“Change is Inevitable. Growth is Optional” John Maxwell

by

Covid-19 has shaken the world in almost every way possible – and the available employee pool in New Zealand is no exception. What was once a relatively standard select and fit process for employers looking for new people, has changed.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern recently announced our borders would remain closed to most of the world for 12 months, perhaps longer. The ripples will be felt for up to five years. Even then the world will likely need to adapt to a ‘new normal’.

The drastic drop in backpackers and shortage of RSEs has hit orchards, vineyards and vegetable growers across New Zealand hard. But what the Ryan + Alexander team is seeing is across the board. 

We usually see waves of highly skilled people travelling to, and through, New Zealand and looking for work on a temporary or contract basis. Closed borders means those people are simply not here. There are new waves of people coming through, looking for work but they are not the ‘norm’. 

Gone are the travelling 20 and 30-somethings, looking to step into a role for three, six or 12 months. And while employers might feel thrown, we feel there is an excellent opportunity for them to reset in a way which can be beneficial to their business.

What we are seeing is current job seekers fall into three main groups: those fresh from school, university or trade training, and an older group, often 40+, who may previously have been viewed as over-experienced. 

While those fresh to the market from study may be lacking on-floor experience, there is an opportunity to employ them while they are hungry to learn.  They can often come up to speed quickly with some training, after all it still rings true that attitude is everything.

The more experienced worker has a lot to offer. In the past they may have been overlooked for a role in favour of the sociable up and comers in their 20s and 30s. Now is the time to give these workers a chance to shine.

Perhaps most exciting of all is the return home of New Zealanders at all ages and stages of life, and their careers. Their return heralds a massive opportunity for employers with the decades-long ‘brain drain’ finally likely to reverse. People with energy, experience, drive and creativity have moved home, all looking to work and settle across the country.

If employers think about what will attract and retain returning New Zealanders to their business, they have an incredible opportunity to scoop up some of these returnees. 

Employers need to shift to a more open-minded approach to resourcing their businesses.  While teams may not look like they always have, there is a major opportunity for businesses, towards diversity of thought and capability.  If they choose not to embrace this change, then growth and productivity will be limited.

With the available workforce shrinking and changing, there needs to be a mindset change. Those who adapt will be the ones who will thrive in this active, constantly shifting environment, embracing change and ultimately, choosing growth.

“On ya bike”

by

 

It’s Christmas Party season and we’ve noticed a difference in the soiree schedule this year. The old early knock-off and generous bar tab seems to be right out of vogue. More and more companies are planning active adventures to celebrate the end of a productive year.

One Tauranga company took its whole team down near Taumarunui for two days, booked in to a catered lodge, and cycled the Pureora Timber Trail. The team had been training together and, thanks to the magic of electric bikes, every staff member was able to take part.

A builder we know is taking a team of 20 on a fishing charter in the Coromandel – he’s paying the night’s accommodation, transport and the charter, and his staff are looking after their own food and drinks.

Meanwhile I managed to convince our R +  A team to celebrate a huge year (our first employee, new inner-city premises and our second employee!) with a walk up Mount Maunganui last Friday, after which I lost my voting rights so the rest of the day involved spa treatments and a long lunch.

Christmas parties should be about cementing and celebrating the authentic bond within your team – and, increasingly, that’s leading to events where the focus is less on alcohol and more on a shared activity. Many workplaces are choosing to thank and appreciate their staff with a game of beach cricket, a full-day hike, clay bird shooting or an afternoon at TECT All Terrain Park.

And what I find interesting is that networking is also getting more high-octane. Once upon a time deals were struck on golf courses – but it looks like mountain biking might be the new golf. It’s faster-paced, doesn’t take half a day and you still get to drool over the beauty and technical wizardry of each other’s kit.

Mountain biking has grown in popularity over the past decade and is now a common activity for Kiwi families and individuals. Many business people take time out of their working week to jump on a bike and join a group ride before breakfast or in their lunch break. It’s healthy, it models excellent work-life balance and – like golf – it’s a great way to build your business.

