Ep 40 - Matt Pontin - NZ TA vs Covid

Join Lauren and Craig as they Chat with Matt Pontin in NZ.
Matt has been seconded to set up an emergency response Covid TA project in Auckland. It's a fascinating discussion. Imagine having to set up a remote TA team from scratch with no existing ATS or Tech Stack, to recruit over 350 professionals within 2 weeks in a sector notoriously candidate skinny!
Listen on...

Transcript

spk_1:   0:00
this episode of Tar Pot is proudly supported by the recruitment events company Australia and New Zealand.

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Did you know they have been creating unique learning and networking events for in house talent acquisition community for the past four years?

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Yes, I did. And they're particularly well known for their strong community and wreck fest, the one day celebration of recruitment as well as our own 100.

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This year they will be bringing new events to you, including NextWave talent in July and talent take rising in September.

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So if you're a TA professional, sign up for their mailing list at recruitment events dot com dot you. Lauren, do you want me to spell that out for you?

spk_2:   0:41
No. Great. I'm fine. I've got that. So just head on over everybody to recruitment events dot com dot ua and tell them that tar pod sent you. Welcome to top. Odd passed for everything. Talent acquisition wear informative, controversial and a little bit crazy. Now please join your hosts and industry leaders Lauren Shop and Craig Watson. Hi, everyone. Welcome to Tar Part. I'm Craig and I'm Lauren, and today we have crossed the ditch over to New Zealand and we're talking with Matt Pontin from here is a regional sourcing manager for the covert 19 community at Auckland Doctors and the Northern Regional Health Alliance. Going really good. That is a mouthful off a title. Sure is.

spk_0:   1:43
Yeah, I think you probably got a little bit wrong.

spk_2:   1:47
Take that up with the Oh, yeah, Well,

spk_0:   1:50
that's what I could link. And I probably got it wrong.

spk_2:   1:52
Never mind. What is your correct title? That

spk_0:   1:55
Well, I don't really have a type of right now I'm in a convent. My rial job in the real world of real went crazy is improvement in allocations, manager with the Northern Alliance on DH that they shared services organisation that's owned by the district in your region and north region of New Zealand

spk_1:   2:16
before we get there that maybe this is a good time for us to reach back and discuss or understand your background in recruitment, how you got into it and your journey to where you are now. So take it away, Matt.

spk_2:   2:29
Wow. I think recruiting for

spk_0:   2:31
a long time about 25 years a cz You can tell from my my lovely acts and I'm from the Northern Hemisphere and actually from Wales originally. Andi. Hey, I sell into recruitment straight from university. I remember I was walking the streets of Manchester is a brand new graduate in history and politics, thinking that I was going to take on the world looking for a job I saw in our high street recruitment agency and adds that training manages my thought. You know what? I've got a B A. I'm a manager. I'm going to go in there in front of

spk_2:   3:02
what this

spk_0:   3:03
is went into. The agency didn't know what an agency was in those days. I got sent for an interview on DH. It was a recruitment agency. Andi. I started off on £8000 a year, and as much beer is allowed to drink

spk_2:   3:19
for free on

spk_0:   3:22
This was way back in the days when there was the card box recruitment. There wasn't even email, you know, with the old fashioned fax machine came along and that was fun. So I started recruiting way back then, and so on. It moved around a bit, went down to work in the city of London, recruiting for large banks and telco large manage vendor accounts that I met my now wife and I took her back to Wales. That's the most beautiful place outside of New Zealand to bay on DH. I put myself for a wee bit from diverted fight and ended up going back to be an employee. Just working myself. When I was that young didn't quite work out. I moved into construction recruitment kind of Blanche Management said that for a wee while that ended that my wife's down African going across Africa on a research practise for master than while on the way from New Zealand came to New Zealand. Gosh will win Tourism, you know, came from New Zealand and then I got into internal recruitment. So I that of the Christmas for a large construction firm over here. Michael Fulton Hogan Love that. Did that for a few years after major project that everything from scratch. It's amazing place toe work. Then I got into help we had that dreaded the next city on DH, had to move across Teo. Different sector on DH Health is a recession proof. Thank you. Obviously so had a couple of years in health, loved that, but then got tapped at the door back to thought holding. Andi went back there in the role of national talent development manager, for we want ended up, then taking on a really cool position with a bank. So part of calm bank over there on by calm bank over there. I was head of acquisitions for a few years there. That was an awesome job. Get some really funky stuff there. Like augmented reality app for recruitment load. The stuff is a really good place to be. Got made redundant a bugger about that. Went out on my own for a bit and did some consulting. Enjoyed that for a while And then I took on a return to the dark side gig. I became general manager for Great International in New Zealand

