Welcome

The number of jobs we’ve been asked to fill in recent months has reaffirmed our sense that the market is picking up. Many of our clients are under pressure because they have more work coming in, and they realise how time-consuming recruitment can be.

Clients are also discovering that candidates with the right skills and ability are no easier to find now than they were before the recession. Now’s the time to think about bringing your team up to full strength so you’re in an ideal position to carry out your work programmes in the New Year.

In 2008, we filled 20 key roles for 11 public sector agencies over the Christmas break. If you ask us to work on your recruitment needs while you’re on holiday, we can have a shortlist of applicants for you in January. Your new team members can be ready to start work in February. We are offering special rates to clients placing roles with us before Christmas.

We’ve used the recession to consolidate and strengthen our recruitment services, and now we’re celebrating our commitment to the public sector by adopting a Wellington theme for our office.

We’ll be displaying works by Wellington artists and photographers, so let us know if there’s someone whose work you think should be on our walls. And, of course, give us a call to discuss how we can help you meet your recruitment goals.

Leigh and Campbell

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Brighter Outlook for the Economy

New Zealand’s unemployment rate is the 10th lowest of the 30 OECD nations, according to the Department of Labour’s latest household labour force survey. Although employment rose to a nine-year high of 6.5% in September, this is well below the OECD average of 8.6% and the department says the outlook for the economy has improved markedly.

Campbell says the burgeoning economy is prompting clients to look beyond cost-cutting measures to the reality of their future recruitment needs. “It’s really important to weigh up your needs for technical expertise in six to 12 months time,” he says.

For more, go to www.dol.govt.nz

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Johnson Group Wins EEO Award

We’re delighted to announce that our work with the unique Skilled Migrant Programme has been recognised by the Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Trust. The Johnson Group and our partners Victoria University and the Rotary Club of Wellington were highly commended in the trust’s Tomorrow’s Workforce Award.

We’ve decided to extend our role with the programme by marketing graduates when they’re ready to join the workforce. The most recent graduates of the programme are now seeking full-time employment, and we can link you to candidates for no recruitment fee. For more information, contact Pia Penaranda at pia@thejohnsongroup.co.nz.

For more on the EEO Awards, go to www.eeotrust.org.nz

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Growing Confidence in Jobs Outlook

Workers are feeling more positive about their jobs, according to the Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index.

The confidence index lifted 6.9 points between the June and September quarters, which is the second biggest quarterly gain since the survey began in June 2004. As well as being more optimistic about their job prospects, 34% of workers expected to be earning more next year.

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More Demand for Contractors

After a slow year, the market for contractors is showing definite signs of improvement.

We’ve more than doubled our contracting revenue over the past two months. There’s still a skills shortage, and we think the market for contractors will continue to improve to meet demand.

The Johnson Group is the preferred agency of hundreds of top-quality public sector contractors working primarily in policy, project management, acting management, research and evaluation. Talk to us about your budget, and we’ll find someone to suit your needs.

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Public Sector Wage Growth

Wages are growing faster in the public sector than in the private sector, says the Department of Statistics’ latest quarterly employment survey.

The survey found that salary and wage rates for the private sector increased 2% in the year to the September quarter, and 0.4% in the September quarter. Public sector rates rose 2.9% in the year to the September quarter, and 1.1% in the September quarter.

However, a survey by remuneration consultant Strategic Pay dispelled some of the myths about top public sector pay rates. Chief executives in the largest public sector organisations earned an average of $404,000, but their counterparts in the private sector were on salary packages worth over $1 million.

For more, go to www.stats.govt.nz

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Use Internships to Spot Talent

University careers advisers are reporting that the number of graduate jobs on offer has fallen by a half in a year. This is frustrating for graduates, and can mean that clients miss out on the best emerging candidates.

We think internships are a great opportunity for graduates, and an excellent way for clients to identify and foster young talent. By offering internships, you’re forging connections that may help your organisation meet the demands of its future workforce.

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Recruitment Coach

I’m not able to fill a couple of vacancies in my team at the moment, but I’m hoping to be able to further down the track. How can I make sure I don’t miss out on good candidates when the market improves?

-Andy A., Khandallah.

“The key is workforce planning,” says Campbell. “See what work is coming up and when you’re likely to get approval for it, and work out what headcount you’ll need. Then you can develop your own relationship with talent – for example, by keeping in touch with alumni.

“We’ve found that candidates will wait if they know a good role is coming up. Have a coffee with them, send them the staff newsletter; do anything you can to keep their interest high.

“It’s important to keep interacting with the market. This is especially true if there is only a small pool of people with the required technical expertise, or if you’ve had trouble filling the role in the past."

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And Finally

In response to demand, The Johnson Group is now expanding its services into new areas of the public sector. As Wellington’s only public sector recruitment agency, we’re in an ideal position to extend our proven track record of providing high quality recruitment services to a wider audience.

We recruit all professional roles in the following areas:

• Policy (strategic/operational, and economic analysis)
• Research and evaluation
• Planning and reporting
• Legal
• Human resources
• Programme/project management, technical and operations
• Communications
• Records and information

We also recruit roles in corporate services and public sector finance.

If you need to recruit any of these role to make your team complete, or if you’d like to discuss your future workforce planning, please contact us on 04 473 6699 or at info@the johnsongroup.co.nz.

Wishing you all the best for the festive season.

Merry Christmas,

Leigh and Campbell

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