October 8, 2025

How to Build Resilience: Topping Up Together

6 min read

Navigating Challenging Times

I think we can all agree that the past few years have tested the resilience of us New Zealanders. From COVID-19 disruptions to inflation, restructures, and global uncertainty, both employers and employees have been under loads of pressure.

From my perspective as an IT recruiter in Wellington, at times it’s felt like running a marathon in the desert – you keep going, but the finish line seems like a mirage you never reach. The IT job market has been one of the toughest in decades, with employers juggling tighter budgets, heavier workloads, and change fatigue, while job seekers face constant rejections and limited opportunities.

I get calls from candidates all the time (including people at senior leadership level) saying they’ve lost jobs, had to move back home or sell their house, or even look overseas for work. It can be heartbreaking, and while I’m not a trained counsellor, part of my role has become simply listening and checking in.

That’s why the theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week, ‘Top Up Together’, feels so relevant, because I don’t think resilience is something we build on our own. I reckon it comes from connection, support, and the ways we help each other through tough times. Which brings me to the question: what does it mean to be resilient?

What is resilience?

Resilience doesn’t look the same for everyone. I think it’s subjective, but it basically comes down to how we react in difficult situations, as well as our ability to overcome challenging circumstances.

For me personally, resilience isn’t about pushing through and pretending everything’s fine. I’ve battled with anxiety most of my life – which I didn’t even realise was anxiety until much later, when mental health was more widely spoken about.

I started noticing it during Uni, when I was exercising less and partying more (definitely going a bit too hard!), but back then the blokes I knew didn’t really talk about their own mental health for fear of being judged. So even though I knew my lifestyle was part of the reason my mental health was declining, I didn’t want to admit it because I knew I was failing myself and my own high expectations, so I just battled it internally.

Over the years I’ve learned that for me, consistent routines, exercise and wellness techniques like running, cycling, meditation, breath work, laying on a shakti mat or even plunging into the ocean on a cold day, help to give me balance. Without those outlets, I can feel my resilience tank running empty pretty quickly.

When my 19-month-old son was diagnosed with leukaemia on the first day of the COVID lockdown, resilience took on a whole new meaning. Our life literally stopped in its tracks, but the world outside kept spinning. Once I got out enough tears to fill a swimming pool and worked through the feeling of “why us?”, I just kept looking forward and getting the little guy through it.
It was easily the toughest period of my life – constant stress, sleepless nights, the pain of watching him suffer, and the intense fear of losing him. I found myself needing to dig deeper down to find the resilience to keep myself going, and my daily runs around Hagley Park were truly a life saver.

Thankfully George made it out the other side, and so did we. What really got my wife and I through was the love and support from family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers, and we’ll be forever grateful.

The experience changed me, and taught me to let my guard down, be vulnerable in front of people, shed a tear, accept offers of help, and share what I was going through. It also taught me that resilience isn’t just about what I can do myself – it’s also about leaning on others.

Supporting Each Other at Work

This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week theme, ‘Top Up Together’, is a great reminder that we can’t build resilience alone. As part of this, the Mental Health Foundation have provided a handy framework called ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’, which are evidence-backed practices to help build resilience and improve your wellbeing. Here’s how I think we can apply these to our work (and daily) lives:

Connect

Create opportunities for genuine conversations, whether that’s regular team check-ins, coffee catch-ups, or even just asking a workmate how they’re doing. I think this is especially important for employers and managers whose companies are going through a lot of change because it helps you keep your finger on the pulse and make sure your team aren’t burnt out.

Give

One thing we can often give is our time – whether you’re a leader taking the time to listen to your team, or a team member taking the time to lend a hand to a workmate. Or if you know someone who’s job hunting and struggling (it’s really hard out there!), you could help them review their CV or reach out to your own networks to see if anyone knows of any opportunities. It’s those small acts of generosity – whatever they may look like – that help build trust and community.

Be Active

It sounds so simple, but make sure you move during the day. This is a huge one for me because I find it makes the biggest difference to my mental health. Take a proper break and go for a lunchtime run, walk, or cycle to work, or even try walking meetings. And if you’re a manager, make sure your team have the capacity to do this, especially because a lot of tech roles require you to sit in front of screens all day.

