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Businesses wanting to promote themselves as great places to work are being urged to take part in New Zealand's largest careers expo.
The New Zealand Herald Your Career Expo, to be held at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland on September 27-28, 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.
Expo organiser Michael Scott said that at a time of intense competition for talented recruits, businesses needed to differentiate themselves and actively promote the factors that made them an attractive place to work.
"Unemployment is still well under 4 per cent and the demand for skilled workers isn't going to lessen, so businesses need to stand out from the crowd if they're to attract the best candidates," he said.
"The Your Career Expo gives businesses the ideal forum to show their worth to thousands of potential new recruits."
The expo's four pavilions are JRA Great Places to Work (for established businesses), New Directions (for alternatives to a career in Auckland or for a new career altogether), Fast Track (for training and career stepping stones) and Kickstart (for those just starting their careers).
According to JRA's Jessica Xu, companies wanting to stand out from their peers need to carefully consider their vision and values.
"We've found the really great workplaces are able to clearly define their purpose, values and mission, and they communicate this regularly to employees," Ms Xu said.
"As a result, employees become more strongly aligned to what the organisation is trying to achieve, have a clear sense of direction and are typically much more engaged with their work."
JRA's research has confirmed that vision and values - one of the four pillars of JRA's Anatomy of a Great Workplace - play a tremendous part in differentiating great workplaces from the rest.
Each June through August, JRA conducts the Best Places to Work survey which has provided a rich source of research into the characteristics of New Zealand workplaces.
A comparison of 2007 finalist organisations with the average organisation showed the former reporting 20 per cent more employees who felt their organisation "had a clear vision of where it's going and how it's going to get there".
Those finalist organisations also reported 15 per cent more engaged employees, significantly lower staff turnover levels and greater profitability.
"Great workplaces take every opportunity to communicate both their vision and their values and usually this starts when new recruits join the organisation," Ms Xu said.
The overall winner in 2007, Outward Bound, placed great emphasis on its core values during its recruitment and selection process, as did finalist New World Te Rapa.
