KEY POINTS:
There may be a quiet war for talent going on. But it looks like it will be an unwinnable one unless Kiwi companies lighten up, according to one industry executive.
Barry Dreyer, a partner in recruitment firm Fleet & Partners, says well-educated and qualified immigrants are frequently overlooked by companies searching for staff and that many firms are being too picky.
"New Zealand companies are not good at recruiting non-New Zealand managers," he says. "They never have been. But they are getting better.
"The country's graduate population for the last five or six years has included a lot of non-New Zealand-born [people]. Those people are finding it difficult to get jobs when they line themselves up against a New Zealand-born candidate.
"Companies are not really as open-minded as they should be in these sorts of processes."
And this alleged discrimination appears to be compounding an already tight skills shortage - particularly in the executive recruitment market.
Dreyer, a specialist in executive search and selection, says the country's skills shortage and demand for people to take up senior positions is not new and that top companies often end up chasing the same people.
"We are a country of just 4 million people - we have always had a skills shortage here," he says. "We are trying to run a nation, a series of corporates and government departments from a very small population base. It's the same today as it was 10 or 20 years ago when it comes to available skill sets."
He says employers are just going to have to lower their hiring expectations, open their minds and work with what they can find to fill slots in their companies.
"It is rare to find someone [here] who is a perfect fit for a job because we haven't got the [skill] base to do it," says Dreyer. "Even in good times there is a skills shortage. The hiring decision process by a corporate is essentially a compromise."
He says companies have to decide where they will turn a blind eye to an applicant's skills gap and seriously consider taking on people who don't quite match their needs. From what Dreyer says it seems that ticking all the boxes is out and bums on seats is in.
"In New Zealand it would be extremely rare for a person to be a perfect fit for a job," he says. "So you compromise on the least thing that's required in the job and you might reshape that position to fit the person - so the weakness that was compromised is covered off somewhere else," he says.
"Companies will need to develop packages that provide the equivalent living standards to attract people from abroad - that is the key."
While there may be a skills shortage in some areas, attracting and retaining good people cannot be solved with cold hard cash alone.
That's the view of Leighton Abbot who says there is always a war going on for good people and companies that make themselves attractive to the top performers will not only catch their eye, they'll get them to stay.
Abbot, a senior consultant at JRA, the firm that produces the annual Best Places to Work survey, says offering people a great place to work, or being an employer of choice, is all part of a company's arsenal for winning the war for talent.
"How do you get people through the door and how do you get hold of the best people?" he asks. "One of the big themes coming through the organisations that we identify as being great workplaces is that they try really hard to keep their good people.
"So when a member of staff does get approached by another organisation, perhaps one offering them an extra five, 10 or even 20,000 dollars, then it takes a special person - or a very special workplace - to convince the employee not to leave."
Abbot says he knows of two separate incidences where senior executive staff were approached with pay rises of more than $20,000 to join a new firm.
"One refused because they were very happy with their colleagues and because their employer was developing them," says Abbot. "Another was tempted by the offer but returned to their old firm quite quickly.
"He discovered that the extra $20,000 wasn't worth it because the experience of the day-to-day work at the new organisation just couldn't compare with the firm he had left."
Abbot says companies must always keep the channels of communication open when staff move on.
Because if they are good people there is a chance they may well return at some other time down the track or sooner if the next job doesn't work out as expected.
"It is really important for companies to have their staff enjoy what they are doing because they then help 'sell' the organisation as a good employer outside of work," says Abbot.
"The sorts of things that attract and retain people don't always include cold hard cash," he says.
"It is often the social aspect of the job, the company has to be a fun place to work, it must have a sense of community and its staff must share the firm's vision."
Fleet & Partners' Dreyer also says throwing money at the problem of attracting talented people is not the whole solution. He argues that the underlying issues go much deeper.
"What has happened in the last 15 years is that our ability as a nation to generate really good executives has diminished - particularly in manufacturing," he says.
"So much of the manufacturing capacity of the country has gone offshore - so we are not actually developing people from graduate level like we were 15 or 20 years ago."
Dreyer says young executives who are chasing the money head for jobs such as accountants, bankers and lawyers, rather than manufacturing positions such as engineers.
"If you compare what a good graduate engineer gets after 10 years' experience when compared to what a good accountant or lawyer gets then you will find they can be $100,000 apart," says Dreyer.
"So the country is sending the rewards into the non-productive end of the economy, the service sector. And service countries don't develop good chief executives or board directors of manufacturing companies."
But what can a firm actually do today to attract the people it needs?
Dreyer says the thing to remember is that when a company has someone good in their sights then that candidate will likely also be in the sights of other potential employers.
"You must be sharper than your competitors," he says. "Few candidates will be purely rational when it comes to picking and choosing their next employer. They will conclude their assessment process on impressions, instinct, and 'people factors' such as excitement, relationships and career potential."
Like Dreyer, Abbot maintains there will always be a war for talented people.
"Really good people will always be able to choose where they work," he says. "So the key is to retain your talent. There are a lot of people out there who just want to work in a very positive environment with a great group of people who are all working towards a common goal."
From what Dreyer and Abbot say, the war for talent really starts and ends in the office.
Do what you can to keep your best people and have those who leave spread the word on what a terrific employer you are.
www.stevehart.co.nz
How to attract talent
* Good people will look for efficiency and stimulation. They will want to work with people who do a good job.
* They want to see the recruitment process follow a clear and logical path, and above all they will not want to be "messed around".
* Have the process planned - know who is going to interview for you, when and with what support.
* Have your company material in tip-top shape - the place needs to look and feel efficient, any company profiles or glossies must be current and informative.
* Manage the interview and ensure the candidates know the sequence and process from your point of view, and the decision time frames. Stick to the time frames.
* Do not mess candidates about - no amount of apology will alter the impressions left.
* Maintain the momentum - keep the task moving forward everyday, and keep the candidate informed as to what is happening. Contact is what the candidate wants, not weeks without a word. Act and be decisive. When the time comes make your decision and communicate it.
* Be realistic in your offer. Given the cost of hiring at any level, an additional 5-10 per cent can often be a relatively cheap deciding factor.
* Put the CEO "one call away" to close senior roles. Often a timely call from this level will create the right impression on your target to ensure success.
* Get your induction plans and processes geared up for day one, week one, and month one.
* Be there when they start.
Source: Kevin Dreyer, Fleet & Partners
