Think Laterally to Keep Skilled Staff

Media release 9 January 2007

THINK LATERALLY TO KEEP SKILLED STAFF

Employers need to start thinking laterally if they want to retain skilled staff, says a senior recruitment consultant.

Robert Half Finance & Accounting Division Director Kim Smith’s comments come after an international survey of finance professionals showed New Zealand employers were dragging the chain in offering intangible benefits, such as flexible working hours, when compared with those in 12 other countries.

The survey of more than 2500 finance professionals across 13 countries was carried out by parent company Robert Half International.

It revealed that only 43% of New Zealand finance professionals were offered flexible working hours, the second-lowest percentage of any country. Only Ireland was lower, at 26%, while Luxemburg led the way, with 60% of finance professionals being offered flexible working hours.

Even across the Tasman, Australia employers performed better, with 55% of finance professionals having some flexibility in the hours they worked.

New Zealand also performed badly in other areas that allowed employees flexibility in the way they fitted work into their lives.

No New Zealand finance professionals in the survey were offered child care (compared with 23% in the Netherlands, the best performer); only 6% were offered telecommuting (compared with 38% in the Netherlands); and none were offered a sabbatical (compared with a survey best of 33% in the Czech Republic).

“While New Zealand employers do very well in offering bonuses, they have yet to understand that skilled staff take much more than money into consideration when deciding which job to take, or even whether they will stay with their existing employer,” says Kim Smith.

“In Robert Half’s 2006 Auckland Salary Survey, 64% of finance professionals said work/life balance would be one of the two most important intangible benefits they would consider when choosing between jobs. And flexible working hours rated second at 53%.”

Benefits such as child care, telecommuting and flexible hours are particularly important in helping parents create a balance between their work and family life, Kim Smith says, but too many New Zealand employers have not considered how such flexibility can work for their employees and their business.

“At a time when employers are having difficulty finding skilled staff, they really need to ensure that job applicants see their business as an attractive place to work, and existing staff aren’t lured away by better conditions elsewhere,” says Kim Smith.

“This is going to become even more important as more members of Gen Y enter the workforce,” she says. “It is estimated that over the course of their working lives, Gen Y employees will have up to five careers and more than 20 jobs.

“If they are happy in their job, they may stay for as long as two years. If they are unhappy, they will leave in as little as six days.

“Employers need to think outside the square and find out what benefits are important enough to their employees to make them want to stay. Those benefits will, in many instances, involve something other than just more money.”

ENDS

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