This week I received, as did you, the “SEEK Employment Trends Quarterly Snapshot”. A riveting read as the title suggests, but please allow me to give you the edited highlights. Firstly, this is a non-New Zealand specific document. In fact, we open with an overview of the Australian market, followed by an (almost) state-by-state dissection over the next 39 pages (Northern Territory doesn’t get a mention because people from Darwin are just too weird). It is only once we get to page 40 that we get 6 pages dedicated to Aotearoa. SEEK, not wanting to make New Zealand feel like the 7th state of Australia, give us a whole 6 slides, whereas poor old South Australia only gets 5. Masterful PR. Once we scroll through information on Trades and Labour in Victoria, it doesn’t make pleasant reading for us at home. New Zealand is 32% down year-on-year on job ads, versus 18% for our neighbours across the Tasman. Applications per ad are 170% above pre-covid levels which is, quite frankly, astonishing. Under “Growth Industries” SEEK summarise our performance with a single word: “None”.
This is not news to any of us. However, what I find surprising, and perhaps a little annoying, is SEEKs response to the current market conditions. I wrote a blog a few weeks ago questioning the variable pricing model which SEEK now operates under. Basically, in the current market, job ads should be cheaper. And based on this latest report, considerably cheaper. I am yet to hear of anyone making noticeable savings. You can read the blog here. I actually tagged SEEK in the blog, and I’m reasonably certain that a few SEEKers sometimes read my musings. Did they respond? Did they f*ck. Once upon a time, SEEK had a well-oiled PR machine. They’d jump on any news story featuring them. Now it seems they either don’t care or have a new strategy. They know we have no choice but to use them, and their profits are down, so why bother employing a PR person? Hell, why even bother sending out an NZ only Employment Trends report? One report, a quick mail merge, and “voilà!”.
Given this latest (albeit Australian-centric) report, SEEK’s product offering is actually worth less to us than ever. Simply put, we don’t need to post as many job ads currently. As discussed, variable pricing doesn’t seem to reflect this, so do SEEK proactively do something to add value to us? No. They just keep on taking, whilst operating an increasingly low-touch account management model. And when I talk to people, very few are happy with this level of account management. When was the last time they “checked in” that wasn’t about re-signing an even less favourable contract? When did they take us for a beer, lunch, a coffee, a general catch up? It’s all well and good taking us to the Polo when times are good, but I can’t help but feel we get deserted when their margins are down. Sadly, this is the time when we could all do with a pick-me-up.
I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in feeling this. Service from SEEK has become increasingly impersonal. It’s like they chucked in the hand grenade of variable pricing and aren’t prepared to dress the wounds. As opposed to working hard to get recruitment agencies back on side, they’ve adopted a “take it or leave it” approach. Sadly, none of us can leave. I noticed recently that they had to extend the deadline for the SEEK SARA Award submissions. Now why did they do this? Was Beyond having trouble with their printer that day? Did Lee Marshall‘s dog eat his submission? No. It’s because not enough people could be bothered entering. This should tell the top brass at SEEK all they need to know about their current perception. As an aside, we’ve actually entered, but what do you think the chances are of us winning anything now? Lol, as those young folk say.
Anyway, everyone is struggling, but not everyone has made the historical profits of SEEK. Perhaps now is the time for them to return the favour?
^SW
