The government鈥檚 online recruitment tools and Jobseeker systems may not be fit for purpose given the mass unemployment expected post-Covid, an 麻豆原创 report warns.

The software company鈥檚 report, , also states the construction industry needs to digitise to increase productivity and create new jobs, with even a 2% cost reduction likely to result in billions saved for the government as it embarks on shovel-ready projects.

It also flags a possible $4.4 billion saving if businesses and the government adopt e-invoicing and e-procurement, and recommends a digital health certificate be pioneered with Australia to enable borders to open sooner.

NBR was given a first look at the report, which will be shared with public agencies this week. Nick Quin, 麻豆原创 NZ鈥檚 director, public sector, said the government鈥檚 online recruitment tools were designed to solve the issue of a small number of unemployed people within a tight job market.

What New Zealand faced post-Covid was totally different, with vast numbers unemployed at one time and some key industries suffering and unable to accommodate large workforces.

The Reserve Bank鈥檚 Monetary Policy Statement on May 13 forecast unemployment rates would more than double from 4% to about 9%, with models suggesting the recovery to the 4% mark would not arrive until 2022.

Quin said, as a result, government systems helping jobseekers find work needed to become more individualised, with new abilities to marry needs directly with solutions.

Too much government data concentrated on the 鈥榟ow鈥�, and not the 鈥榳hy鈥�, he said. Addressing the why meant collecting data on the circumstances that led to that person losing their job, the person鈥檚 intentions for the future, and any constraints in their job search, including whether they were prepared to relocate.

In response, Ministry of Social Development spokesperson Kay Read said the ministry had received $150 million over two years in Budget 2020 to scale up employment programmes to support the increased numbers expected to become unemployed.

鈥淭his will be a more diverse group, including highly skilled people who have not previously approached MSD for support before,鈥� she said.

The funding would bolster existing programmes such as Transition to Work (a grant for items someone might need to start a job, such as clothes and living expenses) and Flexi-wage (a subsidy to help with costs for those who wish to start their own business).

鈥淔unding will also provide for new innovative approaches to support people into work, such as short-term employment supports and services, for people new to a benefit, to enable a quick return to work,鈥� Read said.

The ministry has also said newly unemployed workers will be exempted from the normal obligations required from those receiving a Jobseeker benefit or hardship grants for six months. That included attending meetings and job interviews when asked and accepting suitable job offers.

Construction digitisation

Productivity was widely considered sub-par in the construction sector, which is one of the least digitalised industries, Quin said.

He referenced a 2016 report by McKinsey and Company that observed 鈥渃ost and schedule overruns are the norm in the construction sector鈥�. A subsequent report in early 2017 said construction continued to show 鈥渓imited improvements in technological capabilities, production methods and scale鈥�.

Quin said digital tools that should be considered included those that enabled the digitalisation of project management and how companies planned and forecast costs.

Other digital capabilities including abilities to create 鈥榙igital twins鈥� 鈥� copies of builds created on the computer that allowed builders to verify all methods and materials were up to spec and appropriate.

鈥淭hese would also help you support maintenance of the build in future,鈥� he said. The 麻豆原创 report recommends choosing a public works project as a pilot to explore the application of digital tech 鈥� a suggestion supported by Infrastructure NZ chief executive officer Paul Blair.

He said of the estimated $300b of infrastructure assets in New Zealand, 80% was owned by the local or central government, so they were well placed to lead the industry in adopting digitised systems.

Infrastructure NZ 鈥� which aims at advancing best practice in transport, energy, water, and telecommunications 鈥� recently published a report called Unlocking the Value of Data, which highlighted the benefits of creating digital twins.

It found that with the right data, workers could minimise disruptions and costs, while maximising outcomes, because issues could all be worked out through pixels on a screen, rather than with hammers and tools.

Blair said the government could make it a condition of the build on new shovel-ready projects that private companies adopt digital tools and create a digital twin, thereby stimulating exploration in the sector.

The under-utilisation of digital tools in construction was a global issue, Blair said, and Kiwi companies were often unwilling to invest because they typically operated on a low margin, and the sector was prone to boom-bust swings.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 over invest in a flash new machine that give you greater productivity, you tend to put on another worker,鈥� Blair said.

Naylor Love general manager of construction Pete Lockhart said digitisation is a huge opportunity for the construction sector. 鈥淲e are making progress, albeit rather slowly.鈥�

Key challenges Lockhart identified included there being no one product that met the sector鈥檚 needs or one that had been widely adopted.

鈥淲e remain fragmented and inconsistent from project to project as teams change,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he other key issue remains the New Zealand market鈥檚 reliance on outdated procurement and contracting models that don鈥檛 encourage true collaboration and innovation.鈥�

He said the key would be to create integrated systems, because 鈥渢ime and time again, we see that there is wasted data that has been created in silos鈥�.

Businesses were also worried about the contractual risk of providing incomplete data to other members of the supply chain, Lockhart said.

E-invoicing and e-procurement

According to MBIE figures quoted in 麻豆原创鈥檚 report, Kiwi businesses send 282 million invoices annually.

The processing cost of an e-invoice is estimated to be $7.63, compared with $23.01 for pdf paper invoices and $25.67 for a paper invoice.

