Globalisation requires employers to get creative

18/03/2013

Globalisation requires employers to get creative: Hays report

Employers will need to capitalise on New Zealand’s strengths in a bid to attract international candidates. And they’ll have to tap into existing overseas talent pools if they want to future-proof their workforce amid the growing globalisation of the jobs market.

This is just one of the findings from Tomorrow’s Workforce, the latest white paper released by recruiting experts Hays, which surveyed more than 260 employers and candidates. The white paper looks at four key issues: globalisation, technological advancement, diversity and the Christchurch rebuild.

“It’s one thing to know what a typical workplace will look like in the years ahead, but another to know what to do about it,” says Jason Walker, Managing Director of Hays in New Zealand.

According to the white paper, the fluid mobility of skilled professionals across borders will be the norm in the globalised job market of tomorrow. The overwhelming majority of both employers and candidates surveyed (94.6 per cent) believe it will become more common for people to develop their career across multiple borders in the future.

And as more and more New Zealanders head overseas for opportunities – 80.4 per cent are willing to work abroad at some point in their career – New Zealand employers will need to look to overseas workers to fill the void.

“In such a market, attracting skilled migrants will become imperative for businesses large and small, global and domestic,” says Jason.

About 52.7 per cent of employers would recruit from overseas, while a further 32.4 per cent would consider recruiting from overseas where there is a shortage of domestic candidates. Only 14.9 per cent of employers would not consider recruiting from overseas for skills-short areas.

It is how these employers go about filling the shortages, however, that will determine to what extent New Zealand will meet the demands of and stay competitive in the globalised job market.

“For multinational corporations (MNCs) the obvious choice appears to be overseas secondments to fill vacancies or manage ebbs and flow in business activity,” says Jason. According to Hays’ survey, more than two thirds or 71.5 per cent of employers would consider the option for select vacancies. This is also a sensible retention strategy, with 78 per cent of candidates more likely to remain with an organisation longer if it could provide the opportunity to transfer between global offices.

“Offering cross-border employment options to top talent allows an organisation to retain the knowledge and experience of valued employees who would otherwise leave the business for roles overseas,” says Jason.

“But global mobility is not a one-size fits all solution to future-proofing your global talent pipeline. Each assignment must be assessed on an individual basis to accommodate both the needs of the business and those of the assignee.”

But what if your organisation is not a global giant? How can you use globalisation to future-proof your workforce?

According to Hays, the first step is to tap into the relevant overseas markets, such as via an international recruitment firm.

But if you are unable to tap into an existing pool, employers may have to undertake advertising and web campaigns, which have been successful for the mining industry in particular, or attend overseas migration events.

Other special considerations when hiring from overseas include looking at how usual referencing procedures will be affected and the use of mentors to help overseas talent adapt once they come to a new workplace and live in a new country.

“Those organisations recruiting from overseas will not only need to consider technical skills but ‘soft skills’ such as cultural understanding, adaptability, stability and bilingual skills to help smooth the transition for the new employee and productivity for the business,” says Jason.

For more information about the white paper, please go to http://www.hays.net.nz/media-centre/index.htm and select Tomorrow’s Workforce on the top left hand side.

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

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