What's happening in recruitment within the New Zealand FMCG sector?

Insights & Talent Trends for 2023

As featured in the latest issue of FMCG Business, our specialist FMCG recruitment team share some insights, observations, emerging trends, and the influences that we’ll see in play in regards to talent and jobs in the coming year.

Supply Chain, Operations, Procurement

By: Michelle Elsley

• The world’s supply chains are undergoing massive transformation at an unprecedented pace, resulting in supply chain and procurement professionals to be in high demand yet short supply over the coming year.
• With automation making a big impact on supply chain management, the increased need for digital skills is calling for more investment in up-skilling and re-skilling.
• Talented leaders who can build, adapt and manage the risks of safer, more sustainable and environmentally responsible supply chain practices are hot property; particularly those with experience in sustainable supply chain management, waste reduction, and renewable energy. An ESG strategy (and subsequent translation into action) could become a crucial competitive advantage in attracting and retaining talent.

Marketing, Digital, Sales

By: Erin Kirk

• Linear career progression is no longer the norm, and we are seeing a shifting mindset to employers being more open-minded about high potential candidates from unconventional backgrounds. This is currently a prevailing trend within the FMCG sector, with more companies taking an interest in candidates with transferable skills from outside of the industry.
• Marketing strategy expertise is in high demand as businesses look to grapple with a host of challenges, from inflation and the cost of living crisis, to political unrest and driving sustainability; however we continue to see the strategic aspect of marketing roles going offshore, resulting in a loss of strong marketers with strategic depth in the local market.
• A greater focus on digital has meant classical brand management roles are requiring a broader skill set. Conversely, we are seeing an interesting diversification into specific singular digital areas - specialist SEO, marketing automation, content strategy, e-Commerce, data analytics, and social media roles are all being highly sought after.
• FMCG continues to be a very challenging market for the sales function to operate in, and we are observing talented FMCG sales professionals seeking roles in other industries.

Finance & Accounting

By: Claire Ellis

• The labour shortages and increased demand in the NZ market have had a significant impact on the availability of mid-level accounting professionals, including those in CA practice, commercial financial accountants and financial business partners. This has impacted the discipline in several ways, including:
  
  A significant upward movement in salaries, with like-for-like roles often increasing by 20-40% in the last 2-3 years.
  
  More movement in the market with candidates switching roles more frequently, often staying only 12-18 months before moving to their next opportunity, as they get tapped on the shoulder.
  
  Fierce competition for candidates which has driven an emphasis on employee value proposition ie - offering increased salaries, better benefits, and hybrid/flexible working. Businesses have focused on improving their culture and better employment branding to attract the required talent.

• These market demands, alongside advances in technology are driving positive change within the FMCG finance function. An example is financial planning and analysis (FP&A) where there is a growing need for those skilled in automated business intelligence tools such as Power BI, Tableau or QlikView.
• Present-day accounting has evolved into a more commercial function and operates as a strategic business partner to senior leadership. FMCG is a data-rich industry, and analysis of trends, risks and opportunities is falling more into the accounting discipline.
• Being a sector highly sensitive to inflation, many of our FMCG clients are pursuing finance professionals with specialised business analytics and data analysis skills to assist in making better commercial decisions.

Technology, Transformation & Change

By: Claire Gibson

• Many of our clients are investing in leading-edge technology to stay ahead of the competition and cut costs. Examples include automation of production processes, improved logistics and transportation of products, improved customer support via AI, and predictive analytics to track inventory levels and forecast future demand.
• Driving this digital transformation in the FMCG Sector can be attributed to the growth of e-Commerce, an increase in direct-to-consumer sales, and a shift towards digital marketing.
• As companies become more agile and take this digital route, the challenge ahead is attracting the skilled talent to implement these initiatives effectively. The strategy moving forward must be long term in nature, with a great deal of flexibility; one that includes multiple pathways to getting the work done.