In front of a roomful of the world’s most influential staffing and workforce leaders, RCSA shone bright. In the bustling city of Lisbon, CEO Charles Cameron collected the award for Excellence in Advocacy on behalf of the Association and its New Zealand Members.
“To be recognised for our efforts in the advocacy space on the world stage is a testament to the hard work done behind the scenes by our advocacy team and our dedicated New Zealand members, says Charles.
“New Zealand, this is for you. A win for Aotearoa and a win for the staffing industry.”
The award recognised the effort of RCSA and its members in advocating to support the industry against detrimental changes proposed to New Zealand’s All of Government (AOG) recruitment procurement tender. The changes threatened supply of critical candidates into government roles in the midst of a post-Covid talent crisis. The proposal of a radical new pricing model threatened to decimate fees paid for sourcing niche, high calibre and in demand talent.
“If these changes had gone through, they would have threatened the viability of many small and medium sized businesses and well as established divisions within larger organisations, explains Charles.
“There would have been little certainty or sustainability for staffing firms supplying on the terms of the tender, which would ultimately undermine access to much needed talent for the NZ government into the future.
“RCSA, its New Zealand members and their government clients were aligned in their concerns about the implications of these proposals. RCSA was quick to engage with stakeholders and government the minute the proposal was released.
“We lobbied hard, and we won.”
Through its advocacy efforts RCSA was initially able to get the tender paused, before being removed from market altogether, redesigned and re-issued. It was the first Government tender in recent history to have been removed from market after release and reissued.
Convincing the Government to withdraw its original plans for whole of government staffing panel arrangements was pivotal to the sustainability and success of a broad and diverse number of businesses across RCSA’s New Zealand membership.
“The process has strengthened our relationship with the NZ Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and with Agency procurement teams across Government. We now have a stronger industry a voice to government, says Charles.
“What started as a challenging shift in pricing that threatened the viability and sustainability of staffing firms supplying government, instead became an unrivalled opportunity to shift thinking around the way government and other clients view the value of their relationships with staffing firms.”
The win not only highlights the power behind being part of an association, but proves that at RCSA, we ARE stronger together.
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