Ever since allegations of CV fraud were raised against the former head of the Immigration service, the issue of which checks should be routine in the recruitment procedure has been hotly debated in the media. The Dominion Post recently reported that many Wellington recruiters have noticed an upturn in the number of requests for thorough checks on candidates. More probing questions and intense verification of documents is happening across the board – not just in public sector jobs. Momentum Recruitment is one such firm, having undertaken these checks for the last 5 or 6 years as a standard rule. ”We do criminal, alias, qualification, and credit checks” says one of the four founding directors of Momentum, Bede Ashby. ”It’s been in response to a couple of fraudsters getting into roles of a significant nature and everyone getting egg on their face.”
 

Martin Crysell of Beyond Recruitment mentions the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the NZ customs service as two organisations which want a lot more than just a police check. “They would require a full background check, with specialist knowledge. I don’t even know all the details myself, I think they would engage the SIS in some cases. But there would be specifics that they are looking for beyond a criminal history”
 

The issue in the media of late has been with those who feel there is an infringement of privacy. In fact in some cases, where a candidate does not consent to undergoing a police check, their name does not go forward to the client. Ashby understands this point of view, “but the damage that can be done by having someone that is not honest is terrible. So I certainly agree with background checks, absolutely. I’m a bit old-fashioned I guess. If you’ve got nothing to hide then why are you worried? Some people philosophically believe there is a privacy issue, but I think then don’t work at that job. Run your own business.”
 

Crysell agrees, adding that it’s important to remember that there are rules of engagement around the whole process. “The police are largely those who determine what is material and what is not. He has never had a candidate who has refused a check of their background. 

And having a conviction isn’t necessarily a barrier in some cases. “People do change over time. I knew a chap who, when he was younger got an assault conviction. Twenty years on he’s a very different person in a senior position who has done a lot of very good things. Should that conviction be held against him now?”
 

Another debate currently hot and showing no signs of slowing, is that of the pesky unsatisfiable Generation Y group. “Yes, there are Gen Ys who do move around and have the expectation to move more quickly within the organisation” says Crysell. “But I think as a result, employers are getting much better at realising what they are going to have to do if they want to retain staff.”

Ashby defends Gen Y: “I don’t think Gen Y are as bad as people make out, they’re more willing to put forward their ideas, they don’t necessarily take no for an answer and they’re looking for the path forward. I think if you treat them with respect they’ll treat you back with respect.” But, and there is a but, “where people got frustrated with them is that they’ll just leave you at the drop of the hat for the next best dollar or the next best opportunity.” But he reckons that has more to do with economics than attitude. “If out of a hundred people you’re the one gets the job, you feel you owe it to the organization to make a good impression because you know it’s really competitive. If you’re in a market where if you’re breathing you’ll get a job, where’s the commitment factor?” He also thinks that it’s partially to do with the way Gen Y grew up. “As a generalization, they’re a generation that grew up in reasonably difficult times, and saw their parents get made redundant and said ‘never me’
 

But he hopes that employers wont take it out on them in the redundancy stakes. “Unfortunately people are going to be made redundant, but I hope they don’t go ‘lets get rid of Gen Y because they’re a pain in the ass. That would be a mistake.”

But it’s not just Gen Y jobseeker behaviour that’s begun to change. “We Gen Xs and baby boomers have learnt a thing or two and started saying “if Gen Y can have that, why cant I?” says Crysell. “So you’re seeing people who have been in more established careers, asking for more flexibility in the way they work and then negotiating that in their remuneration. They’re being more upfront than they used to be. Those people aren’t necessarily a financial burden, they just force employers to think differently.”
 

Ashby thinks that employers in general have had to learn to be better employers in order to retain people – people of all ages, not just Gen Y. The aged workforce, the contracting workforce and those returning to work have all benefited from things like flexibility of work hours. “Employers have worked out that it’s an exhaustable commodity they can’t afford to lose it so they’ve got to learn to keep it.”
 

Many people have written and spoken about the stringent employment laws our country has. So should employers be terrified? It certainly is a big step to take on your first employee, but neither Crysell or Ashby think employees need to be scared. Bede reckons “If you’re seen to be following the principles of performance management and enhancement, then the court’s reasonably sympathetic. Employers are more afraid of the economy than employment law now. If you can afford to pay your people then you can afford to look after them and do the right things.”
 

And Crysell says candidates are more aware of what they’re entitled to now too. “That info is much more readily available to them through the department of labour. They tend to go into negotiations pretty clear about what they can and cant get.”

Ashby thinks the government could help further. “It’s never been an employer’s market, though potentially the National Government is going to change that. I think there’ve been a bunch of laws pushed recently which are trying to protect everyone who is engaged in employment, and I think that’s been detrimental to business. We’ve had a nanny state for so long, everybody has to be looked after and the employer is the poor bugger who has to carry that because they’re seen to be the rich ones. I think government needs to recognize that it costs a hell of a lot to be in business, and they should be doing what they can to help.”

