We hope that you’ve had the opportunity to take time out over the summer and spend it with friends and family.

Recruiting has been a challenge in recent years, and 2023 has already seen some enormous demands put on employers with the migrant wage due to rise on February 27^th from $27.76 an hour to $29.66.

Under the new rules, migrants will be required to meet the wage threshold in force at the time they apply for their visa.

If the wage threshold increases between the job check being approved and the application for the migrant visa, the remuneration may need to meet a higher threshold than what was approved in the job check pay range.

For example: A job check is granted on 15 January 2023 based on the current median wage of $27.76.

If a candidate is offered employment and applies for an Accredited Employer work visa before 27 February 2023, the rate must meet at least the median of $27.76 which is the median wage in the immigration system at time of application.

If the candidate applies for an Accredited Employer work visa on or after 27 February 2023, the new rate of $29.66 will apply.

Unfortunately, this has also put pressure on finding affordable local staff because no one wants to do the same job but earn less money than the person next to them.

So, what do we do if we can’t afford to pay everyone in the business at least $29.66 an hour?

Fortunately, studies show that job satisfaction is not just all about the money. The top reason for leaving (or staying) with a business or organisation is actually culture. What’s it like to work for you?

A strong boss or manager can lead staff while creating an enjoyable place to work and a positive culture through various means:

• Provide transparency in your business to your employees.
• Line up jobs with strategic business targets.
• Clearly identify people’s tasks and responsibilities.
• Show recognition when someone does a good job and reward them for it.
• Identify career progression and pay scales.
• Actively participate in succession planning.
• Involve the team in business processes such as business continuity planning.
• Provide training opportunities that meet both your business requirements and their own personal aspirations.

These are all essential elements of culture and provide additional reasons why people might want to work for your business.

It’s also time to stop offering people jobs and start offering them careers.

Opportunity can be a two-way street and businesses generally benefit from investing in their staff, whether growing management and leadership skills or providing access to learning new sets of skills that the business can use going forward.

Many businesses in Central Otago can provide workers with opportunity over money. Now is the time to tell people why they should be working for you and what you will do for them.

Employment is a partnership.  If a candidate or employee is only interested in the money, ask yourself if they’re really the right fit for the business or whether you are presenting a not attractive enough opportunity.

If you’d like a chat about recruitment, linking job descriptions to company strategies, culture, pay-scales, or anything else relating to human resources, please give Cherilyn a call on 021 665 013.