The recruitment industry, possibly more so than any other industry sector, rides the waves of economic peaks and troughs. As the largest New Zealand owned generalist recruitment company, the Madison Group is ideally placed to act as a barometer of hiring intentions and market confidence – and the Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) market is right at the coal face of this changing economic cycle.
The recession had many faces; cash flow, funding, bad debt and competition being the more obvious consequences that New Zealand business experienced during this time (as found by the 2009 Madison Recruitment Business Confidence Survey across the SME market). Now, as we come out of the recession and opportunities arise for increased market share, it will be the recruitment and retention of key staff that will be a primary factor in determining the actual growth levels within the SME market. How to succeed in this “new world of work…”
- Show Flexibility
We suggest that you assess your ‘staffing flexibility’ as there has been a seismic shift in the form of work in the market place. There is a new demand for – and general acceptance of – part-time and contract work, as well as a similar decrease in the number of permanent and full time roles available.
We believe these figures herald a new way of working that is partly a response to the recession and partly a reflection of the changing attitudes to work. This view is shared (oddly enough) by both Baby Boomers and Gen Y-ers; both of which are less willing to fully commit themselves to work or a job, if this means excluding a certain life style choice. These two generations make strange bedfellows indeed, however such are the idiosyncrasies of the new, changing world of work with its demands for a ‘new way of seeing and doing’ and a flexibility that ‘survivor’ companies will need to embrace enthusiastically.
- Communicate, communicate, communicate
Communication levels are more critical than ever in this market – and staff engagement depends on communication. Communication needs to be as open as possible in order to mitigate the risks of increased business competition as well as higher salary levels in the market. If you don’t tell your staff what is happening in the company, then they will inevitably come to their own (and often exciting) conclusions!
- Plan your salary strategy carefully
We have now started to see that salary levels have become a key determinant in both recruitment and retention of those with business-critical skill sets (with more modest pressure applying to support roles). Although employees have understood and generally accepted the need for cost containment during 2009, this good will only go so far. Employees are now looking to be paid salary levels that are a fair reflection of their market worth. It is also no surprise that those employees who have been retained by clients in these tough times are also usually those who have the resilience and attitude desired by many companies in the market.
- Values, vision and strategy do matter
The Madison Group would also argue that the companies who have a compelling vision, underpinned by common values and a culture that is real and lived, will be best positioned to ride the wave of recovery. This is simply due to high retention levels being directly linked to employees feeling they are truly part of the company, as well as being aligned with its goals and successes.
Madison Consulting – the specialist Organisational Development (OD) arm of The Madison Group – has seen a significant and growing demand for their services (especially in the SME market) as clients want to capitalise on the opportunities offered by this changing world of work. Clients who have been unable to access OD support simply because of the lack of scale and internal staff capability, have been keen to recognise what high performance looks like, and then benchmark their current staff accordingly. We can then assist in the recruiting of new employees who can fit that specific model. “The value of top performers is two to three times the performance of average employees” – Urlich and Smallwood.
In summary, human capital is fundamental to the success of all companies, irrespective of size. The New Zealand market will inevitably become more candidate short, simply due to our position in the global talent pool and the cyclical nature of the economy. What SME companies do now is absolutely critical to their short, medium and long-term success.
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