Skills shortages are now experienced by 59 per cent of organisations in New Zealand, according to a survey by recruiting experts Hays. Technical skills top the list of skills in most demand, with 34 per cent of employers deeming them in short supply, followed by IT (27 per cent) and accountancy & finance (23 per cent).

The survey of 181 employers and 203 candidates across New Zealand was the catalyst for Hays' Bridging the skills gap white paper, which presents practical steps any organisation can take to overcome skills shortages.

"The epidemic of absent skills is one of the most important issues affecting the labour market today," says Jason Walker, Managing Director of Hays in New Zealand. "The skills lacking vary between regions and sectors, but the question facing employers and governments remains the same: How do we respond and close the gap?

A six-point strategy

Hays' white paper presents six strategies employers can apply on a daily basis to help bridge the skills gap and attract and retain the most appropriate and best-skilled candidates. In summary, the points are:

Step 1. Be flexible in order to adapt to the changing market. This includes considering existing employees, transferable skills and recruiting based on candidate potential.

Step 2. Have a plan to identify the key roles and likely requirement patterns in your organisation. Recruitment planning, the development of a succinct process, a tailored offer, the effective use of temporary assignments and the integration of mobile technology should also be part of the planning process.

Step 3. Create an employment brand to attract like-minded candidates aligned to your values. Our survey found that 52 per cent of organisations are already actively taking steps to create a favourable employment brand to help combat skills shortages.

Step 4. Source far and wide and include the under-utilised talent pools of overseas skills, mature age candidates, female candidates and former employees. In addition to these under-utilised talent pools, new technology is also a factor in a comprehensive search.

Step 5. Training and development involves open communication with staff and up-skilling existing employees to build a more talented workforce capable of handling the required workflow. But remember, training doesn't always have to be in the classroom.

Step 6. Focus on retention and start with the benchmarking of great performers, then recruit to these criteria. A retention plan also includes training people well, performance management, career development, succession planning and engagement. Also critical is assessing managers; people join companies and leave people.

The paper stresses, however, that adopting one or two of these points in isolation is not enough to overcome the severity of the skills shortage that New Zealand will face. "We suggest that these six points should be combined and used in parallel to forge a robust and effective strategy," said Jason.