How Water New Zealand built a trusted recruitment partnership with Talent
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Trusted workforce planning partner
Reshaping roles to drive organisational efficiency and growth through a 100% exclusive partnership -
100% retention
with every permanent placement still thriving in role -
100% offer acceptance rate
across permanent and contract offers
Their story
Water New Zealand is the country’s largest water industry body, representing over 3,000 members across councils, Crown Research Institutes, consultancies, suppliers, and government agencies. As a not-for-profit, it provides leadership in water management, driving collaboration, professional development, and advocacy for sustainable practices across the Three Waters – drinking, waste, and stormwater.
In 2024, Water New Zealand’s CEO Gillian Blythe was introduced to Talent through a peer referral. Needing an Executive Assistant, she was told: “Reach out to Talent, they’ll sort this out for you.” That initial placement proved transformational and marked the beginning of an exclusive, long-term partnership.
The challenge
With a lean team of less than 15 employees, every hire at Water New Zealand plays a critical role in business continuity and impact. The CEO needed a partner she could trust to:
- Rapidly source and secure talent across permanent and contract needs without diverting internal resources
- Build confidence that candidates would be a cultural as well as technical fit
- Support workforce planning by helping to shape roles that would drive growth and efficiency
The solution
The Talent team in Wellington became Water New Zealand’s exclusive and retained recruitment partner, working as an extension of their team. For every brief, our focus was to present a concise, top set of candidates aligned to both the role requirements and organisational culture.
Our candidate shortlisting process:
- Executive Assistant: 5 candidates shortlisted → all 5 interviewed
- Marketing Lead: 5 candidates shortlisted → all 5 interviewed
- Accounts Assistant: 1 candidate shortlisted → 1 interviewed
Since May 2024, we’ve supported them with a mix of permanent and contract hiring, including:
- Executive Assistant (Perm)
- Marketing Lead (Perm)
- Accounts Assistant (Perm & Contract)
- Training Coordinator (Contract)
Our approach combined targeted sourcing, candidate network activation, and a collaborative interview process, ensuring every placement was the right fit technically and culturally.
The result
This partnership has delivered measurable impact across multiple dimensions:
- Retention & acceptance: 100% of permanent placements remain in role, and all offers (perm and contract) accepted.
- High impact contractors: One contractor proved so successful that their engagement was extended four times.
- Efficient shortlisting: Our shortlists consistently hit the mark for all briefs that all shortlisted candidates were taken to panel interviews with the client.
Transformational Roles:
- Executive Assistant: A newly created role that has been described as “life-changing” for the CEO. With administrative responsibilities lifted, she now has the capacity to focus on strategic leadership.
- Marketing Lead: Previously an entry-level role, we advised reshaping it into a leadership position. The appointed candidate has driven significant change, transforming marketing performance and strengthening the organisation’s profile.
What began with a single Executive Assistant hire has become an ongoing partnership, where Water New Zealand now see Talent not just as a recruiter, but as a trusted extension of their organisation and a partner who understands their people, their mission, and the unique challenges of operating in the water sector.
