Member Spotlight - Find Recruitment

Find Recruitment started in Wellington 16 years ago. Founded by Mike McKay, Julian Greaves & Rob Woodward, they wanted to start a recruitment agency that was built on trust rather than KPIs. Initially, the co-founders thought the company would have five or six staff. Now there are 20 in Wellington, with 15 in Auckland, and a mix of consultants with four or five support staff.

No one in the organisation has goals or KPIs that affect their pay, guaranteeing clients they’re only seeing people who are a genuine fit for roles rather than meeting quotas. Staff have flexibility and everyone is trusted to do their job.

Find Recruitment was runner up for Outstanding Progress in Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity at the 2023 SEEK SARAs. Plus, Silver for New Horizon at the Southern Cross Wayfinder awards, which celebrates organisations that have transformative and innovative health care and diversity policies. This year, they’re also nominated for Outstanding Progress in Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity & Belonging at the RCSA Awards – the recruitment industry body.

Bryan Scott, Find Recruitment’s Marketing Manager, talks to us about their gender equity journey.

Where did Find’s gender equity journey begin?

“It was instigated by Mike. I lead the marketing, so I was naturally pulled into the conversation. I’m also part of the rainbow community so very passionate about diversity and equity. We had our first meeting with the Gender at Work team back in 2021 and then formed an internal diversity council, which is still going strong. We meet regularly and share what’s been going on in various spaces, who is going to attend different events and where there are any opportunities to engage with clients who share similar values.

There are other organisations where the board or leaders are the roadblock and see the cost, not the benefit, but ours is very driven from the top. All our directors are on board with the diversity work we do.

Plus, we’re in the business of people – if we can’t represent people accurately then what are we doing? By the end of next year, Gen Z will account for a third of the workforce and they are wildly different to generations before them. We have to be ready when that change happens and make sure we have the right tools, whilst still supporting the existing groups we have given New Zealand is an ageing population meaning people are working longer.”

Was there anything surprising on this diversity path?

“For me, it was cool to see the community existed. Gender equity is a lived experience for me. I’m the youngest of five and I've got four sisters, so grew up in a very female-empowered household. Coming into this world I’ve learned about the inequity of pay and gender pay gaps – even learning about menopause was enlightening and not something I would have previously thought about. In a lot of businesses today it’s still not spoken about and the stigma around this needs to change.

The Gender at Work community events are great with a track record of bringing in good people. I recall the first we attended was a talk by Dr Suze Wilson, Senior Lecturer at Massey about women leaders in the workplace and the disproportionate hate they receive was enlightening. The more prominent they are, the more hate. It’s awful. It doesn’t make sense to me. Social media has provided this platform where everyone feels their opinion is significant and that hate speech equates to free speech, which it doesn’t.”

You recently put in an Equal-Paid Parental Leave Policy. What was the biggest challenge with this work?

“We were already working on multiple policies in quick concession – we had our wellness policy that had been around since the business started, with health insurance and gym membership paid for, and a quarterly ‘Find Day’ where you can take a day off for any reason. From there, we rolled out our menopause policy. Then grouped our care policies: period kits, gender transitionary in the workplace, and rainbow policies. Next was our paid parental leave which we implemented in 2022. None were particularly difficult as we sought the right support and guidance and our business is the perfect size to quickly navigate conversations around these.

All our directors are parents so they were unanimous in agreement on parental leave, it wasn’t arduous. We included a clause that regardless of whether you give birth, adopt, or are surrogate, if you are the primary carer, you get 26 weeks. Our staff on parental leave continue to accrue annual leave from the time they take off too, which is different to standard practices. Plus, they continue to get insurance, phone plan and Kiwisaver paid for. Having a parental leave policy can be a selling point – especially the adoption or surrogate part.

When people are on parental leave, they are very much part of the team, and some even come to our events. On our website, we don’t take them off but put a little pacifier on their name and say, ‘on parental leave.’

Find is one of the smaller companies leading the charge on menstruation and menopause – any learnings from this process?

“The primary challenge is that our business is led by seven men. Whilst this has never impacted our progression with D,E&I, it was important the right people were part of the conversation, as we operated and implemented change in a female-coded space. Initially, there was concern that it would turn into a regular provision rather than an emergency source. The question was raised around the products being stolen but Mike’s response was that the person would obviously ‘be in need’ if that was the case and it’s about the wider community. It hasn’t happened.

The process was pretty streamlined. We researched and prioritised writing the policy, had it checked by the Gender at Work team, and then implemented it so it could start functioning for our people.

Menopause is normalised now, and people are comfortable talking openly about it. It's cool to see this.”

What's coming up or important in this space from your perspective?

“Keeping in with communities is important. And helping people feel safe with a sense of belonging. Everyone deserves to work at a place where they are accepted and free from the BS. Using myself as an example, I don’t meet the societal stereotype of a gay man. So, I have to prepare myself for people being shocked by it when it comes up in conversation. Some days, if I’m feeling low it can be tough. If I were job hunting, for instance, if I can’t see a company is safe in terms of rainbow policies and their commitment to this, I wouldn't go near them.

The next generation coming through is great – many don’t even see the need to ‘come out’, focusing instead on just being themselves and letting their true self shine through.

We have pledged to progress towards all gender identities having a safe environment, equal opportunities, and a workplace where they belong and can feel included.”

Thank you to Find Recruitment for their involvement in our Member Spotlight series. If you would like your workplace to be highlighted as part of this ongoing series please get in touch.