One of the country's first employers to offer online job applications from their careers site was Air New Zealand...
...Now, the national airline has spread its wings even further.Air NZ's careers site has recently been acknowledged as one of New Zealand's leading company sites and recruitment manager Simon Pomeroy says it's a clear reflection of the company's forward thinking attitude to employment.
So why is it so important? Pomeroy believes candidates want to understand an organisation's culture and values and whether a company is the right fit for them.
"Many large employers offer limited information on their careers sites and often these sites display a sense of arrogance."
He believes this will ultimately cost these companies as the war for talent intensifies.
"Career opportunity and professional development are high on peoples? list of priorities when looking for a new job. Diversity and the working environment are also key."
Pomeroy acknowledges few NZ companies have got it right and thinks most careers sites reflect a lack of ambition and innovation around companies' talent acquisition. Worse still, he believes many of these companies use their website and recruitment technology to screen out candidates and take out human communication from the recruitment process.
"These companies see recruitment as a cost, and approach the hiring process in the cheapest way. I believe companies' inability to develop any communication or CRM with candidates is driving the candidates back to recruitment agencies."
Pomeroy identifies a number of instances where candidates have gone to the agency rather than the company as they feel they have a greater chance of success - invariably costing the company more in the long run.
"This short-sightedness is very common in New Zealand. I recently spoke to a candidate who had applied for a banking job online. Having spent 45 minutes applying for the job, he was surprised to be rejected an hour later by automated email. Whilst it was a quick response, it lacked the consideration and personal communication required."
The Air New Zealand careers site is advanced in its communication strategy and understanding of prospective employees? needs. Not only can you read about a "typical day" of a number of roles, you can also gain insight into how the company develops its staff. You can see how closely Air New Zealand fits to your personality and values and sign up for a monthly careers letter which is tailored to your skill area. You can even sign up to a lunch hosted by the CEO and executive team.
Air New Zealand wants to take this further. The company is about to launch a campaign to recruit staff for airport based roles across the country and is promoting TXT applications. Once you text your interest, you'll be called within two days for a five to 10 minute chat. "It will be more of a conversation than an interview - perfect for recruiting customer service staff where it's all about attitude," says Pomeroy. "A five-minute chat can often tell us more about a candidate than their CV - after all, it's the Kiwi way."