Way back in January 2008, David Law, an employment relations and recruitment consultant, wrote an article relating to the fight for talent among local authorities. It is now 2025 and the fight seems to be worse, he writes, as we rely too much on our local skill pool.
Currently there are 10 councils I am aware of that are seeking to hire Resource Consent Planners, and all these councils want the same level of local experience (Resource Management Act knowledge etc.) from the potential hire. These councils are, essentially, competing against each other to hire for the same role and this potential hire can only have come from another local authority – that’s how they will have acquired their experience. Of the councils I have spoken to, they are insisting on the potential hire meeting this criteria and are not willing to compromise.
Insisting on applicants having: demonstrated working knowledge of legislation and the ability to apply that knowledge, particularly in relation to the Resource Management Act, Building Act, Local Government Act and Privacy Act; an understanding of te Tiriti O Waitangi; and cultural awareness’ etc., is simply creating recruitment issues by limiting the applicant pool.
Add a competitive salary and similar inducements, such as five weeks annual leave, a paid day off on their birthday, life insurance, staff healthcare, banking and retail discounts, and relocation assistance, and it appears most councils are aiming to hire those already working for a local authority; attracting talent from one local authority and moving it to another. But this doesn’t really fix the problem of our sector/occupational skill shortages.
While some councils offer cadetships to attract graduates to fill a future void (which is commendable in trying to retain our young professionals in this country rather than seeing them head offshore), in most cases the vacant positions advertised are seeking a minimum of a relevant degree or National Diploma Level 7 qualification and three to five-plus years of experience in this country.
Internal recruiters/hiring managers who can’t find this ideal candidate will have to readvertise; approach a recruitment agency in the hopes that they will have someone on their database; or headhunt a suitable candidate from another council. This makes it hard for some local authorities, especially the smaller ones, to compete in terms of salary and variety of inducements on offer.
Looking offshore was always an option, but it seems this is no longer a preferred option. As a recruitment consultant sourcing qualified and experienced professionals from overseas, I have personally found this to be a very successful alternative, especially for those hard-to-fill roles.
Admittedly, overseas candidates, while they may have local or central government experience, would not understand or have experience with our local government legislation. But, applicants I have sourced from overseas over the years, and in some cases more recently, have been able to come to terms with these challenges very quickly and many have gone on to become very senior, valued members of their respective teams.
A large proportion of them are now experienced senior managers and remain loyal to the organisations that they originally joined. If you have some on your staff, ask them how they overcame these challenges.
I noticed the Minister of Immigration, Erica Stanford, said; ‘the Government is focused on attracting and retaining highly skilled migrants where there is a skill shortage, while putting Kiwis on the front line for jobs’. Hence the reason why skilled positions are on the immigration ‘Green’ essential skills list.
Yes, there is a higher cost factor associated with recruiting overseas candidates, but when you consider the ongoing consequences of sourcing local talent, maybe it is time to take a fresh approach.
On a final note, with local recruiting, ninety nine percent of employees do not leave one job for another for less remuneration, which leaves the existing employer with a dilemma: offer more to make them stay and take the risk of causing internal relativity problems with other staff members or let them go. It may also create a similar problem amongst staff for a new employer offering a higher salary, especially if they have a collective agreement in place or a fixed remuneration policy.
We all understand that ‘retention’ is a very important and a contented employee is one less likely to be tempted in this volatile market to relocate if they are happy in their working environment. This is another reason why it is better to recruit off-shore for new roles while retaining existing staff.
I raise these points as an external recruiter and an ex-employee of local government. Often it is far easier to look at overseas candidates because nothing will be gained by competing with other local authorities.