Candidate confidence on the rise: Hays Quarterly Report

PRESS RELEASE

09/10/2012

Candidate confidence on the rise: Hays Quarterly Report

Candidate confidence in New Zealand is on the rise with people looking for new and better opportunities, according to the latest Hays Quarterly Report.

The Report was released this week and covers recruiting and hiring trends for the October to December 2012 quarter. It also found candidate shortages remain in key areas for skilled and experienced professionals.

“Candidates seeking new roles appear to be more confident and are looking around for better opportunities,” says Jason Walker, Managing Director of Hays in New Zealand.

According to the Report, candidates are also now demanding higher salaries if their skills are in short supply. “Some candidates are even pulling out of interviews at the final stage and changing their salary expectations upon receiving an offer,” says Jason. “In fact, we are seeing more employers turning to us after experiencing this frustrating outcome. They recognise the value of having a third party involved to carefully manage and communicate expectations through every step of the recruitment process.”

Another trend noted in the Report is the increasing use of temporary assignments. “Many employers are turning to a more flexible workforce,” says Jason.

“As employer requirements become more urgent, demand for temporaries has increased. This is most obvious for project-based work in the construction industry.”

Jason says temporary assignments are a cost-effective method of overcoming skills shortages and filling short-term needs.

“However, employers who use temporary assignments inappropriately, for example, for several years at a time, will not benefit. In such cases, a permanent hire should be made. The benefit of temporary assignments comes from their use for periods of up to six to 12 months.”

The Report also found some employers’ expectations remain rigid and the time it takes to make a hire could be working against them.

“Looking ahead, employers will need to think more laterally in terms of talent acquisition. As New Zealand is a candidate-short market, employers need to be aware that they may have to relax their original specifications. Employers in Christchurch, in particular, need to be more flexible and open to hiring people from overseas.”

According to the Hays Quarterly Report for October to December 2012, demand is highest for the following skilled professionals:

• Hays Accountancy & Finance – commerce & industry
Accounts Administrators, Accounts Payable staff, Assistant Accountants, Management Accountants, Systems Accountants and Reporting Accountants in Christchurch, and NZCA qualified and experienced Senior Accountants, Qualified Financial and Management Accountants, Tax Specialists, Assistant Accountants, Credit Controllers, Payroll Clerks in Auckland;

• Hays Accountancy & Finance – professional practice
Senior Accountants, Managers and Senior Managers and Auditors in Christchurch, and intermediate and senior Business Advisory staff in Auckland;

• Hays Construction
UFB Supervisors, Shop Fitout Foremen/women, Quantity Surveyors and Estimators in Auckland, and Quantity Surveyors, Construction Site Managers, Forepersons and Carpenters in Christchurch;

• Hays Contact Centres
Customer service candidates, from entry level through to senior Customer Service Representatives, Telesales candidates with at least two years experience and Team Leaders;

• Hays Energy
Primary Substation Engineers (intermediate and senior), Secondary Substation Engineers (intermediate and senior), Protection Engineers, Protection Technicians, Transmission Linespersons and Glove and Barrier Line Mechanics;

• Hays Engineering
Structural Engineers with seismic design and analysis experience, Transportation Engineers and Planners, Civil Engineers, Geotechnical Engineers and Structural Drafters in Christchurch, in addition to Site Engineers, Project Engineers and Project Managers, Professional Quantity Surveyors, Senior Project Managers (Consultancy), Project Engineers (civil), Site Engineers (civil), Project Managers (residential) and Engineering Geologists;

• Hays Facilities Management
HVAC Engineers;

• Hays Information Technology
Business Analysts, .Net Developers, ERP Consultants, Helpdesk candidates, SQL Database Administrators, Citrix Engineers, Testers, Technical Writers, Network Engineers (security), Systems Engineers, Database Administrators, Systems Analysts, Systems Administrators, Java Developers, permanent Business Intelligence Developers and Project Coordinators;

• Hays Insurance
Commercial Brokers, Account Managers, Risk Advisors, Commercial Broker Support candidates, Commercial Underwriters and PI & D&O Underwriters;

• Hays Legal
Commercial Property Lawyers, Commercial Lawyers, Insurance Litigators and Construction Solicitors with major firm experience;

• Hays Office Support
Executive Assistants, Personal Assistants, Project Administrators, General Administrators and part-time Receptionists;
• Hays Property
Intermediate Property Managers (commercial and industrial experience), Project Managers, Sales and Leasing Agents (100 per cent commission) and Building Surveyors (RICS qualified);

• Hays Trades & Labour
Drain Layers, Digger Operators, Truck Drivers, Asphalt Layers, STMS Traffic Managers, Carpenters, Painters, Labourers and Machine Operators.

For the full Hays Quarterly Report, please go to www.hays.net.nz/report

Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

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About Hays

Hays is the leading global specialist recruiting group. We are the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in Asia Pacific and the UK and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. We operate across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments.

Hays employs 7,800 staff operating from 245 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2012, Hays reported net fees of £734 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £128 million. Hays placed around 55,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 182,000 people into temporary assignments. 33% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific.

Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA.

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