Identifying Critical Requirements for Successful Recruitment Practices in Wellington’s Small IT Firms

This paper explores the needs of small IT firms in Wellington related to staff recruitment and retention. It identifies the critical factors that influence the location, sourcing and matching of candidates’ and their skills and behavioural qualities to the strategic technical, business and human resource management needs of these firms. Successful recruitment into Wellington’s IT industry is a critical sustainable growth factor for many small IT firms. Wellington is considered to be a national hub for the IT services sector. Limits in small firms’ ability to spend for recruitment and salary hamper their productivity and growth due to competition for talent in the sector. Innovations to solve the shortage related problems are taking place. Three alternative approaches are proposed that could contribute to a more stable equilibrium between supply of and demand for skilled IT professionals in Wellington.