Peter Boxall
Professor of Human Resource
Management
“
It is very valuable for management to
have a process in place to understand
how people are reacting to the work
environment and what it will take to
retain the better performers. A telephone
survey of more than 500 New Zealanders
studied the reasons they gave for leaving
and staying with employers. The most
frequent reason for leaving a job was
related to the drive for personal growth.
Individuals resigned when they no
longer found their jobs interesting.
The implication is this: if we want to
retain talented individuals, we need
to ensure they see greater opportunities
to grow inside our organisation than
outside it. Alongside this, the experience
of supportive relationships in the work
team and good recognition of individual
performance are among the most
critical factors.”
Ann Hutchison
lecturer in Human Resource
Management
“
Previous University of Auckland research
has shown that less than a quarter of
New Zealand organisations use creative
training and development methods,
like succession planning, developmental
job rotation, formal career plans, high-
flier schemes and assessment centres.
Such methods show a clear return on
investment, and there is obvious room
for New Zealand’s organisations to
become more effective in this area.
Effective development is about much
more than simply putting someone
on a training course.”
Carla Houkamau
Senior Lecturer in Management
“
In terms of skill shortages we need to
ensure we are utilising the skills we have
among our recent migrant population
—
many of whom have skills and
qualifications that are going untapped.
Research suggests that employers are
reluctant to employ new migrants, and
yet cannot fill vacancies. Case studies
show that employing migrants can
result in a variety of positive outcomes,
including staff retention. There is a
proviso, though – if migrant workers are
employed, organisations need to know
how to manage diversity effectively.
A major part of this is ensuring that
there is open communication about
cultural differences, a genuine
commitment from organisational
leaders to supporting migrant worker
integration and a strong culture of
tolerance and understanding in
the workplace.”
Greg Cain
Partner, Employment Law
“
It is important that your employment
agreements and remuneration policies
ensure that you have adequate scope
to reward, incentivise and retain key
employees. Employers frequently fail
to put in place transparent and well
structured remuneration arrangements,
and this is a significant contributor to
turnover. This applies not just to salaries
but also to incentive schemes and
benefits. As there are frequent changes
in employment laws, it is advisable to
ensure that your managers and people
management team are kept up to
date with the latest developments.
Legal changes can have an impact on
everything from hiring to firing. It is
also important to ensure that your
interests are protected against the
sudden departure of key employees
to competitors, and guard against
the risk of misuse or disclosure of
confidential information and trade
secrets. Having policies covering equal
employment opportunities, flexible
working, sexual harassment and
discrimination, etc ensures that your
organisation is in good shape to
manage diversity.”
key findings //
9:
the war for talent cont. . .
50
t h e n ew no rma l
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