spk_2:   5:36
for one that Z

spk_0:   5:38
B. Well,

spk_1:   5:39
yeah, I worked at Drake for while you were there for about a year and 1/2. That's like being there for 10 years. It's every years, like a dog to you when you're a Drake, that's for sure. Well,

spk_0:   5:49
hey, look, I learned lots of things there on from Greek people down. Been going for a long time. A well established brand on got some good customers

spk_1:   5:59
so

spk_0:   6:00
Yeah, that was That was a good experience. It wasn't for me longer term. So I decided to go back consulting for a wee while while I sorted myself. Am did that for about 6 to 12 months or so on, then found the current position that I have back in health. And here I am. So that's my will win Tiki tour around recruitment for you.

spk_2:   6:18
So as of march this year, you've bean Circon did to the covert 19 community. Tell us what that's involved?

spk_0:   6:25
Yes. So with covert making its way to New Zealand, we were Australia. We've been quite lucky and the respect that we could see what was coming, I want to get ready faster than some other countries. So we set up a brand new town tradition function that focused on outside of hospital, starting for cove it so outside of the hospital, I mean, you know, making sure we've got people at the border Health staff, nurses, professionals to do swatting and screening, setting up for the testing centres around the city, getting with the public health contact, tracing, stopping the major call centres on looking at, which is my biggest piece of work right now looking are vulnerable communities. So that's that covers your age care disability sector. Anyone living in community who rely on health on a daily basis but obviously significantly disrupted because of the Cubs outbreak. So there was nothing in place that you can imagine a rough estimate. In Auckland, there are three district health boards with major hospitals, probably about 27,000 staff with across those health board outside, off the health causes probably double, maybe even triple that number of people working in communities for a plethora of different employers, there could be a GP practise. It could be a private health organisation. It could be whatever. So you're talking about lots of different employees. They didn't have one central place to go to get help when they needed to scale up pretty fast on staff. The response, the covert. So, yeah, that was my big scrap.

spk_1:   8:12
And I read in linked in that. You also said the thief hidden or secondary challenges around mental health. So you're involved with hiring in that space is well for covert

spk_0:   8:21
wake up talent pools like So we had to move real far, put a whole call out to the community, really across the city beyond. For people that wanted Teo help on that involved. Setting up talent pools for people with previous health experience and people with no experience whatsoever

spk_2:   8:46
for

spk_0:   8:46
the first days is really that clinical focus. Andi. I was overwhelmed with power, Curtis. You know, we had a massive way. They're huge influx of people who wanted to help, and they registered on the portals. That couple, we grew a database from a standing start. 3.5 1000 people in about 3 to 4

spk_2:   9:05
week

spk_0:   9:07
phenomenal on then from that database were still active daily. Tracy people into assignments across the city that working covert related work. But you're quite right. The next hidden illness is mental health, So we set up a portal. There is well to this create a really strong talent pool to provide to our community providers and district health board some great talented people that can help on that next quack than you know, coming. That's going to be what we're going to probably be happy degree congressman off in the future that once we hopefully carry on the tree. Actually, you've got very covert and go in the right direction. We're going to start focusing on those other things that pop up in people by the impact of being displaced, losing your job, stress it surrender. So mental health professionals are going to be at the forefront ofthe critic. We'll need moving forward.

spk_2:   10:00
So at the moment you're on level four, lock down, which is about to go to level three. Is that correct? In New Zealand,

spk_0:   10:07
we moved level.

spk_2:   10:10
Okay, so what sort of impact has that had on the day today? Off people out there and what's going on in your industry?

