NZ businesses suffering key staff shortages

Photo / Thinkstock

An "overwhelming majority" of New Zealand businesses are suffering key staff shortages, which many expect will worsen as the economy improves.

The findings are contained in a survey by Talent Edge New Zealand, which found 81 per cent of respondents reported they had at least moderate shortages.

Deloitte partner Richard Kleinert said many New Zealand companies didn't have plans in place for the "human capital" challenges that lay ahead.

He stressed that talent problems were real for New Zealand companies today, and were not an abstract concept that may happen in the future.

Many of the 360 employers surveyed said they anticipated an increase in their workforce in the next two to three years.

Businesses that weren't prepared would be in for a "rude awakening", Kleinert said.

"I'd encourage employers not to delay in examining their talent requirements and programmes, because as the economy improves there will be increasing demand for sought-after skills," Kleinert said.

Employees most in demand were managers, IT professionals and chartered accountants.

Those categories were also identified as critical components of businesses return-to-growth strategies, Deloitte said.

Overall, employers were bullish about future workforce growth expectations for their business, with 45 per cent expecting at least moderate growth, Kleinert said.

Only 13 per cent of those surveyed predicted to see a contraction in their workforce.

However, larger employers were less optimistic, with 30 per cent predicting growth and 22 per cent expecting contraction.

Meanwhile employers were unconvinced that large numbers of staff would be seeking greener pastures as the economy improved, despite a recent period of salary stagnation and belt-tightening.

Most employers said they were not expecting significant turnover rates, with 48 per cent expecting the level to be insignificant, 43 per cent predicting moderate turnover and only 6 per cent anticipating it will be significant.

Kleinert said he was surprised at the finding, and concerned that employers had not recognised staff turnover as a potential problem in the future.

"Now is the time for businesses to start reflecting on their people strategy to see that it is directly aligned with the business objectives and with what employees value.

"It's also important for businesses to update their talent strategies and people management practices to take account of the new economic circumstances, otherwise they could be in for a shock when the economy bounces back," he said.

- Susie Nordqvist