SEEK NZ Country Manager tells HRD how you can gain a competitive edge
There has never been a more important time in history for employers to truly understand what their workforce wants. While the talent shortage is hitting some Kiwi industries harder than others, it’s fair to say the employment market is the most complex it’s ever been.
New Zealand’s (NZ) largest job listing website Seek recently released the findings from its Laws of Attraction report; a comprehensive survey of 4,583 job candidates in NZ. Not surprisingly, the data suggests that attracting talent is one of the greatest challenges facing NZ businesses.
With some New Zealand businesses reporting a drop from 50 applications per role to barely a handful of applications, the Laws of Attraction survey and interactive data tool, available through SEEK’s website, could be just what HR teams need to identify how a worker’s circumstances motivate, or deter, them from hitting the ‘apply now’ button for a new job.
The interactive tool allows users to browse drivers of attraction by industry, age, gender, seniority, and work type and compare the results across a variety of factors.
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“In this candidate short market where candidates hold a lot of the power during the application stage, it is important for any business to identify what motivates their ideal candidates, and to go about trying to provide it,” said SEEK NZ Country Manager, Rob Clark.
“One of the most common mistakes that hirers make is the assumption that what would appeal to themselves would appeal to others, and what the Laws of Attraction data shows is that this is not always the case,” continued Clark.
So, what do employees want?
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The top three drivers that motivate Kiwi workers are salary, work-life balance, and career development. This is consistent with what was reported in Seek’s 2017 Laws of Attraction survey but when you break the data down further, it reveals deeper factors in determining employee motivation.
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“While the top drivers may not have changed since the 2017 data was released, the devil is in the detail of the data,” said Seek Market Research Manager, Caroline North. “The key themes of salary, flexibility, and career progression still motivate New Zealanders but it’s the motivators within those drivers that is key to knowing your audience and attracting the best talent.”
When you break down the data by gender, age, industry, or what level a worker is at in their career, the survey results show significantly different motivators within each subset. For instance, men prioritise salary and compensation, but women prioritise work-life balance.
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“Laws of Attraction shows us that work life balance is more important for women than men. But within the idea of work life balance there is a myriad of options, such as time in lieu, the ability to work form home, flexible working hours and additional leave,” said North.
One thing is for sure, if you’re an employer that won’t give in to flexibility you’re going to have think again, explains Clark “Flexibility, whether that means the option to work from home, condense the working week, or choose which days to work from the office, is not just a buzzword, it’s a real and high priority for many workers. If you know that this is a priority for those in your industry, and you aren’t shouting about your own flexible offerings, you are putting yourself at the back of the pack.”