Genuine friendships are quickly forged in these riding groups and, amongst all the banter, business relationships soon follow. One of my friends went mountain biking with a group of lads and by the end of the trip, he’d built enduring relationships and won a number of new clients. They got to know him, decided he was a good guy and chose to switch their business over to him. He didn’t go on the trip to win new clients, but it sure helped justify the trip away!

Similarly, I ride off-road with a group of women on a Sunday and mountain bike with another group during the week. While I’m not there to grow my business, and it’s usually the last thing I’m thinking about as I’m peddling like mad and laughing my head off, these women all know what I do and that profile is good for business.

So, just as it’s no longer virtually mandatory for the work Christmas do to involve hours of binge drinking, it’s also no longer essential that you either play golf or sign up to formal networking opportunities to grow your network. You can just get on your bike!

If you get a chance over the Christmas break, consider lining up a two-wheeled adventure to kick off 2018. New Zealand boasts world-class tracks such as the Waikato River Trails, the Old Ghost Road, Ohakune’s Old Coach Road, the Motu Trails and – of course – The Redwoods in Rotorua’s Whakarewarewa Forest. An adventure in the great outdoors can be good for our bodies, our minds and our business networks.

From all of us here at Ryan and Alexander, have a great break. Enjoy the time with those you love and rest up – I’ve got a feeling 2018 is going to be a cracker of a year!

 

LINKS:

Pureora Timber Trail – http://www.thetimbertrail.com/

Waikato River Trails – http://www.waikatorivertrails.co.nz/

The Old Ghost Road – https://oldghostroad.org.nz/

Ohakune Old Coach Road – http://www.ohakunecoachroad.co.nz/pages/bike-trail.html

The Motu Trails – http://www.motutrails.co.nz/

The Redwoods, Whakarewarewa Forest – https://redwoods.co.nz/

Happy Birthday to Us!

by

This week a year ago, Ryan + Alexander recruitment agency was born. We met potential corporate clients, worked our networks to track down top talent to place in great roles, ferreted away on our website copy – and held our breath.

We knew we had the skills, a clear niche and, economically, the timing felt good. But you just never know, do you? In fact, Sydney’s University of Technology reports that one in three businesses fail in their first year. New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment says roughly a quarter of all small businesses die within three years. Other reports have varying figures but most agree it takes a blend of tenacity, hard work and luck to make a year in business.

And this certainly wasn’t an easy year. Bernadette lost two much-adored family members in quick succession. First her Mum and then, not long after the launch of Ryan + Alexander, her eldest brother. It took grit and bravery to press on with our fledgling job recruitment business even though Bern was in Christchurch most weeks in her brother’s last months. I was able to carry the load and, of course, there’ll be times when it’s my family that needs me and Bern will take the reins.

Even though we have different specialities, we’ve both worked in each other’s area of recruitment agency expertise. This shared skill set has proved invaluable in juggling our ‘part-time’ hours too. We started Ryan+Alexander determined to pursue work-life balance. We make time for exercising, have walking business meetings, and support each other to attend school plays, sports days or events. I can’t pretend we’ve nailed the work-life balance thing yet but we’re certainly giving it a nudge.

I have three children, including a two-year-old daughter, so I work three days to give me time with her. Bern works most days but generally only school hours so she can spend lots of time with her sons and her elderly father. It’s hard work juggling part-time hours when your employment agency clients and candidates work a full working week. I schedule meetings around my daughter’s naps on my days off, and we both work the phones in the evening. It’s a juggle, but we have also learned to share the load between us. I wouldn’t have wanted to attempt self-employment on my own – I feel like we can be bolder and aim higher because we are a team. And besides, it’s more fun. You should have seen our Christmas party for two!!

We had worked together previously and I knew we would be compatible as co-owners of a fledgling employment agency business. Bernadette was worried our work relationship might one day sour our friendship, but the highs and dreadful lows of the last year have built an even stronger bond between us. We’ve got each other’s back.

Thanks to all who have supported us this past 12 months, in ways big and small. We’re especially grateful to our husbands. They never doubted we could make this work and, even though it meant a fair bit of fiscal uncertainty in the beginning, they supported us to give it a go.

