Three Quarters Down
CEO's Update
As we ready ourselves for the Christmas rush, it is important to remain at a high level of focus until the year end.
The last quarter is an exciting and challenging time of year. We have definitely seen the market ease over the last three months, and employment in New Zealand is at an all time high. With this in mind, businesses need to focus on what other benefits candidates are being offered; whether it is flexible working hours, car park spaces, or the ability to work from home, these all come into consideration when the candidate is presented with a job opportunity. We have included these benefits in Kinetic's latest Salary Survey, which was published earlier this month.
As mentioned in our June newsletter, I have been focussed on growing Kinetic regionally in terms of headcount and areas of specialisation. We have brought on board new consultants across all five offices, and have extended our reach by recruiting in Education and in Retail, to which we have had an incredibly positive response thus far from both clients and candidates alike.
Now is a vital time for businesses to begin planning their office support over the Christmas break. We have a fantastic pool of candidates looking for temporary or contract work that are ready and willing to support your business while you are away.
Kate Ross
CEO
All Time High for Employment
Data released by Stats NZ showed 94,000 more people were in employment in the June 2018 quarter compared to June 2017 – an annual growth rate of 3.7%.
We have also seen the highest employment rate for women on record this quarter at 62.8%. Annually, 54,000 more women were employed, resulting in around 1.25 miillion women in the workforce and the unemployment rate for women is the lowest since December 2008.
“The overall number of people entering the labour force rose in June, contributing to a slight uptick in the unemployment rate from 4.4% to 4.5%, but this came as employment growth remained strong and kept pace with the working age population.
“Our unemployment rate continues to outperform Australia, and our employment rate for people aged 15-64 is the third highest in the OECD at 77.4%". Employment Minister Willie Jackson says.
Need Extra Help Over the Christmas Period?
We all understand that leading up to Christmas can be a hectic time of year! Kinetic has a fantastic pool of motivated, hard working high school students covered by our 5 regional offices that are eager to gain work experience.
Whether it's wrapping and posting client gifts, filing, or any other tasks that you may have around the office that will ease the pressure of the silly season, we can help.
Enquire to Stasia - stasia@kinetic.co.nz.
4 Day Week Made Permanent
After trialing a four-day working week for its 250 staff, New Zealand company Perpetual Guardian has announced they will be adopting the model permanently. According to a survey completed after the trial, work/life balance improved significantly from 54% in 2017 to 78% in the post-trial survey. Moreover, staff stress levels dropped from 45% pre-trial to 38% post-trial.
The research also found productivity had increased by 20%, and employees were more engaged and enthusiastic.
If employees are engaged with their job and employer, they are more productive," Christine Brotherton, head of people and capability at the company said.
“We believe efficiency will come with more staff focus and motivation."
Welcome back Tara!
We are delighted to have our Principal consultant, Tara Fisher join our team back in the Auckland office after a period of maternity leave.
Tara has returned and brought back with her out of the box thinking, over 12 years of recruitment industry experience and the ability to provide exceptional candidate and client experience alike to the forefront of her approach.
Wise Ones
Wise Ones has recently brought on Heidi Boswell as their Business Development Manager. Heidi brings with her exceptional industry experience and is passionate about bringing diversity to workplaces across New Zealand.
"Diversity is a focus for many NZ Businesses", Heidi says. "Research has shown that the benefits of diversity include increased innovation, productivity, talent attraction & retention. With one of the highest work rates of older workers among the OECD; generational diversity can create balanced, resilient teams with complementary skill sets. Mature employees have a wealth of knowledge, loyalty, & wisdom to offer organisations".
For more information on Wise Ones, contact Heidi on 09 602 0022 or heidi@wiseones.co.nz