spk_0:   10:20
Well, let me talk first around my space, that had a huge impact because whilst we were until are currently in level for you've got a totally different pool of available people those that remotely or those that can't go to the unusual place of work. So they want to help on. They've got skills and they've registered as we move to level three. Our talent pool is imminent because hopefully and rightly so, people going backto

spk_1:   10:48
work.

spk_0:   10:48
So those nurses that we may have sourced and put in the pool at the start of lock down they came from some pretty creative places. Thanks for the awesome people I've got in this thing that I've been involved in sourcing. I'll give you an example. Trying registered nurse. It is hard enough unusual time frame. But in this circumstance we pull. That'll the stops in terms of sourcing. And we've attracted nurses that you have worked in beautician clinics or Bo tox nurses. These are genuine, bona fide registered, nervous. But I've got no work during locked down, so we can use their great skills. Teo at the border of testing senses. So whole new talent pools emerged off people who have got some great skills but not necessarily been upfront buying clinical practise for some time.

spk_2:   11:36
You know,

spk_0:   11:36
those people are gonna be moving back into their usual employment positions. Hopefully. So I pulls going to diminish a week that we've got two weeks of lock down three, but they're going to be planning to go back and cleaning up their premises on preparing, hoping to open their

spk_2:   11:51
businesses. Have you got a time limit on lock down dream?

spk_0:   11:54
I think. Yeah. I think that the government here is trying. Teo, get that done in two weeks and review. Yeah,

spk_1:   12:02
it's amazing about the pre planning is brilliant also, with the clinical rolls and the pools that you have available at the moment, even while you're still in foreign for the next couple of days. Is that almost that capacity? You? Do you have enough people in your pool?

spk_0:   12:19
We've responded really well, and I also want to mention that in the health sector itself, there's been tremendous planning on. But we called decanting of hospitals to ensure that capacity. So the District Health Board phenomenal planning on Would they have people available that will be redeployed it really short notice in tow into different positions when required? So, yes, I think we've We've done a pretty good job. We've planned well prepared well and had have the police immobiliser workforce. There are still some pockets where will was going to have ongoing need. It's harder to attract into the likes of the age care sector on DH. That's being whether most vulnerable communities and

spk_2:   13:04
critical thinking.

spk_0:   13:06
No, I'm going with still crying staff those areas in them on having some challenges, but we're getting through it. So

spk_1:   13:13
with the response has been a rapid response. What type of technology we're using to support the recruiting function.

spk_0:   13:20
So this is an interesting storey because nothing was in place and you're talking about an environment where you're dealing with a cornucopia of different companies and employers out there, right is not just 11 organisation. It was impossible to use what was in place for the health board. So that help was I got some great. That were really well. But you just couldn't do that because nobody could access it at the time you got people log ins, you know, privacy and sharing. It is not going to work. So we have to do something really, really far. We went down the agile, low cost tak approach, so we rolled out two things. One was cynical cognitive forms, which is a cloud based solution where you can create registration pools on DH online forms survey people reportedly where people can come in and even a repository where the always employers can request resort. So we created that front end and then the second piece, back end piece. We've been using a really cool the core block, which is in fact Francisco way. I had it in place in my previous position to How is all of our data intelligence The market mapping

spk_2:   14:36
way? Based

spk_0:   14:41
no far from it. Okay, Far from it. If you look it up. L a wake. So lock. So it's basically a really our Giles the cloud base that you Khun. But any industry sector.

spk_2:   14:54
Okay, so how did you go around making sure people had their licencing and certifications and obviously having to do it extremely quick now?

spk_0:   15:04
Yeah, that's right. A critical part of the peace. We've out

spk_2:   15:07
there with a

spk_0:   15:08
really cool company called TV cheque on their Australian New Zealand based on DH, They've been helping

spk_2:   15:13
also a sponsor.

spk_0:   15:16
Okay, Cool. Yeah. Helping us to certify annual practising certificate and help us with police cheques on DH immigration

spk_1:   15:26
in terms of how much to help Did you have met getting this whole process together in such a short time? So how big is your team and what what sort of other external help did you get?

