Bay of Plenty Business News April/May 2017

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18 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS April/May 2017 Short term picture bright, says BERL The New Zealand economy has just celebrated its seventh year of uninterrupted annual expansion, BERL chief economist Dr Ganesh Nana says. On the back of strong population growth, in turn driven by unprecedented migration inflows, GDP has grown 18 percent since 2010. The latest OECD outlook notes key risks including housing valuations that are a matter of concern in some advanced economies, and a disconnect between financial valuations markets and real economic activity. A commodity price boom initially helped dairy exports surge over this period, Dr Nana says. But, this driver has been replaced by tourism as the lead engine for the export sector over the past couple of years. “Accompanying these drivers has been ongoing construction activity, as building and infrastructure investment spending strives to catch up on previous years of decline. “The short-term scenario for growth is positive, as the migration and tourism drivers remain robust. “However, the appetite for increased building and infrastructure spending may be less robust. Signs of higher interest rates and tighter credit conditions will see this appetite recede. “The clamour for tax cuts to take priority on public sector funds will also inevitably impact on government spending on infrastructure. “There are also signs that the house building cycle may have already peaked. “Longer-term prospects are somewhat clouded, as a combination of external influences and internal pressures add increasing risk. “External influences revolve around increasing protectionist sentiment, geo-political instability, a weak global economic recovery and a fragile financial sector. “The latest OECD outlook notes key risks including housing valuations that are a matter of concern in some advanced economies, and a disconnect between financial valuations markets and real economic activity,” said Dr Nana. “The world’s economy is not in a happy space and New Zealand is not immune to any of these risks. Indeed, the disconnect between financial valuations and real economic activity sets the scene for an inevitable disruptive correction where we will not be able to escape the damage. The concern around housing valuations is in reality a subset of this financial market disconnect.” Internal pressures are led by the elephant in the room – the household sector debtto-income ratio surging to a historical high at close to 170 percent. In addition, the viability of ongoing growth BERL chief economist Ganesh Nana. based on rapid migration expansion is questionable Dr Nana says. New Zealand’s remarkable GDP growth figures hide the somewhat more sobering outcome that GDP per capita has risen only eight percent since 2010. “Bluntly, expansion has been purchased again by an artificial demand-side boost, with little evidence that New Zealand’s supply side is in any way more efficient, productive, or profitable. “What we don’t know is will the tourism boom continue to ease gradually, or revert to double-digit growth? How much will the infrastructure rebuild around Kaikoura delay other infrastructure projects in the pipeline? Or, whether tax cuts will dominate the need for infrastructure spending?” Dr Nana says. Attracting talent GROWING YOUR BUSINESS > BY DARREN MCGARVIE Darren McGarvie is co-founder and chief coach of the Firestation, the Bay’s only business growth centre. To find out more go to www. thefirestation.nz or email grow@thefirestation.nz Let’s face it, when it comes to hiring new staff for your small or medium business it can be a little daunting. If you make the wrong choice it can have major ramifications for your business and your back pocket. Hiring right is not just about choosing the person with the best skills or experience. The person needs to be able to fit in and work well with your current team members. You might also think that you start on the back foot trying to compete for the best staff against larger organisations. But small businesses have many other things to offer to potential employees. The first real difference is that positions usually have a larger job scope. People at smaller businesses usually wear more hats, providing more variety than roles at large corporates. As the owner and boss you can easily decide what flexibility you can offer – work from home, earlier or later start times to name a few. In large organisations there are policy and procedures to follow to get anything out of the ordinary approved and it can be difficult and take time. You skip all that with a simple yes or no. If your business is growing fast you can also offer advancement opportunities for key staff roles that can take longer to become available in slower growing larger firms. The other big attraction is you can offer a share in the profits. While this is not something you would want to offer right off the bat, it is something you can throw on the table for future consideration if things are going well. Giving key staff some skin in the game can also make them work harder and increase loyalty ensuring your staff stay for the long term. Probably the best tip for any business, not matter what size, is never to stop recruiting. One of the biggest issues for growing businesses is finding talent. If you are continually looking for the right talent you can have potentials ready to call when the time is right to employ new staff. So start a potential hire list today. Don’t forget to use your existing team to help promote working for you. After all who knows your business better than your own team? You can reward successful referrals with cash bonus, gift cards or even an extra day off. And remember don’t settle. It will take time to find the right person. New Zealand start-ups feature in global survey New