Winter '10
Mon, 07/12/2010 - 23:50 — The Johnson Group
Welcome
Welcome to our winter edition.
The public sector has been through many challenges and changes over recent months. Now, more than ever, it’s important to exercise the craft of leadership.
The Government has made it clear that it’s looking for productivity and quality. The question facing managers is how to retain team members’ buy-in while leading them through periods of uncertainty.
Here at The Johnson Group, we’ve noticed that candidates consistently tell us they want to work with effective managers. They need leaders who have a sense of vision, have the ability to inspire, and can maintain the public service ethos.
You’ll find advice in this issue on developing strong teams in times of change, as well as articles on New Zealand and Australian pay rise rates, employer confidence, the IPANZ excellence awards and the growth in contracting.
Bold, confident managers are a big part of the success of New Zealand’s public sector. We’re proud to support managers by helping them strengthen their teams by recruiting the right people for the right roles.
Leigh and Campbell
IPANZ Recognises Excellence
Congratulations to the Ministry of Social Development and the Families Commission, which received the supreme award in the excellence awards run by the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand (IPANZ). The supreme award was for the “It’s Not OK” campaign for action on family violence.
The IPANZ Gen-i Public Sector Excellence Awards could only recognise a fraction of the great projects being carried out by New Zealand’s public sector. Most examples of excellence go unrecognised, so The Johnson Group is delighted to see this celebration of the positive difference that the public sector makes to communities.
In other IPANZ news, the institute ran its biennial New Professionals conference at the end of June. Campbell and Kirsty from The Johnson Group attended the conference, and gave presentations on jobseeking, writing CVs and career planning.
For more, go to www.ipanz.org.nz
Job Ads Increase
The growing numbers of jobs advertised on the internet confirms that the labour market is recovering, according to the Department of Labour’s Jobs Online vacancy monitoring programme.
Skilled job vacancies increased by 8% over the quarter, and by 24% in the year to the end of May.
By international standards, New Zealand has a high workplace participation rate. While it’s a highly competitive market for candidates, The Johnson Group is finding there’s still a skills shortage in key roles.
“It’s all about recruitment practices – when you find a good candidate, don’t delay and don’t assume the candidate isn’t speaking to any other employers,” says Campbell. “The Government is asking the public sector for improved productivity and quality, which makes it even more important that you’re backing a good team.”
For more on the Jobs Online programme, go to www.dol.govt.nz
Employment Confidence Returning
Workers’ confidence about their prospects soared in the June quarter.
The Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index has increased to the highest level of confidence since the September 2008 quarter. A net 48% of people now believe jobs are hard to get, compared with 60% in March and 65% in June last year.
New Zealand employers are also more optimistic than they have been for two years, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.
For more, go to www.nzherald.co.nz
Slow Rise in Salaries
Public sector salary and wage rates rose by 2.3% in the year to the March quarter.
Overall, figures released by Statistics New Zealand show that salaries and wages in the public and private sectors increased by just 1.5% - the slowest rise in more than nine years.
“This shows it’s important for employers to have a retention strategy that recognises high performance,” says Campbell. “Go in to bat for your best people. Once they’re gone, they’re hard to replace, and there’ll be down time before you can get new people up to speed.”
For more, go to www.stats.govt.nz
NZ Behind Oz on Pay Rises
New Zealand salaries continue to trail behind Australia, according to a new survey.
The Hays Salary Guide has found that 43% of Australian employers are planning salary increases in their next review, compared with 33% here. The survey also said that about 43% of Australian employers planned to take on new staff this year – 10% higher than in New Zealand.
There’s evidence that Australian employers are aggressively targeting mid-skill workers in New Zealand to offer jobs that are at a lower level but better paid. The Johnson Group believes this accentuates the need for clients to be very clear in their workforce planning and branding, and to have excellent recruitment practices.
For more, go to www.nzherald.co.nz
Contracting Market Booming
The market for contractors is booming. At the Johnson Group alone, we’ve seen a 300% rise in the use of contractors since the beginning of the year.
Contractors who survived the economic downturn are experienced professionals with strong track records, and mangers are finding that using a flexible workforce is a simple, cost-effective way to plan their teams around outputs.
Contracting is most effective when contractors are recruited for their specific skill sets, rather than to fill everyday roles.
Skilled Migrants Seek Internships
The new intake in the Skilled Migrant Programme has just begun, and participants will soon be looking for internships in workplaces.
The programme helps skilled migrants gain communication skills in workplaces so they can find professional employment. A central part of the course is a six-week unpaid internship with a Wellington employer.
Organisations taking on a skilled migrant immediately benefit from having an unpaid intern for six weeks – an obvious contribution to productivity. Please get in touch with The Johnson Group if you’d like to know more about the benefits of taking on an intern from the programme.
PhD and Postdoctoral Researchers
Campbell has been travelling to universities around the country with the Royal Society of New Zealand, The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, and Immigration NZ (DoL) contributing to half-day workshops for emerging researchers. Much of the workshop content focused on practical skills linked to gaining employment, sourcing funding, networking and researching in NZ as a migrant.
The emerging researchers who attended the workshops span all areas of the higher education spectrum. Campbell has been struck by the under-utilisation of this part of our workforce. 68.8% of PhD and postdoctoral researchers end up working in areas other than research, or become unemployed.
“Many of the people I spoke to at networking events after the workshops are extremely keen to get on and make a contribution. They are very capable, self-managing people who have a raft of transferable skills, including advanced problem-solving abilities, and they have their own networks that are among the most educated in the country,” says Campbell.
“My suggestion is not to look past PhD and postdoctoral researchers. Talk to us if you are interest in tapping into this high potential talent pool.”
Recruitment Coach
“My team’s role and resourcing have changed significantly in recent months. Do you have any advice on retaining my team during this challenging time?”
John, Thorndon
Candidates tell us they’re looking for strong management and effective leadership. They know there could be more changes coming, and they’re increasingly conscious of the calibre of the people leading their work programmes.
A recent Trans Tasman Media report rating our public sector chief executives on their effectiveness in implementing government policy was an interesting reflection on leadership (for more on the report, go to: www.stuff.co.nz).
It’s important for managers to be self-evaluating, and to look at their contribution. The following article – from The Guardian newspaper in Britain, where the public sector is also facing severe spending cuts – offers some good advice on leadership in times of change. Go to: www.guardianpublic.co.uk
And Finally
As Wellington’s only public sector recruitment agency, The Johnson Group recruits 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
- Communicationa
- 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 this winter,