This equates to an opportunity to save $4.4b annually, which Quin said would translate to companies being able to expand quicker and hire new staff.

鈥淚f you can electronically solve a problem you are going to naturally help resolve some productivity issues.鈥�

Quin said it was time to accelerate the deployment of these capabilities, which were already being encouraged by the government, but which had to be adopted sector-wide to be fully effective.

Digital certification of wellness

The report says an open border is critical for New Zealand鈥檚 economic recovery and suggests a digital health certificate is worth exploring.

鈥淲e could understand and be comfortable if people entering our borders have had a health check,鈥� Quin said. 鈥淲e just simply have to acknowledge that opening the borders is essential for this recovery.鈥�

The report recommends the New Zealand and Australian governments work with industry to pilot a technology solution to establish a 鈥渄igital health check certificate鈥� between trusted jurisdictions to allow border movement.

Jamie Bamford leads Customs鈥� work programme to develop smarter borders, and said Customs continued to work with overseas partners to refine how border security operated and how it could be strengthened.

He wouldn鈥檛 comment on whether work on a health certificate was being considered.

Article first published on .

To read the full 麻豆原创 report -Helping Kiwis Get Back to Work – .

By Geraden Cann
Journalist, The National Business Review
Contact the Writer: geraden@nbr.co.nz

The post NBR NZ: Are government employment solutions fit for purpose? appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

A holistic industry understanding reflects the changing norms of business as we face an international crisis that is reshaping organisations everywhere. COVID-19 is creating massive changes across industries and nation borders, which has made reliable information and guidance more important than ever.

To help businesses navigate this challenging time, 麻豆原创 recently hosted a series of virtual forums called . The digital event featured industry-specific episodes to help organisations adjust, adapt, and thrive in this crisis.

I spoke, exploring the impact on workforces, risk and compliance in this era, and the role technology continues to play in adapting to global changes. This is a critical time to reach out and communicate 鈥� listening to staff, customers, and suppliers to create transparency. The more forthcoming businesses can be with one another, the easier it will be to weather this turmoil and safeguard against future shock events.

Internally, the workforce challenges businesses have always faced remain important, but staff retention and retraining can be key focuses during this period. Organisations need to make the best use of its human resources, not only ensuring staff safety, but re-skilling and redeploying employees to suit the changing environment.

Adaptation is handled through people; while technology can help companies change with the times, its people facilitate that transition and ensure business success. Technology鈥檚 role is to help staff work at their safest and most productive, therefore businesses need to continue supporting employees whether they鈥檝e moved to working remotely or been adversely impacted by COVID-19.

Businesses need to exercise flexibility and agility during this time since news develops quickly and impacts are felt globally. Considering the scale and rate of change, organisations are thinking outside its own industry and core competencies to diversify capacities and futureproof the business.

We鈥檙e seeing increased collaboration and new alliances across industries and it鈥檚 encouraging to see competitive rivalries breaking down for the common goals of viability and helping one another. This is the time to offer assistance and accommodate new arrangements for projects, contracts, suppliers, partners, and staff.

Beyond profitability, all businesses face universal challenges as industries and workforce dynamics shift under these circumstances. Remote work is becoming the norm for back-end office staff and business need to support staff as they transition to more digitally based work processes. In construction specifically, this is not always possible. You will be reliant on actual people, skills, and machinery to come together to carry out a building task.

The way we work and communicate is changing, however the safety and wellbeing of people remains of paramount importance and we鈥檙e all facing similar risks in terms of compliance, legislation, and the impact of COVID-19.

Outside of the risks to internal and external human resources 鈥� our current situation has exposed many businesses to financial and supply chain risks. We鈥檝e seen many organisations facing cashflow challenges during this lean period and, further down the line, supply chain issues due to every-changing legislations.

Borders nationally and globally have become less porous, limiting access to both materials and people. With restricted movement of supplies and workers, there have been consequent deficiencies and delays in projects throughout the industry. In Australia, we have been lucky that these physical effects have been less than that of the global environment.

We鈥檝e seen various project stoppages throughout the industry while many other jobs are proceeding under limited capacities and more stringent regulations.

As overall supply chains adapt to the extraordinary circumstances we all face, suppliers that invested in digitalisation early are better equipped to handle these changes. The shifts in communication channels and platforms must be used for checking in with suppliers and staff alike. The critical point of all this technology is to humanise the connections we build across organisations and industries.

Before COVID-19 shook the world, I鈥檝e maintained a fascination with the digital connection of systems, applications, processes, and people. Today, these critical technologies are helping businesses streamline processes and adapt to the changing circumstances. Within the EC&O industry, the multi-faceted applications for intelligent technologies is breaking down silos between business departments and supply chains.

By working from a single source of data and communication, technology does most of the heavy lifting while providing staff with more opportunity to work remotely, efficiently, and safely. Furthermore, digital assets are being used to minimise on-site interactions and help ensure the safety of on-site employees.

To learn more about how industry experts are mitigating risks and complying with modern slavery legislation, watch the on-demand replay of Virtual Industry Forum.

The post Building Better Business During Crisis for Engineering, Construction, and Operations appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.