Take Notice

When I’m feeling anxious, I often overlook the positives, so I’d suggest focusing on small wins, celebrating achievements, and acknowledging contributions. But it’s also important to notice when things might not be going so well. I’m lucky enough to have had Mental Health First Responder training, an opportunity I got through Absolute IT’s parent company, Accordant Group. This training gave me tools to spot when someone might be struggling and to guide them toward the right support. Sometimes, even just asking a simple “are you okay?” can make a big difference. I’d encourage organisations to explore this training for their team – it was delivered by a great company called CoLiberate.

Keep Learning

For candidates, this could look like taking free online courses, earning certifications, or attending webinars in emerging tech areas. Not only does this strengthen your CV, but it also builds confidence and a sense of progress, which is super important when job hunting feels tough. For employers, this could mean offering clear development pathways, creating mentorship programmes, or giving staff time each week to experiment with new tools. Growth fuels resilience and helps people feel valued.

Moving Forward

The IT industry in New Zealand is full of talented people, but right now many are feeling stretched thin. Employers can’t underestimate the value of supporting staff wellbeing, and job seekers shouldn’t underestimate the importance of looking after themselves during tough times.

For me, resilience is built on exercise, routine, gratitude, and the support of others. This Mental Health Awareness Week, let’s make an effort to ‘top up together’, so that none of us have to carry the load on our own.

Gavin Woodfield

Principal Consultant

Pay Alone Isn’t Enough: How to Attract and Retain Top Tech Talent

7 min read

67% of tech professionals say ‘better salary’ is the number one reason they would change jobs.

This figure comes from our latest IT Job Market Report, and given the cost-of-living challenges and general economic climate, it’s an unsurprising stat that is echoed across many other industries (as seen in the NZ Employment Market Report by our sibling company, Madison). For tech professionals who are considering a move, actively job hunting, or shoulder-tapped for a role, salary will be a key consideration.

So as recruiters, the question we face daily is this: how do we help our clients attract and retain great tech talent, when the pay on offer isn’t at the top of the range? Not every organisation can compete with the highest remuneration in the market, but that’s okay!

While it’s important to ensure your rates are competitive and realistic, salary is not the only lever you can pull. And with only 60% of employers planning pay rises in 2025 (down sharply from 93% in 2023) there’s even more reason to think creatively about your wider offer.

That’s why I’ve written this blog – it’s a practical guide for how to look beyond salary and create a strong, compelling remuneration package that will help you attract and retain top IT talent in today’s competitive, skills-short market.

Salary Alone Isn’t Enough

It’s a mistake to think that New Zealand’s high unemployment rate (currently 5.2%) means it’s easy to find skilled talent that’s the right fit for your organisation. The reality is that talented tech workers, particularly in niche areas, have lots of options.

Some of these options are local, but many more are across the ‘ditch’, and even across the world. Our IT Job Market Report revealed that around 28% of tech professionals are planning to work overseas – that’s a significant portion of the talent pool quietly looking offshore (in fact, there’s a whole section in our Report on what you can do to combat the ‘overseas pull’).

Attracting talent from this limited pool is about understanding that savvy tech candidates look at the entire package when making their decision. It’s still important to make sure that you’re offering a competitive salary – especially since our research shows that it’s the top factor influencing whether tech professionals accept a new job offer. But you also need to consider your offering beyond that, whether it’s explicit benefits like health insurance, or more intangible value like company culture.

Close the Gap

So where should you start when looking beyond salary? Well, the research for our 2025 Salary Guide tells an interesting story.

‘Career Progression Opportunities’ was the number one non-financial factor that influenced whether tech professionals accepted a new job offer, and when asked which benefits were most important to them, the tech professionals we surveyed ranked it second (with ‘Flexible, Hybrid, or Remote Working Options’ in first place).

However, when asked what benefits they actually receive, it wasn’t even in the top five most common. Similarly, when we surveyed IT employers about what benefits their organisation offers staff, ‘Career Progression Opportunities’ only just scraped into the top five most common, in fifth place.

This indicates a clear gap between what tech professionals want vs. what employers are actually offering, and it’s this disconnect that can quietly push people towards the exit, or be the determining factor when they’re considering a job offer.

By identifying and closing gaps like this, you’re not only creating a more attractive overall package that draws in top tech talent, you’re also giving them compelling reasons to stay – cultivating loyalty, engagement, and long-term retention.

Prioritise Retention

Speaking of retention, 61% of tech professionals we surveyed were considering moving to a new workplace this year, with 67% of those already actively looking for a new role – proof that focusing on retention is more important than ever!

