Kiwi businesses restructuring to keep up with changing needs

Forty-five percent of New Zealand employers are currently restructuring their department or organisation to keep up with changing business needs. That’s according to the 2019/20 Hays Salary Guide, which surveyed almost 900 employers in New Zealand.

According to the findings, 49% of these employers said the key driver of organisational restructures is a change in the required skill sets. This is well ahead of digital transformation (25%), the requirement for a more flexible workforce (21%), a merger or acquisition (19%), downsizing (10%), outsourcing (6%), offshoring (5%) or inshoring (4%).

‘‘Restructures driven by a change in the required skill set are often the result of today’s growing trend of adopting cross functional operating models,’’ says Adam Shapley, Managing Director of Hays in New Zealand.

‘‘Traditionally, an organisation consisted of functional departments, but given today’s pace of change, there’s a need to move toward matrix, cross-functional or hybrid structures to better enable collaboration and a customer-focused approach.

‘‘Customer centricity is a key focus and area of differentiation for most businesses, particularly in terms of how an organisation is most effectively and efficiently structured to deliver value to a customer.

‘‘There’s a real focus on securing candidates who understand the customer journey and with competencies in agile methodology and business projects and change.’’

According to Hays, other factors include rapid technological developments, such as AI and automation, which create a need for new capabilities, the requirement for additional expertise in response to outside factors, such as cybersecurity or risk & compliance, and the introduction of new and non-traditional executive roles.

‘‘These restructures are a clear indication that the supply of professionals with the skills that employers need is tightening,’’ says Adam.

‘‘With candidate shortages remaining problematic for organisations, hiring in for specific skills – both technical and soft – will therefore be a priority for change, growth and competitive advantage.’’

The FY 2019/20 Hays Salary Guide is based on a survey of close to 900 employers in New Zealand, representing over 259,000 employees, in addition to a survey of over 250 New Zealanders.

‘‘Restructures driven by a change in the required skill set are often the result of today’s growing trend of adopting cross functional operating models.’’ Adam Shapley, Managing Director of Hays in New Zealand.