MEDIA RELEASE -19 June 2008
Assistant.co.nz brings a fresh approach to staffing
There are thousands of trained office workers with skills in everything from accounts to event management, who have
taken a break from the full-time workplace. Now they'd like to find a flexible position that uses their talents - but
where do they start?
At the same time, small and medium-sized businesses in every sector are crying out for help. They don't have the need -
or the resources - to recruit and train a full-time person. But they would love to find a qualified assistant who could
hit the ground running.
Bringing these two groups together was the vision behind a Kiwi-owned company that has turned outdated ideas about
employment on their head.
From a bright idea to 700 people in three years
In 2005 Tara Wellby was expecting her first child and knew that returning to work after children would be hard and
require a work/life compromise. As Tara says" I felt passionately that there was a whole sector of experienced workers
that deserved a fair day's wage for a fair day's work, and who wanted to fit work around their families or study. At the
same time there were employers in small to medium-sized businesses who needed flexible resource but weren't able to
access it." Pondering the problem led Tara to the idea for Assistant.co.nz.
Assistant.co.nz now has over 700 Assistants who are available for part-time and flexible work options. These Assistants
are experienced in a variety of areas, from accounts and general admin to marketing and event management. Among them are
people seeking work on a contract, temporary or permanent basis, from three to 30 hours per week.
Excellence on an hourly rate
Assistant.co.nz prides itself on the quality of its placements. As Tara Wellby says, "In my experience we're often able
to provide our clients with a better quality Assistant than they initially expected because what's important to our
Assistants is flexibility and the ability to balance work with their lifestyle. This means they're often willing to take
a step back from their career and choose work they're already experienced in rather than work that will take them
further up the ladder. This, of course, is of huge benefit to our clients. We also like to think that we're helping
people in the community by providing them with flexible work they can fit around their other commitments."
"We're also here to provide small to medium businesses with a cost-effective way of obtaining the quality employees they
need. Traditionally their only options have been to go through the recruitment process or use one of the standard
recruitment firms who charge full fee for placement of part-time roles. We pro-rata our fee down for part-time roles and
for temp and contract roles we base our rate on the number of hours needed as well as the skill level required."
So how does it work in practice?
Jef Kay from George FM recently put the call out for a part-time Accounts Assistant for eight hours per week on a
permanent basis. He says this about his experience: "At George FM, we have an informal work environment. Actually make
that noisy, busy and sometimes a little chaotic. When Jane, our administrator of some seven years' standing left us, we
needed a replacement, quickly. But not just anyone! Sharon from Assistant.co.nz visited us and understood our special
needs. And now we have Sheila. It's only been two months, but it's like Jane never left. Thanks guys!"
0508 PART-TIME (0508 727-884)
ENDS