CEOs’ fingers on pulse for growth, but mandates challenge remains

In prioritising productivity, business leaders used The Australian’s annual CEO survey to highlight opportunities to expand the nation’s economic pie. High among their concerns was government intervention in working from home policies, which should be shaped by operational needs rather than political ideology.

As Victoria’s Allan government finalises controversial rules that would mandate at least two days a week working from home for public and private sector employees, the mandates will be watched closely by bosses around the nation.

Ben Pfisterer, head of Melbourne-based fintech Zeller, said the proposals were “the antithesis of what the Victorian economy needs right now”. The role of an effective government was to foster an optimal economic and regulatory environment to attract new businesses and help local businesses thrive. IAG chief executive Nick Hawkins said it was difficult to cultivate culture remotely, while National Australia Bank chief Andrew Irvine said “building a strong, cohesive culture requires people to be together”. Treasury Wine Estates CEO Sam Fischer, based in Melbourne, said his company’s hybrid approach struck the right balance, supported by clear guidelines on office attendance. Flexibility was important but prescriptive mandates “risk limiting organisational agility, particularly for businesses like ours with significant operational and supply-chain activities that rely on in-person collaboration”.

Mr Irvine told NAB’s annual general meeting on Friday that hybrid work, which he supported although it was impossible for branch staff, should be based on specific circumstances. Governments should not be involved.

In the CEO survey, business leaders also gave examples of red tape, regulation and planning laws strangling growth and delivery of major projects. It had taken 18 months of approvals, submissions and more than 3500 pages and $2m in government fees, Dulux Group’s Patrick Houlihan said, to deliver a $130m expansion of his company’s sealants, adhesives and fillers plant in Sydney. Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson cited Western Sydney Airport, to open next year, decades after the first feasibility study. Dubai, in contrast, was creating the largest airport in the world in a fraction of the time. CEOs also singled out the global tech race, especially artificial intelligence, and energy policy as determinants of growth. In the interests of living standards, federal and state governments should take note.