When bringing new people into the organisation, we recruit with these values in mind and do all that we can to ensure that our team embody these values in the workplace and beyond. Recruitment is a notoriously competitive environment and even though our Consultants and Candidate Managers strive to deliver results for our clients and candidates, they’re supportive of each other in a way that is a rarity in our industry.

Founding Directors Stuart Maxwell and Tim Slyfield were confident that the team they’d been building and developing since 2011 were solid and unified but this belief was put to the ultimate test in 2020.

When the country was put into its first Level 4 lockdown on 25 March 2020 the uncertainty and concern was felt across all industries and at all levels. Search assignments were pulled by nervous clients and our once busy desks were grinding to a halt; short-term decisions needed to be made to ensure long-term survival.

Tim and Stu knew that transparency and communication was vital so everyone within AJ was always invited to participate in discussions and decisions that affected them. It was made clear that everyone needed to be on board with any proposed plans, or there would be no implementation of any of them – that’s a big ask of 22 individuals at various ages and stages of life, but it was the only way that felt right.

The plan involved a company-wide reduction in salary and a temporary hold on any commissions, with the promise that as soon as things improved these measures would be gradually reduced until it was back to business as usual.

The decision was unanimous and instantaneous; the Alexander James and AJ Construct teams were prepared to do what was being asked of them to survive this pandemic for however long it took to see it through.

Thankfully, New Zealand is a resilient nation and the sectors we recruit for slowly but surely found their way back to being fully functional as quickly as they could. Our Consultants and Associate Consultants rose to the challenge of working from home and continued to deliver for clients, candidates and each other.

Since then, we’ve survived several lockdowns, including one that lasted 107 days, and our team is not only stronger than ever but we’re bigger than ever too!

In 2021 we welcomed nine faces into our midst, with several of them experiencing a digital on-boarding and even this didn’t negatively affect our strong team culture; in an employee engagement survey undertaken in March 2022, we scored an eNPS of +72 (employee Net Promoter Score).

We also conducted our first ever Client Feedback Survey* in March 2022 in which we scored a Customer NPS of +80. We used the survey as an opportunity to get a better understanding of “where to from here” so we can achieve success together, and we’re in the process of implementing some initiatives in answer to those constructive comments.

We acknowledge and appreciate that not all businesses have been as fortunate as us and they faced decisions that we’re grateful weren’t ones that we had to make, however if you’re interested in our advice on how you and your organisation can withstand a near disaster, read on.