Zealand start-ups have the highest percentage of offshore customers when measured against their counterparts from 50 other ecosystems, including New York, Moscow, Beijing and London. For the first time, more than 100 kiwi start-ups have taken part in the Compass Start-up Genome’s Ecosystem Ranking Survey. The Compass Start-up Genome project team is based in San Francisco and benchmarks start-up ecosystems from around the world. New Zealand Angel Association chair, Marcel van den Assum, says he was pleased to see ‘NZ Inc’ on the world map. “Start-up eco-system inputs such as volume of deals, number of angel investors and investment levels have grown consistently, and position New Zealand as a highly credible performer on a per capita basis,” says Marcel. He is particularly pleased to see New Zealand start-ups leading the charge when it comes to engaging globally. “To generate the level of value we hope our start-ups will deliver for New Zealand and their shareholders, we have to think and sell globally from day one - and our companies obviously are,” he says. Another interesting insight from the survey was the lack of experience of New Zealand entrepreneurs. Less than half of the kiwi startup growth teams have had more than two years’ previous entrepreneurial experience. “The challenge for New Zealand is to apply higher levels of capability, capital and connections to those businesses that have real potential to scale and deliver a return on investment to all eco-system participants,” says Marcel. The survey was led by the Angel Association NZ and carried out with support from NZX, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, New Zealand Venture Investment Fund, Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment and Callaghan Innovation.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS April/May 2017 19 Job Seekers hold the cards Over the last 18 months we’ve seen a real shift in what motivates job seekers. It’s not all about the money any more Historically the key drivers for a job seeker have been money, stability and career progression. Money is still a motivator but not a key driver with job seekers looking to work for an organisation that has a strong sense of community. This includes working with an inspiring leader, a mentor who they will be able to gain ‘on the job’ learning experiences and progression opportunities through. Community involvement The influencing factor that job seekers want to see before they accept a job are examples of the organisation ‘doing good’. They want to see that the employer plays a part in the community, giving back in some way. This doesn’t mean the candidate wants to necessarily be involved in community work but is a part of a company that does. The connection with an agency In todays’ society we are more time poor than ever, which is also the case for job seekers. Spending time daily scrolling job boards, creating a quality LinkedIn profile and connecting with networks takes time. Job seekers want to connect with an agency that knows the market. We’ve seen this particularly with candidates relocating within New Zealand and returning from overseas. Job seekers want up to date and relevant information, local intel, salary guidance and to know who the key employers are in their area of speciality and the general market. Employees and Employers are both being interviewed Technology has armed job seekers with information and they will do their research before meeting with or accepting a new position. Potential employees are interviewing employers just as much as the employers are interviewing potential employees. The number of jobs listed on both Seek and Trademe are up 17 percent on April last year; job seekers are flush with opportunity. Quality candidates are ‘in demand’ and being head hunted. Employer branding is key To secure top talent for your business the key is in the offering; and this starts from how your brand is portrayed in the market, including what current and past employees say about you. Job seekers want a connection with the company and the person that is interviewing them. This is an important part of the recruitment process. It shows the job seeker how the leader or senior manager may treat and value their staff and the organisational culture they uphold in the business. The value in engaging with the team at Kinetic is we get to the heart of people – our clients, their businesses and candidates. We facilitate that match for you and the job seeker to ensure it’s a win-win for both client and candidate. If you want a recruitment partner for your business with a difference, call us today and let us show you how we can deliver the right match for your business. Keri McAdam (L) and Cherie Hill (R) are the team at Kinetic Recruitment Tauranga, specialising in contract, temporary and permanent recruitment for SMEs and Corporates in The Bay of Plenty. Kinetic Recruitment Phone: 07 281 2509 Level 1, 39 Spring Street Tauranga, Bay of Plenty 3110 www.kinetic.co.nz Commercial Property Management Bayleys Commercial Property Management covers both commercial and industrial across the Bay of Plenty and New Zealand. Situated in the middle of what is considered to be the Golden Triangle of investment property is our results driven team. We understand that to maximise the return on your property you need: Professional property management A business partner that understands your investment, views and goals SPEAK TO BAYLEYS TODAY Jan Cooney Commercial Property Manager B 07 579 0609 M 027 408 9339 jan.cooney@bayleystauranga.co.nz Brodie Thomas Associate Commercial Property Manager B 07 579 0608 M 027 746 9218 brodie.thomas@bayleystauranga.co.nz 247 Cameron Road, Tauranga Success Realty Ltd, Bayleys, Licensed Under The REA Act 2008
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Bay of Plenty Business News April/May 2017

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