NZ $8 million dollar annual boost to the economy

NZ $8 million dollar annual boost to the economy

Yellow® is looking to the future with the creation of 100 new jobs to be spread across every Yellow® office in New Zealand.

The $8 million dollar annual investment will strengthen the sales team as Yellow® looks to build on robust 2009 financial results and position itself for future growth.

“During the global financial crisis Yellow® was proven to be New Zealand’s most resilient advertising media. We have a 90 percent market share in a market dominated by small to medium enterprise, for whom advertising with Yellow® is traditionally the first, most effective and often only stop for marketing their products,” says Yellow® CEO, Bruce Cotterill.

The significant spend on the new workforce highlights the confidence that the Yellow® management team, board and financial backers have in the long-term prospects of the business.

”We expect this investment in new sales jobs will raise profitability over coming years by a decent margin. We also expect our sales volume to increase and are supporting this by implementing an improved customer experience programme and customer relationship system, says Mr Cotterill. The new staff members will be employed in a variety of sales roles, including specialist digital media sales and outbound representatives,” says Mr Cotterill.

The company has also moved to localise its sales force, with new staff employed in every Yellow® office in New Zealand.

“We wanted to touch more customers and provide locally based sales staff with a real understanding of the local market. As a direct result of this employment initiative all Yellow® customers throughout New Zealand will be serviced directly either face to face or via telephone. Through this initiative Yellow® is also establishing a new outbound call centre and with fewer customers to manage per staff member and our new programmes, customers’ experience with Yellow® will improve significantly.

“Our customers have told us that they want salespeople who can sit down with them and spend time discussing their business. Previously we did not have the resources to do this and the sales process was far more hurried. Bottom line, customers will notice an improvement in service and better understand the Yellow® proposition. This is a step change,” adds Mr Cotterill.

To find 100 new staff members Yellow® employed an intensive six-week recruitment campaign that included widespread online, radio and print advertising and YouTube videos profiling each vacancy. Initial applicants were shortlisted and candidates were then put through in-house assessment centres.
Yellow® actively sought to entice prospective employees from the United Kingdom and encourage expatriates and staff with a New Zealand connection to consider returning home. One such staff member is the new Head of Premium, Tim Parkman, who is returning home with his Kiwi wife after three and a half years in the UK.

Tim Parkman says “Yellow® is a great New Zealand brand; a household name but crucially for me they also have a very strong product offering. The senior management team has clear focus and objectives for driving the business forward but within that framework there is a real appetite to bring people onboard who could make a difference”.
Seventy-nine new staff members have already begun work at Yellow® and the full 100 are expected to be working by the end of the year.

ENDS

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