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Staff turnover up in 25 per cent of New Zealand businesses

Wednesday 31 July 2013, 12:41PM

By Hays

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Staff turnover has increased for one in four (25 per cent) New Zealand employers over the last 12 months, according to the 2013 Hays Salary Guide.

Out now, the 2013 Hays Salary Guide reveals salary and recruiting trends across New Zealand and is based on a survey of New Zealand employers as well as placements made by Hays.

It found that turnover remained the same for 59 per cent of employers, rose for 25 per cent and fell for the final 16 per cent.

“The Christchurch re-build, residential construction work elsewhere in the country, new commercial and seismic strengthening work in Auckland and Wellington, a busy insurance sector, Ultra Fast Broadband,0e-mobile developments and ERP projects are just some of the factors driving demand for staff,” says Jason Walker, Managing Director of Hays in New Zealand.

“The top talent is aware of this demand and they are out there exploring their options in the jobs market. This is fuelling a rising turnover rate, which is why it is still essential for employers to focus on their retention efforts if they are to hold on to their high performers.”

The Hays Salary Guide also reveals that business optimism in New Zealand appears strong with 78 per cent of employers surveyed expecting levels of business activity to increase for their particular organisation.

In the 12 months preceding the survey, 65 per cent of the employers had already seen an increase in activity for their business. More than 60 per cent expect the economy overall to strengthen.

Hiring intentions also appear stronger than in 2012. When asked about their plans for the year ahead, only 5 per cent said they expect to decrease headcount while almost half (46 per cent) plan to increase numbers. Permanent hiring activity is expected to be particularly strong.

When asked the same questions for our 2012 survey, 17 per cent of employers were planning to decrease headcount and only 35 per cent to increase.

We have also seen several areas of skills shortages develop. For further details of the skills in demand, please see our latest Hays Quarterly Hotspots list, out last week, here.

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