Award Recognises Transformation

MEDIA RELEASE

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2015

Award Recognises Transformation

Last night Careers New Zealand won the Most Improved Organisation in the small-medium sized organisation category of the IBM Kenexa Best Workplaces Awards 2015, after a year of significant strategic and organisational change.

“In the last year we have worked hard to transform Careers New Zealand and our work from top to bottom. This award is a testament to everyone’s commitment and support in making it happen,” says Careers New Zealand, Chief Executive, Keith Marshall.

Careers New Zealand decided as an organisation to make a change for the better – to build and capitalise on its knowledge, expertise and resources to deliver the services its customers need.

“We knew we had a good base to build on. We have a team of 133 talented and committed people. A plain English award winning website, careers.govt.nz that receives close to four million visits a year. We also know through our research that 84% of New Zealanders who have heard of us, trust us and our information,” says Mr Marshall.

Leighton Abbot, Senior Consultant, Smarter Workforce, IBM NZ, says “The extent of the turnaround in Careers New Zealand's survey results is quite remarkable, and reflects the very inclusive approach leadership has taken to significantly change the way the organisation operates. The results prove that when an entire organisation works together with a focus on improving their workplace and performance, the process can be positive and engaging.”

Mr Marshall says, “We began our transformation with an understanding of what we wanted to achieve as an organisation, and the kind of workplace we wanted to belong to and work in. We revised our strategy, set a clear direction, realigned our structure and transformed our culture to improve our performance. We’re working in a more collaborative, results-orientated culture, which has created dramatic improvements in our staff engagement.

“Our latest annual IBM Kenexa Best Workplaces result shows an unprecedented turnaround in our staff engagement which now positions us among the best performing state sector agencies.

“The shift in our staff engagement has contributed to an improvement in our business results which are presented in our 2015 Annual Report.

“I am confident that, by combining our effective products and services with the expertise, passion, and commitment of all of us here at Careers New Zealand, we will help people make career choices so they and the country have a better future”.

To learn more about our transformation please read our 2015 Annual Report atcareers.govt.nz/annualreport.

Ends

© Scoop Media