Below is Josh's speech prior to presenting the award:
Josh Comrie with IT Manager of the year winner - Ingrid Cronin-Knight“Those who build great companies understand that the ultimate throttle on growth for any great company is not 'the market', or technology, or competition, or their products. It is one thing above all others; the ability to get, and keep, enough of the right people''. This is a quote from Jim Collins' text - Good to Great - Why some companies make the leap and others don't.
Whilst the businesses he has outlined in this text may not have demonstrated recent success, I believe that alot of the maxims he talks to hold true. I would propose to you that the finalists of both the awards would be considered the right people.
As a recruiter I have a daily exposure to the skills shortage (or as someone put it pre GFC - The war for Talent is over - Talent Won). Unfortunately we are rapidly approaching the acute levels of talent deficiencies we consistently saw between 2003-2008. In NZ we are reliant upon 2 sources of new talent into the market - graduates and immigrants.
Technology graduate numbers dropped by nearly half from 2005 to 2009, and half of the finalists in this award are from different countries. I'd suggest that this further emphasises our need for offshore talent. To compete for this talent on the global stage we need to make our market more competitive and attractive. I read this morning that again we permanently lost 19,000 people to Australia last year. I think we all know that these days Rob Muldoon's quip about "people moving from NZ to Australia raises the IQ of both countries" is not really the case any longer.
As kiwi's we believe that we lead the world in thinking, yet we lag the developed world in pay. However, I know that pay features a long way down the list of factors that drive someone out of a role, yet almost perversely Pay is one of the most important factors to people when considering a new role - but that's actually another story.
Communication, relationships and recognition are all more important factors in job satisfaction. The good news is that these things don't cost money, they do however take consideration. Today's awards are geared to address the recognition aspect. All too often In New Zealand we are quick to dismiss and criticise those who stand tall and reach great heights. We love to laud achievements of the humble “we knocked that bastard off” variety.
In summation, the responsibility to celebrate achievement must fall to us, the peers of today’s award winners - especially that of the IT Manager of the year. The calibre of the contestants was superb and the judges decision difficult, but unfortunately there can be only one winner.