Richard and Julie Sewell from Urbano Bistro have had to reduce their opening hours due to staff shortages. Photo / Andrew Warner
It’s been open seven days a week for 17 years, but staff shortages have forced one Rotorua business to reduce its opening hours as the issue plagues the region.
But there is “light at the end of the tunnel” as new employees are starting in the coming months, and a “slight relaxation” of immigration rules has meant staff shortages are starting to diminish.
Meanwhile, a Rotorua recruiter says some businesses have closed parts of their operations to manage with fewer staff as people moving after retraining, coupled with low immigration, created a “perfect storm” in the jobs sector.
Urbano Bistro co-owner Julie Sewell said the hospitality business had to reduce its opening hours due to staff shortages and was now only open during the evenings, six days a week.
“We have been a seven-day-a-week, six-night operation for 17 years. We are now only doing six nights.”
In early November, they were down to opening only five nights. But in the new year, they recruited two chefs and went back to six nights.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Two more employees were starting in February and March, which they hoped would allow them to reopen fully.
Sewell said it was “definitely” a kick in the teeth to have to reduce the opening hours.
“It is a worldwide issue,” she said. “We feel like we are letting our customers down.”
The bistro had 11 full-time staff currently working, compared to its usual staffing of about 17 to 18 people. Looking forward, Sewell said she hoped to be opening a fully-staffed kitchen and bistro very soon.
Talent ID Recruitment Ltd director Kellie Hamlett said some clients chose to shut down just parts of their business, such as certain branches or divisions, where they had not been able to find enough staff.
“Employers are looking at creative ways to mitigate not being able to get staff.”
Hamlett said she had also heard of businesses closing one day a week not because of staffing shortages but for flexibility and lifestyle reasons.
“There are quite a few clients adopting that.”
Every industry across the board was being affected by staff shortages, she said.
“No one is untouched. Where I have seen it the most would be in technical areas and manufacturing, but it is widespread; it’s not just one industry.”
Hamlett said New Zealand had been facing staff and skill shortages before Covid-19 lockdowns.
People had retrained and gone elsewhere, and there was a lack of immigration, she said.
“We haven’t had people coming into the country with those skillsets. It has been a perfect storm of circumstances.”
But even the borders reopening was not the “magic answer”, she said.
“Immigration is key.”
Rotorua recruitment agency Personnel Resources / Temp Resources Ltd consultant Ashlyn Clarricoats said they had heard from various industries throughout Rotorua and the wider Bay of Plenty that staff shortages were being felt throughout.
“Finding the right talent and the right team fit for the various roles is important, and it can be hard to find that in this current market.”
Clarricoats said all industries seemed to be experiencing the same challenges, but they were hearing more feedback from healthcare, financial/ administrative services, and computer and technology industries.
“We are currently in an environment where there are lots of job openings but not as many people actively looking for a new role.
“We are hearing from several candidates that flexibility is a huge factor when looking for a new role. If employers are open to giving autonomy to new employees and able to give them a degree of flexibility in the role and working from home capabilities, it seems to go a long way. We now also have a lot of people starting to think about going on their OEs.”
The six Rotorua staff were “extremely busy” with a variety of roles available throughout the Bay of Plenty and Taupō.
“If people are in the market for a new challenge or career growth, this is the perfect time to start looking with the variety available in the market.”
Rotorua Business Chamber chief executive Bryce Heard said the region was starting to emerge from a cycle of staff shortages.
“Many were short of staff due to the significant upsurge in hospitality and tourism, drawing all of their lost positions back into operation post-Covid.
“However, the overhang from Government’s Covid support packages had taken them off to new roles. Add in the immigration constraints, and we had a perfect storm with staff constraints, wage expectations and poaching of staff all being commonplace.”
Heard said it appeared rising inflation, the cost of interest, and a slight relaxation of immigration rules were now turning the tide, and shortages were beginning to diminish.
“Also, many hospitality and tourism businesses are reporting strong patronage over the summer to date, so we are seeing a natural correction taking place after a period of unprecedented volatility.
“Having said that, staffing is still an issue for many businesses, but this should be corrected over time.”
Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois said a Bay of Plenty member survey in November indicated 85 per cent of businesses reported they were understaffed.
Two-thirds had to temporarily close or reduce operating hours due to staffing challenges, she said.
While revenues were tracking well, Bidois said the “single biggest issue” was access to skilled labour.
“Unfortunately, staffing levels are for many at a crisis point with businesses unable to access the labour they need. This ultimately impacts revenues as businesses need to restrict their opening hours to compensate for the lack of staff.
“While there are some legacy issues that are causing this shortage, one of the biggest issues is that members cited was the delays in visa processing times.”
A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Michael Wood said the Government’s immigration rebalance was designed specifically to address the immediate skill shortages in New Zealand, simplifying the settings and streamlining application processes for businesses while ensuring wages and working conditions are improved for everyone.
The new Accredited Employer Work Visa made it easier for employers to hire and attract migrants for specified “high-skilled, hard-to-fill occupations,” offering eligible workers a guaranteed faster and simplified pathway to residency.
The rebalance was focused on building the skills New Zealand needed rather than focusing on “large volumes of low-wage labour in some sectors”.
“This is a shift, but it will be better for the New Zealand economy, and it will reduce the unacceptable levels of migrant exploitation that the old settings facilitated.”
The spokesperson said Covid brought the world to a standstill and acknowledged people moving globally was slow compared to pre-Covid. This was particularly felt by the hospitality and tourism sectors which traditionally relied on international workers.
“We are listening to the concerns of these sectors and working with them to take practicable steps to unlock additional labour as businesses work towards more productive and resilient ways of operating.”
The spokesperson said 44,000 working holiday visitors had been approved since March 2022, with almost 25,500 having already arrived and thousands more expected in the coming months.
To retain staff, it had extended the visas of working holidaymakers, with visas expiring between 26 August 2022 and 31 May 2023 by six months.
The spokesperson said there had been approvals for businesses to recruit internationally for more than 112,000 positions, with many finding it is a “tough global labour market”.
Businesses had been making the most of this opportunity, with more than 37,000 international migrants applying across 550 different occupations across New Zealand since the Accredited Employer Work Visa opened.
- Additional reporting Megan Wilson
Police have secured the scene and are examining the area.