Congratulations to my fellow Owner & Director Ben Crossen who single handedly manages our Travel & Hospitality Divisions.
In the three short years since BUZZ has been in operation we have had a huge amount of repeat business and a lot of new clients, both stand alone, and part of the national chains and franchises. This is all testament to Ben’s natural ability to find and then perfectly match the candidates into the different operations and complete understanding of all the business models in the market, not to mention all the BUZZ bars he has on him each time he visits a client

We’d like to congratulate all the other winners in the awards, some of which are our clients, and thanks everyone you had an input on the results. We look forward to the market picking up in 2010 and now with an office in the North Island look forward to providing more of our BUZZ service throughout NZ.

Gareth Bissland

Excerpt from Dec 2009 Travel Digest

After feedback from our increasing amount of North Island clients and candidates, we know recruitment is a face to face business and we wanted to make sure we could deliver personally.

David Thompson is fresh from Australia, but don’t let the slight Aussie accent fool you, he has worked all around NZ, with his family firmly embedded in Wellington. David has held Management positions with some of the largest and boutique hotel chains on both sides of the Tasman and has run his own successful restaurant. He has a wide array of upto date industry knowledge as well as an entire career lifetime of experience in the hospitality industry.

BUZZ has already built up what must be one of the largest database of high calibre hospitality workers in New Zealand over the last 3 years so David has hit the ground running to assist hospitality outlets prepare for the onslaught of volume that summer brings by introducing motivated hospitality professionals to their new roles.

Working daily within his area of expertise, David certainly has his finger on the pulse, and he is able to consult with you, assist with putting your HR timelines in place and working with you to forecast when stellar staff will end in a profitable outcome, ongoing business and your venue a top choice for job seekers.

It’s a time to prepare and invest well rather than reacting to the market and a recruitment professional can help you make the best hiring decision for your business.

David can be contacted at david@buzzrecruitment.co.nz or 0273 444 409

It’s tough to make the right choice when faced with a blanket of white noise that has only minor variations on ‘We’re a boutique, specialist recruiter with a focus on high quality client and candidate service’.

If I was asked, here are the top nine tips I would offer to any person wanting to utilise the services of a high quality external recruiter:

1. Is a specialist:

Evidence of delivering great candidates for roles that are similar to your vacancy, is an indication that they can access appropriate candidates quickly.

2. Asks great questions:

Anyone can take a job brief. A skilled recruiter will ask you probing, relevant and thoughtful questions about the vacancy, your selection criteria and your organisation’s operations and culture.

3. Will respectfully challenge you:

A recruiter who is prepared to professionally question some of your opinions or requirements with respect to your selection criteria and desired remuneration or skills mix, is most likely to be a recruiter who is prepared, when necessary, to be unpopular in order to deliver the best outcome for all concerned.

4. Utilises a wide variety of sourcing strategies:

Does this recruiter just ‘post-and-pray’ on job boards and give their database a perfunctory search or will they use other sourcing techniques to access candidates that other recruiters cannot?

5. Conducts thorough evidence-based interviews:

A recruiter who uses evidence-based interview techniques can provide facts rather than opinions about how a short-listed candidate’s skills, competencies and motivation, closely match the key selection criteria for your vacancy.

6. Undertakes basic background checks:

Depending upon which research you believe, between 20% and 40% of candidates have resumes that contain one or more significant inaccuracies and/or omissions. Recruiters should be explicit in communicating what background checks have been undertaken  on the candidate prior to the  candidate  being referred to the client.

7. Will be straight with you:

When I was a recruiter, a client once said to me that she always came back to me because I was prepared to tell her when I didn’t have the candidate she wanted, rather than try and talk her into interviewing a candidate who was never going to be good enough.

8. Is prepared to invest time in building a relationship:

How has the recruiter built their key client relationships in the past? What else of value has the recruiter provided to other clients, beyond candidates? It’s not worth investing your time with a recruiter unless they can demonstrate they have done ‘the hard yards’ in building relationships with other clients.

