Supporting Tourism in New Zealand

Madison Recruitment

22 Jun

6 mins read

Job Seeker Go with Tourism Tips & Advice tourism transferable skills

I sat down recently with Programme Director – Matt Stenton and his team at Go with Tourism, to find out how the tourism market has evolved and what New Zealand can do to support this sector and its people.

What is Go with Tourism?

MS: Go with Tourism is a government-funded organisation that was launched in 2019 to build New Zealand’s tourism workforce, featuring a game-changing job connector platform and exciting initiatives to educate the public on the wide range of career options available and positives of working in tourism. However, when COVID-19 hit in March this year, Go with Tourism pivoted its service temporarily to support our tourism workforce, namely by redeploying displaced tourism workers into new jobs. We will also be retaining their information to help bring them back to tourism when the industry is ready to hire again.

An important part of what we hope to achieve post-COVID-19 is educating the public about the different career pathways available in the tourism industry. A lot of people don’t realise how diverse tourism is and that it covers nine subsectors, which are:

Accommodation
Food and Beverage services
Rail, Road and Water transport
Transport support
Travel and Tour services
Rental and Hiring services
Arts and Recreation services
Retail Trade
Education and Training

What are some of the biggest issues facing the Tourism sector at the moment in NZ?

MS: For the people in the tourism sector right now it’s losing their livelihoods because of the COVID-19 impact, especially if they need to uproot their families and their lives to change location for work. From a longer-term perspective, we’re at risk of losing great people from the industry. A number of enquiries coming to us are from middle-management positions where they’ve lost their jobs and aren’t being replaced. There is a risk that the industry could lose these people forever, along with the experience and talents they bring to the table.

How important is Tourism to New Zealand’s economy?

MS: Before COVID-19, it was the number one export industry in New Zealand, and I believe it will get there again. The tourism industry isn’t just made up of tour guides and hotels; it comprises of hundreds of job types such as marketing, HR, logistics, museum staff – even winemakers and retailers are impacted by tourism. Our tourism workers are at the forefront of curating New Zealand’s image and reputation to our international visitors, which has value that people may not recognise. Great customer experience is at the heart of what they do, and this translates to an unforgettable New Zealand experience that visitors will tell others about, encouraging others to venture over.

What kind of people are you interacting with through Go with Tourism?

MS: As a part of our pivot, we’ve been working with a range of people throughout the country and across all nine sectors of the tourism industry who have recently lost their role. Many of them have come from the big tourism centres such as Queenstown, where the whole town has felt the pinch, right down to the people that build the bungy cords. Others come from smaller areas; locals who have lost their jobs at the iSite, or the iwi who rely on income from tourism to support their people. Senior managers, accountants, chefs, communications specialists, customer service staff, drivers, security guards – people from almost every department have been affected.

What kind of transferable skills would people from the Tourism industry have?

MS: One of the first things that jump to mind is adaptability. Law changes, international relations, social media, the NZX – all of this impacts New Zealand’s tourism industry. The weather can dictate not only what your day looks like but what your entire season could be and this can be unpredictable.

Very few people can be productive and positive for 10 hours on their feet, but in tourism this is the norm. You’re also expected to remember every face, detail and name – a great memory is key!

Role specific skills are gained in tourism roles such as a commercial licence, advanced first aid, SEO, payroll, or project management.

Outdoor hardiness, health and safety know-how, physical fitness, leadership, communications skills, autonomy, customer service… the range of skills and qualities found in tourism are vast and because many of these skills are transferable, tourism workers are fantastic candidates for roles in other industries.

Which industries do you recommend people who have been displaced from the Tourism industry consider?

MS: Right now, we suggest people remain open to a range of opportunities, at least for the next 6-12 months. Contact centre, production, reception, construction – these are some areas that we’ve been working with to redeploy people from the tourism industry. For those that have a bit more flexibility with location and hours there’s farming, horticulture or forestry.

Now is also a great time to upskill or retrain. For example, chefs are still on the skills shortage list and if you’re willing to work hard there’s a lot of long-term potential. It’s important to note that you may have to take a step back at the moment to be able to move forward in future.

What benefit would a company or employer get from hiring someone coming from a Tourism background?

MS: They hold a multitude of transferable skills, and will be loyal to a company and manager that they believe in. A desire to learn, and the initiative to grab and grow opportunities is common among tourism employees.

Customer service skills – people in the tourism industry often don’t advertise these because they just see them as a natural part of the job. And we’re not just talking about external customers, tourism employees often are the ones that bring culture to life within your business. They can read people, respond to their needs and wants, and bring the passion to the team.

As New Zealanders, what can we do to support the Tourism industry?