When asked if he has any advice to current jobseekers, Bede has some he says may sound elementary. “Manage your expectations, and be clear about what it is you do that adds value and then look for roles that are aligned to that. It might sound obvious but it’s surprising the number of times you see someone apply for a role and it isn’t aligned with their experience at all.” I wonder why people make this mistake, and Bede suggests that “perhaps they misinterpret what a labour shortage means, and think the employer will be a lot softer and accommodating on what their hiring needs are. But it’s not the case. I haven’t seen many employers cut back on their expectations, and accept that people are really hard to find so they’ll just accept a lower standard. They still have very high expectations, and will hold out for the right person in order to get what they need.”
 

Crysell reckons advice to jobseekers has always been the same. “It’s about the 3 As: Attitude, application to the task, and aptitude.” Aptitude is the last one for a reason. “You’ve got have the right attitude and application to the task and if you don’t have that then you’re a liability, no matter how smart you are.”

Does he recommend we follow the oft heard advice of parents, and stick with our first job for at least 3 years? “No,” says Martin, “that’s oldfashioned. I was in my first job for 9 months, second for 9 months, third for 2 years, fourth for 3.5 years, and then this industry for 20. You’ve got to go out and discover.” Though if you’re going into a law firm for example, with a great training programme, you should stay and learn the ropes. “But in an SME I don’t think you can keep a young person on for 3 years, they wont learn enough.”

Turning to employers now, is there advice on what they should be focusing on? Crysell addresses ‘employment brand’. “Generally speaking, candidates now have more than one opportunity to consider at any one time and that’s increasingly become the case.” Unlike a time when Martin was working with the New South Wales Fire service – they put out one ad, and received 6000 applications for the one job available!
 

“So now, we’re seeing that many employers think if you just keep running the same job ad they’re going to get what they want eventually. But a person has to have a reason to leave where they are and come and join you, and that’s what employment brand is about.” The key is to find out what’s compelling around your organisation. Ask your own people why they work there every day. Before working for you candidates will ask: 
 

• Who is the organisation and what do they do that’s special? 
• What’s the kind of work I’m actually going to be doing within the organisation every day? 
• What are the rewards like, remuneration and otherwise? 
• And finally, what are the people, the managers and other players going to be like? 
   

After all, according to Crysell these are the reasons people leave jobs, not just money. “Its very rare that somebody will come to me and say I don’t get paid enough, I want another job.”Find out those things, articulate them but don’t oversell. Most people leave organisations, particularly in their first 6 months because the organisation was oversold. So ask your employees the hard questions, and if they’re having trouble coming up with anything, then you have a problem!

Ashby brings up a different topic. He advises employers not to be afraid of contracting workforce. “You should be willing to lose at using outside expertise. If you can’t afford an HR person then use an HR expert to set up your systems for you.” It may be an extra cost, but it’s one you can turn on or off as you see fit. One agency offering this service at present is Madison Recruitment. “Whether it’s one dedicated person that we place into their company to lead their HR division, or a whole team, we will give them what they need to achieve the most they can” says COO Jane Temel.
 

The Manpower Employment Outlook survey, the National Bank Business Outlook, and the Wellington Chamber of Commerce Quarterly Business Confidence survey all cite drastic increases in businesses expecting a reduction in their employee numbers in the coming months. Auckland company Frog Recruitment issued a press release telling of the upheaval the industry are facing – a dramatic upswing of applicants, hundreds of responses to job ads, and recruiters becoming phone jockeys, fielding multitudes of calls. They say it is because people are more anxious about their futures, and it’s becoming stressful for recruitment consultants.
 

Neither Bede or Martin have experienced anything quite so dramatic so far, though, and Ashby prefers to stay positive. “I worked a market which was 10.9% unemployment, we’re nowhere near that. We may get to six or seven percent, but that’s probably not an unhealthy market in terms of moving candidates around to job opportunities. I reckon just expect a flaky year next year.”Crysell is optimistic too. “Long story short, in the recruitment world, change is usually a good thing. It creates a number of new roles and people start moving around and from our standpoint that’s usually pretty good.

The Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce Quarterly Business Confidence survey says we may well see an in inward migration if more New Zealanders return home as a result of the financial instability offshore, but Bede hasn’t really seen this major influx of people coming in yet. “There are a few, but we always get a return to home at Christmas, it’s winter, it’s unpleasant and home calls. I think Kiwis that go overseas, if they get turfed out of a job they’ll go ‘well I may as well finish my overseas experience, Ill go pull some pints at a pub, travel around in a comby van and if I’m obnoxious I’ll be Australian and when I’m cool Ill be a Kiwi.’ Not much will change in that regard.”
 

But other things could change. “You get a few terrorist interventions, a few closures of major international companies and who knows what it could look like. In three months time there might be an influx, you never know.“

Temel has already seen some change, with New Zealanders coming back into the country after an absence looking for a position.

So will these three veteran recruiters be leaving their jobs anytime soon? Doesn’t sound like it. “This is probably the ultimate people job!” says Martin. “it’s a great feeling when you get to ring someone up and tell them they’ve got the job. And when the employer says to you thank you so much for getting us that person, we really struggled. But for every one person that you place in a job there are 4 or 5 on the shortlist that you’ve got to say to ‘you’d didn’t get the job’ so managing them is just as important.

Bede loves that he gets to make a difference to people’s lives every day. “It’s no social work, but there is a social aspect to the work we do. We have people cry, drop off presents, emails, cards, its that kind of industry if you do it well. It’s tremendously rewarding and when you think about it it’s kind of a cool job.”