And our recruitment agency success thus far has allowed us to embark on the next phase a bit earlier than we had planned – securing premises in Tauranga and looking for our first team member!

There’s now a lot of competition in the Tauranga recruitment market and we certainly don’t take our early success for granted. We’re proud to have developed a culture of hard work, respect for our clients and candidates, honesty, and integrity. And we are good mates who look out for each other; that’s pretty cool, too.

$10 Tauranga

by

R+A June Blogpost

Anyone who has ever contemplated a move to the Bay of Plenty will be aware of the term $10 Tauranga. It originated back when wages were much lower so the $10 figure is well out of date, but the implication is clear: you won’t earn much in Tauranga.

These days, the truth is quite different. Sure, we are placing candidates in jobs which pay less than the equivalent role in Auckland, but Tauranga pay rates have risen dramatically, and continue to inch upwards.

A qualified Auckland management accountant might earn a salary of between 95,000 and 130,000 ; a Tauranga accountant with an equivalent 5 to 8 years’ experience could earn 80,000 to 110,000. These figures are of course dependant on the size of business but offer some insight to the discrepancy.

At executive level, where there is strong competition for fewer openings, we advise anyone earning upwards of $150,000 to expect a pay cut of around $20,000-$40,000. While this not an insignificant amount, it still equates to a generous income in a region where – thanks to the dream combo of great weather and hardly any traffic – many fill their weekends with free and uncomplicated activities like meeting friends for a swim at Pilot Bay, riding the waterfront Daisy Hardwick trail or going for a picnic at McLaren Falls.

Compared with the City of Sails, this is a cheap place to live. While CoreLogic research shows Tauranga house prices have risen 23.1% in the last 12 months, your Auckland house sale will still put you in a strong position to buy well in the local property market.

During your hunt for a home, you can rent a 3-bedroom home, 2 streets back from Mount Maunganui beach, for $480/week. Parking in the Tauranga CBD is $2/hr; at the Mount, it’s free. Private childcare generally costs less, and naturally you’ll pay less than in Auckland if you engage a builder to renovate your home or an accountant to finalise your tax.

 

We moved here almost four years ago and noticed an immediate saving in fuel costs – not to mention being freed from the torture of the inner-city traffic crawl. We lived 3km from Queen St, where I worked. My daily commute took at least 40 minutes each way. I now live 4.7km from the CBD. Even though locals have seen a definite increase in traffic on the roads in recent months, it still only takes me 10 minutes to drive into the CBD at peak hour. We are also 10 minutes’ drive from the beach and I walk my children to our excellent neighbourhood school.

 

But when the lifestyle is that idyllic, it’s no wonder some aspects of the supply and demand that created $10 Tauranga remain.

Many Western Bay of Plenty employers are flourishing in the current economic climate and can now offer more competitive pay rates. The construction industry is screaming out for talent. In Auckland, qualified builders with 5-8 years’ experience earn around $60/hr, and the same person in the Bay could now demand $40/hr. There are record numbers of jobs advertised in the trades, manufacturing and transport – but not in professional service roles (the jobs we used to describe as “white-collar”).

So while a truck driver, kiwifruit picker or drainlayer can enjoy confidence in their chances at securing a job in the thriving Bay economy, it’s a different story if you’re a banker, website designer, or operations manager. In fact, in professional roles, the competition is more fierce than ever.

In salaried positions, the increase in Bay jobs is no match for the increase in people wanting to move here. In recent weeks, a number of highly-specialised roles – in areas such as IT and executive-management – have attracted upwards of 70 applicants.

This is why, in my experience, those eyeing professional services roles should definitely get a job before moving to the Bay.

If you’re looking for a senior or executive-level opportunity, you’ll be battling it out with applicants who live locally, elsewhere in New Zealand and offshore, and you’ll need to be primed for a determined campaign (be assured, though: it’ll be worth it!!).

I’ve lived all over the world and the Tauranga lifestyle is second to none. It’s not a backwater; it’s not a giant retirement village. It’s a vibrant city, offering excellent career prospects to those who can secure great jobs.

Please come and join the fun as this energetic region grows in scale and prosperity – but, given the competition you could face, don’t cash up and head south until you have a job to come to.