Our Work

Health New Zealand came to us with a recruitment challenge - they were on the lookout for candidates to fill highly-specialised Radiation Oncology roles. The skill shortage in this space was creating headaches in the healthcare system, particularly in the Southern region. This is a huge shortage of Radiation Oncologists, not just in New Zealand, but globally. So, finding talent in this market locally was tough, and recruiting from overseas wasn't looking any easier. Dunedin was really feeling the impact of this shortage, and Te Whatu Ora was worried that they may need to shut down their services in 2024 if they couldn't find the right candidates. Our first task was to fill the crucial roles of Radiation Oncologists in Dunedin to avoid their services shutting down. That meant searching beyond New Zealand and ensuring we nailed our recruitment to get the right people for the job, all while competing with the global demand for Oncologists. With just a few countries having the green light to practice Radiation Oncology in NZ, we knew we had our work cut out, but we were up for the challenge.

The good news was that Health NZ came to the right people for the job. We've got a solid history in international recruitment, and our dedicated team (mostly made up of expats themselves!) knew the ropes and could be there every step of the way for our international candidates.

What we understood was that, in the face of international competition, we couldn't just sell the role; we needed to sell Dunedin and Aotearoa New Zealand. Kicking off in May 2023, Haines launched an international sourcing effort for Radiation Oncologists in the Southern region. The campaign started its focus on recruiting for Dunedin and later expanded nationally, adopting a centralised approach to ensure brand continuity, cost-effectiveness and a solution that could be scaled up as needed.

As the campaign rolled out, international candidates showed interest, and applications started coming in. Our recruitment team was on top of things from day one, directly reaching out to potential candidates for one-on-one conversations about the prospect of living and working in New Zealand. They were able to provide authentic, first-hand advice on making the move, drawing from personal experiences of migrating here from places like the United Kingdom and Scotland.

As a result, our team has been in ongoing communication with about 40-50 Radiation Oncologists globally, the majority of whom had never previously thought about New Zealand before but were now considering it.

Since May, the initiative has resulted in 19 candidates in the pipeline who are looking to move over the next 2-3 years, 7 interviews conducted, 4 offers extended, and 2 candidates successfully placed.