Q&A With Pip O’Connell, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

We caught up with Pip O’Çonnell from MBIE and asked her a few questions about her upcoming talk at #RHUBNZ

Q. Can you tell us a bit about your background and current role at MBIE?
Both Jeff McDonald and myself have worked in the recruitment industry as recruitment consultants and key account managers. As Senior Procurement Analysts – Recruitment, we bring our industry experience and knowledge to the All of Government (AoG) contract. We are currently at a stage where we are gaining a more detailed understanding of how the All of Government contract is working for both providers and agencies in order to continually consider the on-going impact and improvement.

Q. How does procurement contribute to recruitment efficiency?
Procurement contributes to recruitment efficiency by following a consistent approach and leveraging on the total purchasing power of the New Zealand public sector. This is enabled by:
Effective contract management;
Negotiated rates;
Risk management (a consistent approach);
Reduced cost of engagement for both government agencies and providers;
Reports on spending and satisfaction (agencies and providers);
Standardised Terms and Conditions

Q. It’s been a year since MBIE started the AoG panel, can you shed some light on how it’s going?
After one year the success of the All of Government (AoG) Contract – Recruitment can be measured in its calculated savings and agency uptake. We currently have 68 participating government agencies – 72% are top 25 (government agency spend) and we regularly receive enquiries from eligible agencies about becoming participating agencies.

One main challenge is to increase the understanding of how the All of Government Contract – Recruitment works and what the benefits are. Our account management approach with both government agencies and providers allows us to effectively deal with issues raised and plan for the future.

Q. What will you be speaking about at the event?
At the RHUB conference Jeff McDonald and I will include the following topics in our presentation:

• Development of the All of Government – Recruitment contract;
• The process involved;
• Where we are now / current status;
• What people are saying/asking / feedback received, FAQs; and
• Future planning.

Pip O’Connell and Jeff McDonald will speak about the role of procurement and the AoG experiment at RHUBNZ on 9 Oct.