Kiwi Companies are Good Employers

Kiwi Companies are Good Employers

More than three-quarters of employees at New Zealand finance and accounting companies said their organisation qualified as a good employer, the highest in the Asia-Pacific region, according to results from a new survey carried out by global recruitment specialists Robert Half International.

Seventy-six percent of New Zealand respondents said that their organisation qualified as a good employer, compared to 70% in Australia and a regional average of 67%. The Robert Half 2010 Workplace Survey then asked the 1,281 finance, accounting, HR and executive-level managers from four countries what were the qualities that made a good employer.

Interestingly, the top quality cited for a good employer was not salary. First was the availability of training and development opportunities, followed by good pay, then the existence of leaders and mentors at a company.

“The retention of talent is not always pay-related and this survey highlights the importance of reinvesting in training and development as the economy turns up,” said Megan Alexander, New Zealand general manager of Robert Half International. “Good employers not only pay well, they focus on so-called ‘soft skills’; the way employers communicate with their people and interact with them, and also how much emphasis is placed of things like team building and conflict management.”

Alexander also said that the SME (small and medium enterprise) culture of New Zealand companies, with many businesses being run by owner-managers, may contribute to employees feeling like they’re “part of the family”. So when businesses had to rein in costs during the recession, staff approved of the way their managers communicated the need to take steps like freeze wages to ensure the survival of the overall organisation.

More than half the New Zealand survey respondents said they were not seeking a new job, the highest level in the region. Forty-nine % cited: ‘my company has been focused on my career development and has looked after me’ as the top reason for not seeking a new job. Still, that lagged Australia, where 55% gave that as their top reason and 54% in Hong Kong.

“It’s great that New Zealand employees are, for the most part, satisfied with how they were treated during the recession,” said Alexander. “But now that the worst of the downturn has probably passed, employers need to start investing in the training and development that may have been frozen in the last year or two.

“Generation Y are particularly interested in career development and investment in training should be a priority for those wanting to keep dynamic and innovative staff. Salary is important, but the rates you offer don’t have to match the top rate of the market. It’s about managing the expectations of your employees. Good bosses communicate clearly with their staff what’s expected of them, via KPIs or an incentive system, and give their people clear goals to shoot for.”

The Robert Half 2010 Workplace Survey was carried out in February and March this year.

ENDS

© Scoop Media