9. Is a RCSA member:

The Recruitment & Consulting Services Association (Aus & NZ) is the recruitment agencies’ representative body whose Code of Professional Conduct provides the guiding principles of ethical and legal behaviour that govern all members in their business dealings with candidates, clients and each other.

How does a hiring manager find out all this information? I would recommend constructing a simple recruiter interview template that can be used to gather the necessary facts in order to make an informed choice when comparing different recruiters.

And finally, I would recommend each recruiter be given a chance to be heard on their own merits. Just because they work for a little-known company doesn’t mean they aren’t any good and conversely working for a household name recruiter is no guarantee of quality.

An Article by Ross Clennett Recruitment Expert and Trainer.

TravelMemo from Kevin Blackford is a ‘must‘ if you want an easy-to-read digest of what’s new, what’s significant and what’s interesting in travel and tourism. TravelMemo can be emailed to you FREE of charge as a web link each Monday and Thursday night.

“We focus on keeping international and domestic travel sellers current on industry matters, destination developments and new products, at home and around the world.”

Interesting article today about new application processes for temporary work permits.

Agreement Helps Tourism, Hospitality Keep Skilled Workers

New Zealand’s tourism and hospitality sectors are welcoming a move to a more streamlined application process for holders of temporary work permits.
Immigration New Zealand and Work and Income have agreed on a more effective process to assist employers and employees when applying for a further temporary work permit. It sets out a step by step guide that begins three months before the applicant’s permit expires.

Employers will work closely with Work and Income throughout the application process to ensure priority is given to suitably qualified and experienced New Zealanders.

Immigration New Zealand has committed to advise the applicant whether their temporary work permit application will be approved or declined at least 30 days before their current permit expires. This gives them and their employer as much certainty as possible in advance of the permit expiring.

“Many New Zealand tourism jobs require a unique skill set and it can be difficult to fill vacancies after work permits expire,” says Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) Chief Executive Tim Cossar. “This can create real pressure for some employers.”

New Zealand Hotel Council (NZHC) Chair Jennie Langley says “a number of skilled professions are still in short supply in many regions and New Zealanders aren’t always available or don’t have suitable skills to fill these jobs.”
In some areas temporary overseas workers are crucial to New Zealand’s multi-billion dollar tourism and hospitality sectors, particularly during peak season. Many of the available jobs are in areas with low unemployment or where there are no New Zealanders with suitable skills, even as unemployment is increasing.

Just finished reading an article on Stuff.co.nz – It’s making me cross!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/slider-pointer/2601423/Pair-on-a-mission-to-help-returnees-find-love

The great thing about the human experience is that we have CHOICE. Sure the economy has taken a down turn, this is not a recent development and it’s fair to say some sectors have been affected more than others, to feel sorry for someone who has made the choice to come home to New Zealand – or the village as Iremonger refers to is just ludicrous. A candidate that is resourceful, and can recognise their own diversity can certainly seek offshore employment opportunities, there is work out there – for those that want to do it.

Waiting at home for a recruiter to call is very much the methodology of larger geographic spaces, however it isn’t the New Zealand way and when representing job seekers I will always help someone who is proactive in their hunt.

As for the singles scene being dire, I challenge her to do some stats; as a recruiter I regularly meet professional, motivated sensational candidates, many are single and would be considered a great catch, and the singles scene really is like finding a new job – you need to get off the couch – the phone ain’t going to ring with your dream partner on the other end.

However, her grandiose gesture is fabulously generous and quite philanthropic, to put a ball on for the unemployed, those that can’t afford a ticket – or a gown. It will look great on her CV. 

Great article today in Riges Younan’s Blog about the future of recruitment software and the importance of keeping your CV technology ready and readable.

Between us all here at BUZZ we are going to try and inform, educate and regale you with stories and social commentaries, including such topics as:

• Our business in Christchurch, New Zealand
• The inside information about the sectors we recruit for: Hospitality, Sales, Media, Marketing & Travel
• Social Recruiting Strategies and improving your Employer Brand
• Improving your job search
• What not to wear at your next job interview
• Where is recruiting heading as an industry
• Our latest job listings … yes companies are still hiring!

Hold tight, it could be a bumpy ride.