New Zealand’s tech employers squeezed by sector’s talent pool

A new report has found that employers in the national technology space are finding it more difficult to hire in 2015 than they did last year.

BY Chloe Taylor 28 Apr 2015

Employers in New Zealand’s technology sector will struggle to recruit qualified staff this year, with a report finding that 70% of tech employers cited finding staff with the right skills as their biggest challenge for 2015.

The report, conducted by absoluteIT, surveyed over 440 tech employers – 79% of whom were planning to hire staff or contractors this year. Of those, 29% said they were finding the onboarding process more difficult now than in 2014.

The report also revealed employers’ biggest internal business challenges – two of which were directly related to HR’s responsibilities: attracting and retaining staff (30%) and creating a positive workplace culture (20%).

Grant Burley, absoluteIT’s director, told The New Zealand Herald that communication is vital in overcoming these challenges.

“Talk with staff and share company goals and ambitions so everyone gets on-board and excited about the vision,” he suggested. “Seek feedback – good and bad – recognise great work and where possible provide career growth pathways.”

AbsoluteIT said a separate report on job insights had shown that although 85 per cent of tech employees were happy with their workplace, 67 per cent would still consider moving to a new job if the package was attractive enough. Burley said it was important based on this to provide a workplace that catered to the needs of its staff, including providing a good salary package, which he said was the top motivator for staff.

"Keep in mind, a better salary package doesn't just mean more money," Burley said.

Burley added that monetary remuneration was not the only offering employers should be focusing on to attract skilled professionals.

“Keep in mind, a better salary package doesn't just mean more money,” he told The Herald. “With 43% of tech professionals stating flexible working hours as the top non-financial benefit an employer can offer, the salary package you offer can be made up of many things.”

Other top motivators included being challenged at work, access to training and development opportunities and a working for a company with a positive workplace culture.

According to the report, the limited talent pool means that employers are increasing their efforts to attract talent in 2015: 86% of employers in the tech space support flexible working hours or remote access, while 51% are granting their employees access to both.

The top 10 in demand skillsets in IT and technology for 2015 are: