Article published in The New Zealand Herald on 10 September,
2008
New Zealand businesses are facing an employment ‘perfect storm’ as they
struggle to recruit skilled staff and face an ongoing loss of high-calibre
recruits to lucrative overseas jobs.
That’s the summary from one of the country’s leading workplace analysts. And
as a leading indicator of just how competitive the jobs market remains, score of
employers are set to descend on Auckland at the end of this month to spruik
their wares in the country’s largest employment marketplace.
The New Zealand Herald Your Career
Expo will be held at the ASB Showgrounds on September 27-28. The expo will
bring employers and potential employees together in the biggest careers event in
the country, with a two-day series of workshops, presentations and exhibitions
across four pavilions.
Heather King, general manager of workplace analysts JRA (NZ), says employers
were still having trouble attracting the right people for jobs.
“Even with an economic slowdown and a softening labour market, skill
shortages remain the number one concern of business going into the
election.”
That was the outcome of the latest Business New Zealand survey of more than
2000 businesses. Combine that with the results from an online poll showing as
few as 31 per cent of employees are engaged in their work and concerns that New
Zealand is facing an employment ‘perfect storm’, and the struggle to stem the
growing exodus to Australia will become very real, King said.
‘Even facing this labour supply crisis, organisations are still failing to
deliver when it comes to providing a workplace environment that engenders high
levels of engagement.”
The online poll, run by JRA as part
of the lead-up to the Your Career Expo, confirms research which has highlighted
the alarming number of employees who are at best sitting on the fence, and at
worst actively disengaged with their work. And while the response of many to
this crisis involves smartening up their employment brand, this is not enough,
says King.
“Our research suggests that most organisations rely primarily on their
culture/brand/reputation to attract talent, and non the endorsement of their
organisation as a great place to work by existing staff. What chance therefore
if around 70 per cent of your people don’t really care?”
Employment branding is important, but it’s even more important to ensure that
you deliver in the promise, a message that does not seem to be getting
through.
“We’re encouraged to see that more than 70 per cent of organisations we
surveyed recently have indicated their senior management are attaching ‘high’ or
‘very high’ priority creating a high-engagement workforce,” King said.
Building a great workplace “requires vision, leadership, the commitment of
all involved, and, above all, patience”.
Visit www.jra.co.nz/poll.
