This report presents high-level findings from the 2009 Employers of Migrants survey. The primary objective of the survey is to assess the benefits and issues associated with employing migrants. It also aims to monitor whether Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is meeting the needs of employers, from the initial policy framework through to the settlement services provided.
The report is broken into two main areas:
- The recruitment and employment of migrants
- Retention and settlement issues
Employers were selected from a database of those who have had contact with an INZ Relationship Manager. This database was used to enable us to report on customer satisfaction with INZ Relationship Managers and also because these employers were likely to have migrant employees.
A total of 1,065 employers were in the database, and of these, 942 employers were eligible and had correct contact details. All of these employers were invited to take part in the survey. The survey could be completed online or by telephone.
Methodology
The Department of Labour contracted Research New Zealand to undertake the 2009 survey.
The 2009 survey is a pilot of the new questionnaire and method. It is intended to repeat this survey on a regular basis.
Response rate
Employers were selected from a database of those who have had contact with an INZ Relationship Manager. This database was used to enable us to report on customer satisfaction with INZ Relationship Managers and also because these employers were likely to have migrant employees.
A total of 1,065 employers were in the database, and of these, 942 employers were eligible and had correct contact details. All of these employers were invited to take part in the survey. The survey could be completed online or by telephone.
A total of 424 employers completed the survey, 264 respondents online and 160 interviewed by telephone, giving a 45 percent response rate.
The questionnaire
This survey includes the use of the Common Measurement Tool (CMT) questions as advocated by the State Services Commission. These are benchmark questions that will be used going forward and will allow for comparisons with other users of the CMT. These include other Department of Labour users and external users, both nationally and global.
Key Results
- More than four-fifths (87 percent) of employers said they rated their migrant employees as good or very good.
- Employers who had tried to find a New Zealander before hiring a migrant reported not being able to find someone with the right skills (83 percent) as the main reason they didn’t hire a New Zealander.
- For the employers that reported challenges in hiring a migrant, language difficulties was the most common issue (43 percent).
- Almost half (44 percent) the migrants that had left an employer in the previous 12 months had worked there longer than 12 months, whilst 17 percent had worked there less than 6 months.
- The most common reason for a migrant leaving was to return to their country of origin (23 percent).