While it’s important for many reasons, perhaps the most compelling is that hiring is expensive. Typical turnover costs, including recruitment, onboarding, and lost productivity, can total around 150% of an employee’s annual compensation, with some roles reaching much higher percentages.

Then there’s the intangible aspects that are hard to put a dollar figure on. When a team member leaves, you lose things like knowledge of where to look when troubleshooting, understanding of legacy systems and internal workflows (beyond what’s documented), client history, deep familiarity with your tech stack and any quirks, etc. Projects can stall, delivery timelines can slip, team morale can be affected, and brand perception can be negatively impacted.

Attracting talent is only half the challenge – retaining them safeguards your investment, protects your organisation’s culture, and maintains business momentum. Considering both when shaping your complete offering helps ensure you’re building a team that lasts.

Build a Strong EVP

A large part of retaining your best performers is having a strong employee value proposition (EVP) that flows through into your employer brand. Every organisation has an employer brand, whether it’s been deliberately defined through their EVP or not – it’s a reflection of their reputation as an employer in the market. So what exactly is an EVP? As Gartner helpfully puts it:

“The employee value proposition (EVP) captures the set of attributes that external talent and internal employees perceive as the value they gain by working in an organisation.”

This includes salary, but also covers benefits like health insurance, flexible work options, career growth opportunities, workplace culture, physical environment, manager and leadership quality, the day-to-day experience of being part of your organisation – anything that can be perceived as adding value.

The best EVPs are built around what you can genuinely deliver, and ideally they’re created based on feedback directly from your people (not just leadership’s best guesses), with support from reliable external resources to ensure you’re making data-driven decisions.

Defining your EVP makes it intentional, consistent, and actionable; it becomes a tool you can use to attract the right people and shape your company culture into one that will make them want to stay. EVPs are still underutilised, so it’s an area of opportunity; in the current market, where skilled tech professionals have options, a strong and authentic EVP is one of the most effective ways to compete.

Practical Steps to Take Now

Whether you’re planning your hiring needs or crafting your retention strategy, I’d recommend you focus on these fundamentals first and build from there.

1. Benchmark your salaries

Use market data to understand how your organisation’s salary and hourly rates compare. Understand where your roles sit within the range, adjust where necessary (and where possible within budget), then update job ads and messaging to highlight additional benefits, to complement your salary offering.

2. Map out growth pathways

Plan clear progression steps and tangible development opportunities, then make this information visible to your team so they know what’s possible. Offer training where you can, and share stories of career progression – both internally and externally. When you need to hire, make sure you clearly communicate the future opportunities during the process.

3. Audit your benefits

Make a list of the benefits your organisation currently offers, then order it in terms of uptake. Low uptake may mean the benefit is less irrelevant, difficult to access, or poorly communicated, so make a plan to understand where the issue is, and adjust accordingly. Consider what other employers and competitors are offering too.

4. Ask your employees what they value

To support the above, conduct interviews and/or an anonymous survey to gather feedback about what benefits and aspects of your organisation your employees value, and what’s missing or could be improved. It doesn’t need to be fancy – keep it short and simple. There are low-cost tools (and even some free ones) that will likely meet your needs.

5. Define (or refine) your EVP

Using the knowledge gained by the previous steps, create a list of benefits or value-add activities you can genuinely deliver, then communicate this internally and externally. E.g. Incorporate the information into your intranet content, internal newsletters/updates, and team meetings. Add it to job ads, career pages, interview conversations and onboarding processes.

6. Keep it going

These steps work best when they are part of an ongoing cycle, not a one-off exercise. Checking in regularly with your team and the market keeps your offering relevant and competitive.

Get the Whole Picture

Pay is often the headline, but it’s rarely the whole picture when it comes to hiring good people and keeping them. A realistic and competitive salary is a starting point, but when you back it up with relevant benefits in the form of a strong EVP, the package is much harder to walk away from.

Our latest IT Job Market Report and the accompanying Salary Guide give you the data you need to benchmark salaries, see what benefits are on offer in the market, and understand exactly what tech professionals are looking for. It’s practical, New Zealand-specific insight you can use to refine your EVP, strengthen your retention strategy, and keep the talent you need.

Download both the IT Job Market Report and Salary Guide here.

Brian Bernard

Regional Manager

Brian Bernard began working with Absolute IT in Wellington and is now the Regional Manager in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty Region.