spk_0:   15:37
So we're about 10 at the moment, people 40 and we scale down a little bit. So in the initial stages, we had additional project management resource on DH people that are from a non talent recruitment background to help us out. What we've done is we've had a mixture off bringing in a couple of external people really good sorters and recruiters. Industry on DH Condit people internally across the health sector to help out on. We've had some people from my my paying that was previously running. They say that project management elements really awesome gate around. Listen, the help that you

spk_1:   16:18
and how did that look being in lock down? So working remotely, I'd imagine with a team that has been brought together that wasn't in existing team together. We're their challenges there. Or did it work seamlessly,

spk_0:   16:30
so I'm not remote? I go to the hospital every day for the Northern Regional Health Control Centre, so I go into a new office for the rest of team. You're quite right there working remotely. Look, it's all about the model, so

spk_2:   16:43
I set

spk_0:   16:44
up vertically. Focus sourcing structure what we had people act accountable and responsible for certain jobs. Families. So then they knew what they do. Stage one was killed. The pool source, like crazy, get really good people in that pool, for example, the registers nurses that I mentioned before on stage two was delivering to the employer requests. So those sources to be able to then match under the generic recruiting. We've used all the tech, but everyone's using right now resume every day we get a trailer. Boards were using Microsoft Team. We've even got it or what? That chap opinion, it makes me laugh. I said, In my desk is my laptop, but I got two phones going. I've got notifications going everywhere. My watch on my wrist is buzzing. It's just constant communications blow. And it has to be that

spk_2:   17:33
work. How are you doing?

spk_1:   17:35
You're you're interviewing.

spk_0:   17:36
So the interviews are a mixture off some base screening on DH, The End Employers also screening. So, for example, we send This is at the airport border. The guys will do a screen talk to people on DH. Then we'll pass them on to the management team at the border. Then they'll undertaken additional screen. We also run training for people. So it's not just the case off an interview and then straight on the front lines. Some people need special training, and some people need good, solid orientations. People sent those on. That's also part of the selection process. Smoke of the candidates make a balanced judgement. That's what they want to do it. So it's pretty in dancing that we've got very expensive process. Well, that's what we do. But

spk_1:   18:19
yeah, it's amazing what you've been able to put together over such a short period. So I

spk_2:   18:25
know you mentioned

spk_1:   18:26
before the number off health professionals within the three branches or districts within Auckland. But in terms of people that you're putting into work, do you know what numbers they have? Bean. During this process or project,

spk_0:   18:40
we'll weigh in. Excess of 350 people have been assigned of the last few weeks just to the troll. The community positions mentioned something else will be had to stand up as well, and that was unemployment vehicle. Like I say, we're talking about working across so many different employing organisations out there that there's no time to set people up through payroll on contract. So back to my early career way put together a management a solution with an external agency to help us with. So we've got a really good one point of contact manage vendor that weaken streamline our appointment through

spk_1:   19:20
Okay, so that's so the contracts and the payroll and go through that

spk_2:   19:24
on a general note in New Zealand. What is the feeling over there amongst people going from a level four down to the Level three restrictions

spk_0:   19:33
like? I don't think you need to really focus too much about Level two Level three because there's not a huge difference. Several three still locked down, businesses inoculated, safe except you. Khun, you look and see what level three means. We've got to start thinking about the future and what the market will look like. The talent in the post co vered world. Hey, there's a huge, huge kick in the guts, really for many organisations and recruiters out there and people have to think and do things very, very differently. I've got heaps of great friends and people I respect immensely in the New Zealand recruitment community. And in fact, they've all helped with this covert sourcing strategy. They've all shared posts to lengthen and different platforms. No, they've all spread the word. They've all offered up, recruited help if need be. They've bean in meant we couldn't have got well we've brought without them But the future Well, I think the future is going to have a couple of buckets. Think about. Really? On those buckets will be kind of a build bucket. How are we going to build? You know what? We're going to do that different to what we going previously. Ah, borrow Bucket. What are we going to do with all this amazing talent that might be now available? How we're going to share that around buying bucket, You know, how are we going to bring people in from overseas when we have border risk frictions and travel restrictions? And you know that the lack of international flight carriers coming to New Zealand that historically had for a wee while we've got to think about the box. You know what we're doing now to embrace further technology on remote working and an automation on. Then I guess we've got the final bucket, which is the B anywhere, which is, you know, you can be anywhere and do a lot of the work that people may have deceived. You couldn't do pre called it. So it's reason great things for remote working. So I guess there's talent acquisition professionals. Onda crude is we've got to really think about the buckets now And where do I fit in? Where do I play? Whether I had value

