Kiwi Employees Favour Pay & Workplace Perks Over Security

Media release

Job Security’s Out – Money Is In:
Kiwi Employees Favour Pay & Workplace Perks Over Security


13 March 2013: New research from recruitment & HR services provider, Randstad, shows Kiwi employees have placed more emphasis this year on receiving better pay and benefits from New Zealand employers, rather than feeling secure in their jobs.

The research findings, released ahead of the third annual Randstad Award, are an about turn on last year’s figures, where people placed long-term job security as the most important factor when selecting a place to work. Last year, financial health of an organisation came in a close second, and competitive salary was a distant third.

The Randstad Award employer branding research which includes responses from 7,000 New Zealanders, points to an opening in the job market as people start to look for better workplace benefits.

Nineteen percent of New Zealanders now view competitive salary and employee benefits as the most important factor in choosing an employer. This figure is up from 12% in 2012 with the number of Kiwis valuing long-term job security falling five points to 14%. A pleasant working atmosphere is now the third most important employment factor at 12%.

Speaking ahead of this year’s Awards, (scheduled for 21 March) where the most attractive employers in New Zealand will be crowned for 2013, Director of Randstad New Zealand, Paul Robinson, says employers need to put steps in place to ensure their employees are rewarded for their hard work, their dedication and their resourcefulness during challenging economic conditions - otherwise they risk losing their best performing talent.

“Over the past couple of years there has been limited movement in the job market due to uncertainty, job insecurity and limited optimism, so employees chose to sit tight and work hard through tough financial times.

“However as optimism increases and the market begins to open up, people will start to reconsider benefits important to them such as higher remuneration packages, the ability to be more mobile and work outside of the office, or have flexible working hours. 2013 may just be the time for businesses to repay the faith of Kiwi workers who stuck it out with their organisation through the downturn,” says Mr Robinson.

“Despite the need for organisations to reward employees this year, the results show New Zealanders are open to accepting non-financial employment benefits which are attractive to them both personally and professionally.

Robinson says Kiwis are starting to evaluate what’s important to them within a work and home life context, and placing these issues at the top of their list of requirements when looking for a job. This is good news for businesses, and highlights that while salary is important, employees will be open to other benefits if a pay rise is not a possibility in the short to medium term.

“To ensure employees are satisfied and engaged, business leaders need to be open to thinking outside the box when rewarding staff. Listen to the criteria which are most important to your people, and focus on satisfying these requests. Businesses who don’t could find themselves losing talent and, with that, the intellectual property which can set your business back,” says Robinson.

The search for New Zealand’s most attractive employer in 2013

The Randstad Awards, which reveal the most attractive places to work in New Zealand, are totally unique in this market – with the winner being decided by the public and organisations unable to nominate themselves or determine categories or criteria for entry. The winner is determined from the largest 150 employers in New Zealand (by employee size).

First launched in Belgium in 2000, the Randstad Awards will be hosted in 18 countries around the world including, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, France, Spain and the Netherlands.

The 2013 Randstad Award winner will be announced on the 21st March at The Pullman Hotel in Auckland. TV3’s Campbell Live host, John Campbell will once again MC the event which will be attended by senior executives from New Zealand’s largest 150 companies such as ASB Bank, Air New Zealand and TVNZ.

The top three most attractive factors for Kiwi jobseekers in 2013 are:

The complete findings from the Randstad Award employer branding research for New Zealand for 2013 will be revealed on Friday 22nd March.

The Randstad Awards
First launched in Belgium in 2000, the Awards are now hosted in 18 countries around the world including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK and the USA. The Randstad Award is totally unique with the winner decided via feedback from the general public. Organisations cannot nominate themselves to enter. The scale of the employer branding research is unrivalled internationally with Randstad Award research gathered from over 120,000 people (of working age).
About Randstad
Randstad is one of the world’s largest recruitment & HR services providers, employing over 570,000 people every day with the aim of “shaping the world of work”. Randstad is passionate about matching people with organisations that will develop their potential and matching organisations with people that will take their business to the next level. Visit www.randstad.co.nz for further information.

ENDS

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