmas, despite the nation’s record-low unemployment rate.

But unlike some businesses feeling the strain of an ultra stretched labour market, the mail carrier won’t be upping wages to attract candidates.

Australia Post Chief Executive Officer Paul Graham is targeting school leavers and retirees in early seasonal hiring spree. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

“I don’t think the wages will be the challenge, but we are all fishing in the same pool, and it is an issue we saw come out of the jobs summit for every business from a coffee shop to a large organisation like Australia Post,” Mr Graham told an Australian British Chamber of Commerce lunch in Melbourne on Thursday.

“We normally recruit between 5,000 and 7,000 people for our Christmas peak, and we are doing that now. We probably did that two-and-a-half months earlier than we normally do because we can see the strains in the market.”

High-school leavers and retirees are being eyed by Australia Post, with Mr Graham hoping the alternative workers will fill big gaps in the labour force.

“We will be tapping into all areas,” Mr Graham said.

Australia Post is hoping to recruit between 5,000 and 7,000 staff before Christmas. Picture: John Gass

“We have a focus on for example with high school-leavers, so they come in for a couple of months, and we are tapping into our retirees who have not worked for Australia Post for a while and are still physically fit and very passionate about Australia Post.”

Many Aussie businesses have been forced to operate at reduced hours or close their doors due to widespread worker shortages this year.

The issue was tackled at this month’s jobs and skills summit in Canberra.

A recent industry round table which gathered major retail bosses, including Mr Graham, heard all of the companies involved were missing around 12,500 workers in total across a range of transport, distribution and warehouse roles.

Infrastructure, including automated distribution centres, transport and systems, have also been revamped to give Australia Post a leg up in the race to “push through” millions of parcels.

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA – NewsWire Photos September 02, 2022: Prime Minister of Australia Albanese, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance, Public Service and Women Katy Gallagher hold a press conference after the Jobs and Skills Summit at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“We have also equipped the business much better than we did last peak, and we will actually be able to push product through a lot quicker, so we think that will help significantly,” he said.

Mr Graham warned that labour shortages and inflationary pressure on businesses would likely continue for at least the next 12 months.

“What we have had is almost this perfect storm; hyperinflation, Covid pandemic, workforce in terms of putting people into jobs and finding people who actually want to do them, extended supply chains and people recognising that extended supply made sense when everything works well but all you need is one piece to come out of sync and your whole supply chain is disrupted,” he said.

“We just haven’t had one thing come out of sync, we have had three or four things come out of sync at the same time.

And the cost of shipping has gone through the roof. And that’s not going to go away for the next 12 to 18 months or potentially longer.”