Technology

LiveHire wins Queensland government staff redeployment contract in wake of coronavirus

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By Danica Cullinane - 
LiveHire Queensland state government staff redeployment contract coronavirus ASX LVH COVID-19

LiveHire’s talent acquisition platform will help the Queensland government to identify staff who can move into critical areas of need.

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Cloud-based talent acquisition platform LiveHire (ASX: LVH) has won a contract by the Queensland state government to redeploy staff into “critical areas of need” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Melbourne-headquartered company today announced its technology will serve the 48 Queensland government agencies by profiling staff and identifying those which would be qualified to move into critical roles.

LiveHire’s technology will be used to support the Queensland Public Service Commission’s #BeHere4Qld project to deploy more than 15,000 public sector employees across the state as part of a broad government response to the health crisis.

The contract will also support ongoing internal staff mobility.

LiveHire did not disclose the value of the deal but said it is worth about six times the average annualised recurring revenue (ARR) across its clients. As at 31 December 2019, the company’s average ARR per client was $30,404, making the contract worth more than $180,000.

LiveHire chief executive officer Christy Forest said the company is thrilled its “uniquely flexible and agile” platform can play a role in the Queensland government’s “rapid” response to the coronavirus crisis.

“At this important time, we have leveraged the proven functionality of our platform to identify in-demand roles to assign well-fitted, available employees into a newly created talent community for the Queensland government (and by agency),” she said.

“We then bulk communicate with employees regarding next steps, using our native two-way text communication functionality.”

According to Ms Forest, the platform’s “market leading analytics and data extracts will ensure transparency and insight for the Queensland Public Service Commission”.

“Our proven speed to implement [and] our ability to quickly engage and place staff is crucial to our success,” she said.

Government recruitment among mass job losses

The Queensland government’s #BeHere4Qld initiative aims to drive recruitment across the state’s public sector.

Across Australia, federal and state governments have been trying to hire more people and protect jobs with business support packages in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The most recent announced stimulus package is a $1,500 per fortnight allowance for struggling businesses to hand down to employees in order to retain their jobs.

The initiatives come as unemployment due to virus-caused shutdowns is expected to climb from 5.1% to double digits by the middle of this year.

But while “non-essential” businesses in retail, hospitality, facilities such as gyms and services like beauty salons have been forced to close in response to COVID-19, recruitment has ramped up in healthcare, food manufacturing, telecommunications and even in administrative support at Centrelink, which has been swamped with unemployment claims in recent weeks.

Ms Forest commended the Queensland government for its “responsiveness to the crisis” and its use of the latest technology to “engage and communicate with its staff in a way that will deliver meaningful outcomes in service to Australians at this critical time of need”.

LiveHire shares surged almost 57% to $0.13 on today’s news by early afternoon trade.