By Nona Pelletier of RNZ
Top shelf employees are expected to cost employers much more to retain and recruit as the economy recovers.
Recruitment consultancy firm Robert Walters said the brain drain to Australia was already sending ripples of concern, particularly in Wellington, which saw its workforce gutted after the last change of government.
Wellington-based Robert Walters associate director Tim Wright said there was a looming talent shortage, as many senior level executives had already relocated to Australia for better pay and conditions.
He said winning them back would not be cheap.
The strong labour market conditions seen in 2022 and 2023 favoured those looking for work, but in the past couple years, it was the other way around.
“And so salaries were going up and up and up. And then that bubble, if you want, almost burst,” he said.
“So as a result, we’re really feeling it, and in Wellington, even more so than in Auckland.”
Latest data for the year ended in March indicates 47,734 migrants left New Zealand for Australia, with New Zealand citizens accounting for 86% of the exodus.
“What happens is you lose a lot of that senior level IP (intellectual property), and people below that aren’t capable of taking on what’s left.
“So you find yourself in a talent-short market again, and then organisations starting to fork out more than what they should ideally need to.”
Wright said it would take more than money to attract the best and brightest back to New Zealand, with many competing markets offering much better conditions, such as parental leave packages.
