April marks the month of the beginning of Peopleconnexion in PNG, back in 2014. Since then, I am both proud and humbled of how the Peopleconnexion PNG (PXP) arm of the business has grown. The directors were called crazy to extend our business into a country like PNG, where the risk was apparently high and potential for getting paid was low. However, that wasn’t a problem for us as we value growth and challenge, as individuals and a company. For the first year of operation, we ran Peopleconnexion PNG out of our Brisbane office, which only antagonised the doubts.
Against the odds we were faced, and the belief of our market and prospective clients in PNG, when the time came to set up shop in POM, we were already proving our capabilities and our strength as an organisation. We’ve built our team and client base from scratch and now we service some of the country’s leading organisations in recruitment, payroll and learning & development.
From knocking on doors, to presenting at conferences and upskilling some of the country’s biggest leaders, this month we have much to not only celebrate, but as is one of our key values – be humble about.
In eight years, we have transitioned from specialising in permanent recruitment to offering a full-service suite including:
- Contract recruitment
- Graduate Programs
- Payroll management
- Salary survey’s
- Engagement Surveys
- Expatriate recruitment and visa support
- Learning and development workshops and training programs
- HR services (remuneration advice, assessment centres, psychometric testing)
Most importantly, we’ve built up our valuable networks and long-term relationships, writing success stories with hundreds of candidates, clients and countless organisations.
We have made great strides in contributing to the legacy of PNG’s people and organisations, which is what we set out to do, and have remained passionate about doing since. After building up our relationships with clients, we saw an opportunity to bring our expertise in learning and development from South Africa to support our clients who were struggling with candidates not holding sufficient soft skills and in providing professional development opportunities to their staff. And so, the birth of the organization’s third business was born – Peopleconnexion Training.
We also identified the opportunity to assist our clients, and the wider PNG market with salary and remuneration information, when we were continuously being faced with client queries about what the standards for their people should be. Since then, we have collected data from over 10,000 Papua New Guineans and expats working in PNG, and have been trusted with major international organisations’ salary information in PNG.
It wouldn’t be a complete celebration without recognising the commitment the team continues to bring towards our value of giving back to PNG. For 5 years, we have been involved in PNG’s Buk Bilong Pikinini, and each year when the collection period comes around it quickly becomes one of our favourite times of the year. Collecting almost 30,000 books since we became involved in the drive, we feel privileged that we can not just give opportunities to our clients and candidates, but to the community too.
If you know us well, you’ll know that we love stats and let the numbers speak for themselves:
For this years’ Birthday, we caught up with our PNG Country Manager, Stephen Mead, who has been with us since setting up shop in POM, and who has been instrumental in PXP’s success.
What have been some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in PNG over the last 8 years?
“As a country, we’ve overcome some major challenges, which has made our organisation’s success so much more rewarding. One of the major challenges was internet connection, which slowly improved over the years, however Peopleconnexion PNG was the first recruitment agency in PNG to digitize a lot of process – e.g., payroll/timesheeting/payments, recruitment.”
“Another challenge has been the government’s changing approaches to projects, which has led to drawn out discussions and decision-making, ultimately impacting the candidate and client market and requiring our consultants to really be flexible and adaptable to the climate – which they have always excelled in. Finally, the pandemic was a hit none of us saw coming but we are grateful to have had systems at Peopleconnexion which allowed our staff to continue productivity throughout various lockdowns and disruptions, where many organisations weren’t as fortunate.”
Since setting up shop in 2014, what have been some of your fondest memories as the Country Manager’?
“I went from an established entity overseeing 50+ staff, to a new player in the market and worked to establish it from the ground up; and I am greatly humbled to have been a key person in this process and registering some major accounts.”
“I wouldn’t be an effective recruiter if I didn’t say that it isn’t just my own wins but the wins we provide our candidates and clients alike. As in our name, our ‘way of being’ here at Peopleconnexion has always been the people and relationships we build with candidates and clients. Also having many memories of meets with colleagues both from POM and Australia. For me, it’s really been about working with a spirited team who aim high, play hard and have fun along the way.”
What are three key lessons you have learnt about Recruitment in PNG?
- No matter how much experience you amass, there’s always something that can be done better
- Respect each other. We are all intertwined and interdependent across industry
- Not accepting sub-standards, anyone deserves to have better
What are your comments on how the organisation has grown and developed since 2014?
“The company continues to grow in key competencies across the technical areas, as well as in soft skills which unlock positive performance behaviours. We continue to grasp cross-cultural learning opportunities both on the job, as well as through programs which was evidenced earlier this year when our Training Department launched the Cultural Intelligence program, piloted on our own staff. We continuously share our learnings in both semi-formal and formal discussions, under safe conditions and in a supportive environment. I have seen many team members grow in their confidence, understanding of others in the team and the respective backgrounds and appreciation of the various markets that we operate.”
All of our success can only be attributed to the help of some key contacts and employees with people like, Lesieli Taviri, current Director, James Gore, past Director, Jean Kilner, past Principal Consultant for Peopleconnexion Training, and Jackson Zabal, who helped with Business Development – all whom were instrumental to us setting up shop in a new environment, and supported myself and the other Directors through what most would say were a tough a few years.
Here is a share of our trip down memory lane!
I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of our valued clients, candidates and connections, as without you all, Peopleconnexion PNG would not be where it is today! I also extend gratitude to the dedicated team on the ground in POM who continue to remain dedicated and committed to the organisation.
With lots of exciting projects in the pipeline and government commitment to the economic recovery of PNG, I am excited for what the future holds and look forward to the journey with you all.
Kristine
CEO and Managing Director, Peopleconnexion