Searching for talent in New Zealand's tight labour market

Employment coach suggests biases may be reason for staffing shortages

BY Dexter Tilo 19 Oct 2022

Employers across New Zealand are crying out for new people amid a tight labour market. However, an employment coach has claimed that staffing shortages might be attributed to employers' biases, not just a competitive candidate pool.

Kathryn Sandford, director of recruitment company Move to More, pointed out that employers' desire to find the right "fit" for their vacant positions may be hindering them from hiring excellent applicants.

"Seeking the right 'fit' risks falling prey to people's biases since the right person often requires the minimum change from the business itself. A candidate becomes attractive simply because they can slot into business-as-usual and hit the ground running," Sandford said. "While that's mostly fine during normal times, it unnecessarily limits the pool of great candidates in a tight labour market. It can be easy to overlook excellent talent completely."

Sandford cited the case of internal staff being overlooked during vacancies, pointing out that talented internal staff can be "discontented" and resign to go to places where they’re valued.

"It's easy to look for easy wins by bringing in outside talent. But if internal talent already fits with the culture, why not spend the resources on developing them into the role?" she said.

According to Sandford, it is important to find an employee who could "add" more to the company instead of someone who would "fit" into the role and would require minimum change.

"In a so-called talent shortage, the best strategy is to become more conscious of how quality talent may be hidden from sight due to personal bias and the inertia of 'business as usual,'" she said.

Sandford outlined three strategies that employers can take to address their biases:

Look within yourself. Sandford said it is important to remember that biases may be hard to spot, but overcoming them could be a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining talent.

"It is important to learn to select people for the right values and what they can add to the company. The criteria should be that they bring respect, truthfulness, and adaptability. A growing company needs a diversity of thought, innovation, and creativity," she said.
Behavioural structure. Sandford suggested putting "structure around behaviours" and to focus on learning to listen.

"In every engagement, always bring a solution,” she said. “What does the diversity of thought mean to you, and how have you demonstrated that? These are all crucial for thinking genuinely differently."
Take leadership seriously. It is time to upskill to become better leaders and prevent biases, Sandford said, pointing out that no one is born with leadership capabilities.

"Don't be afraid to recognise a weakness in your approach; make sure you find a way to strengthen that weakness. Spend time learning self-management to understand your patterns and better choose how you respond rather than react. Understand the roles you play and your expected output as a leader," she said.