Bay of Plenty Business News February/March 2018

8 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS February/March 2018
HR MANAGEMENT & RECRUITMENT
Employment is booming in the Bay
We are well into the first quarter of 2018
and the Bay of Plenty employment market
seems to be booming, with recruitment
and employment stats over the Tauranga
and Rotorua regions showing positive signs
of growth.
We are all looking forward
to a positive year
in which business will
sustainably grow and improve.
Indications have shown that
business confidence is positive,
and there are some exciting
events ahead to capitalise on
within our region which will
give the area a real boost.
The employment sector, has
had a positive start to the year
with many organisations proactively
seeking talent to increase
current capabilities, noticeably
through the increase of leadership
roles. We are seeing businesses
embrace flexible working
hours within their workforce,
which is in turn widening
the pool of candidates available
to them and increasing capability.
Employment forecasts
through to 2020 show that the
business services, construction
and utilities sectors are
set to have the largest employment
growth, faster than the
national average year-on-year.
Employment growth is forecast
at around two percent for the
next three years.
The New Year also tends
to bring fresh movement in
the workforce – those who are
either relocating to the region
and looking for work, or those
who are currently employed
and looking for a career move.
While there has been a considerable
slowdown in inquiries
being received from those
wanting to move from the
metro city centres - probably
partly due to recent publicity
around the cost of living in
Bay of Plenty - what we do
have now is candidates who are
more committed to the move.
These are qualified candidates,
meaning those who have
already researched, and invested
in the relocation process and
are ready to go.
The effects of strong working
age population and employment
growth will become more
and more evident in the labour
market. Strong labour force
participation and net migration
levels above the long-term
average will sustain continued
strength in labour supply for
now, but with growth diminishing
over time. Employment
growth exceeding the growth
in labour supply will result in
the unemployment rate trending
down to four percent in the
short-term towards 2020. We
are very likely to experience
labour supply constraints and
skills shortages with this low
unemployment rate.
The beginning of the year is
always a good time to review
and plan for growth, and ensuring
that you have the right platform
to enable that growth is
imperative. Many business and
organisations operate with a
DIY view of recruitment, their
human resources and health
and safety. However, it’s these
businesses that in our experience
seem to have problems
with high staff turnover, costly
recruitment mistakes, personal
grievances, and a state of confusion
over health and safety
compliance. Having robust policies,
procedures and reporting
mechanisms in place, along
with the right people on board
to advise on such issues, will
all help to guard against costly
HUMAN RESOURCES
> BY KELLIE HAMLETT
Director, Recruitment & HR Specialist, Talent ID Recruitment Ltd
mistakes and build an environment
for long-term sustainable
business growth.
Data Source: Ministry of
Business, Innovation and
Employment (MBIE)