MS: Explore your own backyard! Go to your local museum, hire bikes and cycle along the waterfront, take a weekend road trip. You know that restaurant that you’ve always wanted to go to but could never get a booking? Now’s your chance!

We know money can be a bit tight at the moment but there is a range of options to fit each budget, such as taking BYO for dinner or staying at a campground rather than a motel. It doesn’t just have to be about the big cities, the towns need your support too – for example Akaroa, Matakana, and Te Anau love having visitors.

For more information visit www.gowithtourism.co.nz/

Madison Recruitment

Could it be time for a change?

Looking for a permanent role, or thinking about temping or contract work?

Gamify your Recruitment

Madison Recruitment

31 Mar

5 mins read

Recruitment Industry agency recruitment digital era Gamification Generation Z recruitment sourcing tips

Our world in 2020, is well and truly a digital era. The newest generation of workers to join the workforce—Generation Z—are known as digital natives: they were born and raised in the age of digital technology, and so have been immersed with the internet and technology from an early age. The digitisation of the workforce, alongside fast-changing technologies, has changed the way people interact and engage with each other. As a result, there has been a pressing need for systems and processes to evolve, including within the human resources space. Recruiters are having to adopt new and innovative ways to source and qualify new talent.

One of the ways this has been done, is through the introduction of gamification to the recruitment process.

What is gamification?

Gamification is the act of applying gaming principles and design elements to non-gaming situations. This can involve activities where participants complete tasks in order to score points, earn badges, or pass levels. Elements of competition amongst participants can sometimes be present. All of these activities are played out within the rules of game play.

Gamification in itself is not a new concept and has a well-established history in the realm of training and development, and in society itself. Games have been used for generations to teach children such cultural norms as following the rules, taking turns, and healthy competition etc. Subsequently, and as a result of the digitisation of the workforce and changing forms of communication, Gamification (when used correctly) presents a fun and exciting way to engage new candidates in the recruitment process.

How can gamification be utilised?

Gamification can be applied throughout the entire business and has varied uses, including as a marketing tool to engage new customers with your brand or new products, assessing employees’ learning and development needs, and engaging candidates in your recruitment process.

When employing gamification in the recruitment process, it is essential that skill- or industry-specific scenarios create the foundations of the game. This allows for a candidate’s skills and abilities to shine through in real time, and can demonstrate their aptitude for certain roles.

Many large international corporations have already begun to use gamification as part of their recruitment process. Take PriceWaterhouseCoopers for example, when their Hungary office was looking for a more effective way to recruit college students, they developed an online simulation that invited students to take part in a 12-day gameplay. This allowed candidates to experience a virtual version of what it would be like to work for the accounting and consulting firm. They were expected to meet quarterly goals, complete tasks that were based on key competencies, and were provided feedback from company coaches. This proved to be a fun way to engage potential candidates, while at the same time giving them an insight into audit and consulting profession.

Gamification isn’t only useful in enticing potential candidates to consider your employment offering. It may also influence the perception potential candidates have about an organisation, promoting a fresh and innovative image, and encourage higher levels of engagement and motivation.

Considerations for implementing

Of course, introducing gamification also comes with its challenges. Here’s a handy summary of pros and cons if you are thinking about introducing gamification in your organisation:

Pros

Attracts a broad range of talent.
Demonstrates in real time, a candidate’s potential for certain roles.
Provides a preview of a candidate’s skills and abilities.
Encourages higher levels of engagement.
Projects fresh and innovative image of an organisation.

Cons

The investment and resourcing required to implement, analyse the performance and continually update each scenario so that you achieve the desired purpose can be a significant cost to the business.
A challenge for gamification designers will be engineering variety and novelty into the experience to keep it novel. Employees may tire of badges, leader boards and challenges designed to keep them motivated in jobs that they otherwise wouldn’t want to do.

If you’re considering gamifying your company, here are a few additional things to keep in mind:

Set realistic, measurable goals. If you’re running an inbound or outbound call centre, define your goals and reward employees when the goals are reached.
Make sure your employees understand the benefits and base your program on shared goals.
Track progress! Determine a baseline performance metric before you launch the program, and track progress as you go.
Establish a rewards program. Games should always be fun. Little rewards along the way encourage people to keep moving toward the end goal.

When considering implementing gamification, it’s important to keep your end goal in mind. It is essential that time is invested in correctly identifying which tasks and activities are relevant to the skills and abilities required to be successful in the role. For a gamification solution to be successful, it must be well designed, executed and maintained. The methods should be varied, and the information it provides should be used to improve not only your business, but the application itself.

Madison Recruitment

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