The week before last, I received a message via Linkedin that a company in Tauranga was looking for highly skilled people. That company was Braincell.

I had heard of the company director and a visit to the Braincell web site showed me they were a little Tauranga gem - a creative agency with one of the best examples of a flash site I have seen for a while and an impressive portfolio of clients. Many of their clients were around New Zealand or in the United Kingdom, which may explain why many of us in Tauranga may have not heard of them.
Having a good look around the website, I discovered the positions were advertised only on Linkedin and the Braincell website. This intrigued me, so I contacted Janine, Braincell's director, to ask about their recruitment experience. The reply was surprising. I met Janine to find out more.
I have worked with many creatives but sitting in Braincell's office in Tauranga CBD talking to Janine and Gordon (creative director) was an impassioned meeting.
They were passionate about their craft, their company and their future. They meant it when they said they intend to be the best. Beating larger agencies to create the 2007 presentation to showcase New Zealand to the world, which was also used for the Oscars Awards in Los Angeles, is a claim they can make. Their list of clients backs them up: MediaWorks, Zespri and Sky Television, to name but a few.
They have done very well for a company based in Tauranga taking on the Auckland and Wellington agencies. They have managed to stay a tight team, working together on ideas and planning the future. The ethos of the company is every one benefits from the results of their hard work. And so they have developed a plan to improve those benefits and grow the company.
To make it work they need new people with the right skills, the right experience and the right aptitude - to push boundaries and fit the team. They have searched hard, been to the recruitment agencies and had very little success, despite lots of CVs received. They have learned how to read the CVs, which are over-inflated – often from people who claimed to be marketers or produced a film, but in fact did little more than make the tea.
To be fair, they have found people who fit the bill, only to discover they would not move to Tauranga.
Tauranga has an image problem. It's too far from the bustle of the metropolis, too far from the action and too far from the nearest larger creative hub. Now, those of us living in the Bay know what a great place it can be, but sometimes we forget its problems.
The world class companies that reside here often do it in spite of, rather than because of the infrastructure - especially in respect to communications. But it's not all Tauranga's fault. As Gordon and Janine say, some want the lifestyle, they want the shorter hours, they want the beach but, they still expect the Auckland salaries.
Having tried for some months to find the right candidates via the old methods, Janine turned to newer ones and advertised on Linkedin - which is like Facebook but for professionals – and without the silliness.
She has been impressed by the level of response and the quality of applicant. I put forward one reason for this - Linkedin and social media encourages honesty: it's easy to be caught out.
They believe part of the problem is they are looking for all-round creatives. People who are designers first; tool users second. They believe the current education system is geared more to tool use than design principles.
People can learn a tool, but can they really learn how to be creative? Can they learn how to build creativity within a team? Tools change, design principles don't.
It's not just designers they need, it's people with knowledge sets such as quality account directors. And again these people seem unwilling to leave the bigger centers for Tauranga.
The bottom line: there is a skill shortage in many sectors and it's hurting our local companies and our local economy.
If an exciting media-savvy company that punches above its weight cannot find the right people locally or attract them to move here, what does that mean for the less glamorous?
Andrew@pointconcept.info