Read: The Battle for Talent: What You Need to Know Now

Chelsi Clifton - Head of Tribe Technology, Enablement & Experience

My team at Tribe are responsible for Technology and its enablement to create an amazing customer experience.

Reflecting on our personal recruitment experience process of hiring, offering, and onboarding our own Tribe  members over the last year, we’ve recognised the fact we cannot wait until “things get back to normal”  (whenever that may be and whatever that may look like). If there is a need or a gap in your team, this can  be done successfully remotely - using the right technology and tools while creating a first-class experience.  

It is no surprise to any leader out there that we’re experiencing significant candidate shortages and we are seeing this across all our disciplines. This is largely due to immigration (or lack thereof) and it’s likely to be a  challenge we will continue to face until our borders reopen. In addition, our unemployment rate is sitting at  ~4% and many candidates are being a bit more cautious about whether they will consider new roles, as stability is important during these times.   

We’re still seeing a steady (but not as large as expected), number of kiwis looking to return home to NZ, with many being unable to find availability in MIQ, however we do have talent in NZ who could be enticed to explore the right opportunity. That is where finding the right agency to partner with to uncover this passive talent is paramount. There’s no doubt it’s a buoyant job market – the number of jobs we had on in August was triple on previous years, and we continue to see an ever-increasing demand for top talent.   

Good talent is hard to find and will often have multiple job offers on the table when making their final decision (and we’re seeing a huge number of organisations counteroffer when they receive a resignation – up to 70% within Sales & Marketing). Companies are also doing more to retain and incentivise their current talent and build on their company and team EVP’s which is great to see – but obviously creates yet more competition!  

I caught up with five Tribe Leaders to get their thoughts on their respective markets to share their key insights on how to not lose valuable talent.  

“Think twice before pausing your process – you will likely miss out on great talent. When you decide to go to back to market you will be competing again, so you will need to have the best role, culture, career progression and salary to be most attractive. The world is continuing to move on and hiring remotely will remain – set yourself up for this to stay ahead of the pack. Add a couple more steps to your process if you need to, to really test cultural-add. But don’t muck around when you find good talent.” 

Cameron King – Head of Sales & Marketing

“Many temps still have a desire for stability and security and a large number are refocusing their search on permanent opportunities. Smart employers know talent is tight and will offer/onboard during lockdown. Candidates across the board are craving good comms and support throughout the hiring process. Putting roles on hold can put doubt in candidates’ minds – especially those with other options.  Your Business Support and temp hire may not feel critical right now but having seen the surge in demand after our last lockdown, you are best to act now to get in first.” 

Cathi Thomson – Head of Business Support & Customer (Temp & Perm)

“There hasn’t been a slowdown in either contract or permanent Programme and Project Managers, these candidates remain in high demand, so it’s all about attraction. If businesses decide to pause their recruitment process now, they will be competing for an even smaller market of candidates. Even during L4 these candidates are being made multiple job offers, so if you delay, you might miss out.”

Kelly Dillon – AoG Account Director

“The Executive market is robust at the moment as clients are concerned about the looming Christmas holidays slowdown. I find that Board work is usually more impacted by COVID, and my Board advisory and Director recruitment work slows during lockdown. But Boards too are becoming highly proficient in the use of Zoom / Teams. We are picking up more complex work that has defeated other search agencies and the feedback is that our proficiency in search, embracing of digital marketing and personal effort by consultants invested into these assignments is the difference.“

David Hammond – Executive Search Lead

“In an IT hiring market that is facing a real shortage of candidates it becomes much more important to show a potential candidate the reasons to take your role. You must assume you will end up in the situation where the candidate has multiple offers and counter offers from their current employer. While you cannot control if you will have the best offer you can control how you present your offer. An offer is more than the job, salary and benefits. It is also about things like growth, how someone will impact a company in their role, the culture and most importantly the relationship with the direct manager and team. It is much more effective to show someone than simply tell them.  “We have a great culture because…” or “We have a great team…”  is nowhere as effective as having them join in for a meeting or event (which could be virtually too). Show them what they could be a part of!”

Sam Page – Head of TribeTech

My key takeaways of the market right now: 

1. Take action NOW! There is no time like the present – if you meet a candidate who fits what you are looking for don’t risk losing them! Act fast to keep them interested and engaged – if you don’t, someone else will. 
2. Have clarity around exactly what you are looking for – what are your non-negotiables and what could you look to compromise on?  
3. Embrace technology to fast track your recruitment process - Zoom, Teams or other video platforms are effective; various stakeholders can be involved at different times, presentations can be delivered; you may want to build in a couple more steps than you normally would along the way – and there’s no harm in these extra touchpoints, so long as you continue momentum! Think about candidate experience and communications throughout the process – this is how you’ll be remembered 
4. If you have a gap in your team that you would normally require a temp to fill, this is still possible, and the majority of our temps are set up ready to WFH. 
5. Plan and prepare – get all your ducks in a row, ensure you have a compelling attraction strategy. To be an employer of choice you must pay market rate, move through the hiring process with speed and don’t forget it’s a two-way street, you need to sell your organisation and role and what they both can offer potential employees – what sets you apart! 

Feel free to reach out to any of our Tribe team to discuss your hiring process during this time or advice on how to successfully onboard remotely. Read our tips for on boarding remotely here.