spk_2:   21:39
a lot of a lot of management, that you can turn your workforce remotely in such a short amount of time and digital change can happen quite quickly. It doesn't have to be the behemoth that way. Often see it to bay on that Fear of change are making it take so long. It can happen quickly. When you need to pay,

spk_0:   22:01
you are most definitely most definitely, and I guess

spk_2:   22:04
from a health

spk_0:   22:06
perspective, exciting opportunity. An exciting opportunity for us is that there will be people available because of economic difficulty that may not have been available to the health sector before. There will be some fantastically skilled people out there that we could attract into hell who may have worked with some of the big corporate brands, and we need to think about that and how we can really optimise that as an opportunity is, Well,

spk_2:   22:32
what do you see? The recovery for New Zealand out of this? Do you think when restrictions are lifted, it's going to be quite quick recovery economically? Or do you think it will be slow?

spk_0:   22:42
Look I'm not an economist. Eso It's going to be a tough challenge, I'm sure. But one thing I do know is that he was bounced back and innovate and pull together. We'll find a way Teo be successful again. We'll find a way, Tio, I think show the rest of the world that you could do a hell of a lot just based on good community spirit, collaboration, good innovation. So Azad country, you know, we probably produce enough food to feed something like 45 million people

spk_1:   23:17
who

spk_0:   23:18
we've got plenty of resources here, you know, we're going to be okay, but there are going to be many, many people out there that are going toe a hard time. So the recruitment community we've got, we've got a really change our approach and think about how we can coach how we can support with redeployment, how we can, how we come back and be ambassadors for brand on, not transactional media's we've been able to get away with in the past. We've got to be really, really cognizant of the fact that there but the community out there needs support.

spk_1:   23:52
Yeah, and I think that as you touched on before with the mental health aspect. There's got to be stuff out there to that people are looking forward to in the future. We've got to look forward to these times when things are going to get better and, you know, maybe from your side of it being a big whale supporter and the six nations been cancelled. Maybe I'm hearing that November. There might be a secondary one this year.

spk_0:   24:13
Well, technically well still

spk_2:   24:15
champion E o e. Things to look

spk_1:   24:24
forward to, right? And it's amazing what humans doesn't matter where they are in the world, Khun do and how resilient they Khun Bay, when a lot of things that they took for granted taken away, you know, sport thie ability to move freely, those sort of things, the simplicity of hugging someone, all these things that are taking away from us. People have still thrived, and there's still a massive amount to look forward to at the end of this journey, where along

spk_0:   24:51
definitely the hope it will be a better place at the end of this Meet him out of it. People can actually looking to see what they've got, really embracing a pressure that more than

spk_2:   25:01
yeah, and I think on that note it's been a

spk_1:   25:04
fascinating discussion with you, man, We're really thankful that you've joined us from from New Zealand and explained to us how your role and how quickly in this and the whole project that you've been involved with has mobilised on DH helped society and community over in New Zealand is something that we can learn from here and in other places. To Theo. Thanks so much for joining us, and it's going good bye from May

spk_2:   25:28
and a goodbye from me. Thanks very much again. We really want to thank Andrea Kirby and the fine people at the recruitment events company Australia and New Zealand for supporting this episode of Tar

spk_1:   25:41
Port. They have been creating massive events for the in house telling acquisition community for the past four years.

spk_2:   25:48
If you haven't Bean to wreck fast, you don't know what you're missing out on. It's the best conference non conference in fact event you'll ever go to.

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That's right, so just don't muck around anymore. It's head on over to recruitment events dot com dot au. You sign up to their free mailing list and don't forget to tell them

spk_2:   26:09
Thanks for listening to Tar Pied. Please don't forget to subscribe and look out for upcoming podcast. There is a disclaimer. I've just had surgery, OK? Eso I'm a little bit off with the fairies on drugs. Hey, thinks it's fucking hilarious, I tell you.