At a recent NZAGE Forum, the winners of the 2025 NZAGE Best Partnership Award, Eagle Technology and Talent Solutions – Early Talent Specialists, shared how a long-standing graduate programme evolved into a more structured and scalable early talent pipeline.

Their story offers useful insights for employers looking to strengthen attraction, selection, development and retention outcomes within their own early careers programmes.

Building on Strong Foundations

Eagle Technology has invested in early talent development for more than 15 years. Its graduate programme has played an important role in developing capability within New Zealand’s GIS and geospatial sector, providing graduates with technical training, mentoring and exposure to different parts of the business.

By 2022, the programme was already delivering positive outcomes. However, the graduate market was changing. Competition for talent was increasing, graduate expectations were evolving, and many students had limited awareness of GIS as a career path.

Rather than asking how to fix the programme, Eagle Technology asked a different question:

How do we ensure a successful programme continues to succeed in a changing market?

Starting With Research

Eagle Technology partnered with Talent Solutions to conduct a comprehensive review of its early talent programme.

The review examined the entire graduate experience, from attraction and selection through to development and retention. Input was gathered from multiple sources, including graduates, hiring managers, recruitment data and wider market research.

Several common themes emerged:

• Graduates wanted clearer visibility of career progression and development opportunities.
• Hiring managers wanted greater consistency in candidate assessment.
• Many students had limited understanding of GIS careers and the opportunities available at Eagle Technology.
• The programme’s strengths were not always being communicated effectively to potential applicants.

Importantly, the review highlighted that recruitment could not be viewed in isolation.

Attraction, assessment, development and retention were all connected.

Creating a More Integrated Approach

The findings led to a broader rethink of Eagle Technology’s early careers strategy.

Rather than focusing solely on increasing application numbers, the partnership focused on building a stronger end-to-end talent pipeline.

Several initiatives were introduced over time, including:

1. A Clear Graduate Value Proposition

Research showed that graduates who had completed the programme spoke positively about their experiences. The opportunity was to communicate those strengths more clearly to prospective candidates.

Refining the graduate value proposition helped students better understand what made Eagle Technology different and what they could expect from a career in the organisation.

2. A Competency Framework

Hiring managers already understood the attributes that contributed to success within the organisation, including:

• Self-drive
• Accountability
• Teamwork
• Ownership
• Willingness to learn

These qualities were formalised into Eagle Technology’s broader competency framework, aligning the Graduate Programme with the capabilities and behaviours valued across the organisation. The framework then became a foundation for recruitment, assessment and development activities within the programme.

3. More Structured Assessment

The partnership introduced structured interviews, scoring matrices and consistent assessment criteria.

This created a more evidence-based approach to hiring and helped improve fairness, consistency and confidence in recruitment decisions.

4. Stronger Candidate Communication

The recruitment process was redesigned to provide candidates with a clearer understanding of both the role and the organisation.

Students received information throughout the recruitment journey, helping them make informed decisions and maintain engagement throughout the process.

5. Ongoing Programme Review

Rather than treating the review as a one-off exercise, Eagle Technology and Talent Solutions established an annual cycle of planning, delivery, review and improvement.

Each intake provides new insights that can be used to refine future recruitment and development activities.

The Results

The partnership has delivered a range of positive outcomes.

Eagle Technology reported:

• Increased application numbers.
• Greater representation from universities across New Zealand.
• Broader access to talent from different locations and backgrounds.
• Improved candidate engagement throughout the recruitment process.
• High completion rates during recruitment stages.
• A 100% offer acceptance rate.
• Greater consistency and confidence in hiring decisions.

Perhaps most importantly, the organisation has created a scalable model that can continue to evolve alongside changing candidate expectations and workforce needs.

Key Lessons for Employers

Several lessons emerged from Eagle Technology’s experience that will resonate with many graduate employers.

1. Listen to Stakeholders

Some of the most valuable insights came directly from graduates, interns, candidates and hiring managers.

Understanding the experiences of those closest to the programme helped identify opportunities that may otherwise have been missed.

2. Build for the Long Term

Short-term recruitment outcomes matter, but successful programmes are designed to support future workforce capability.

Every improvement should contribute to a stronger long-term talent pipeline.

3. Measure, Review and Adapt

One of the biggest risks for established programmes is repeating the same process each year simply because it is familiar.

Regularly reviewing candidate feedback, application data and programme outcomes creates opportunities for continuous improvement.

4. Think Beyond Recruitment

Attraction, selection, development and retention should not be treated as separate activities.

The strongest programmes create a connected experience that supports people from their first interaction with an organisation through to their longer-term career development.

Looking Ahead

Eagle Technology and Talent Solutions will continue their partnership into 2026, building on the foundations established over recent years.

Their focus remains on continuous improvement rather than creating a programme that never changes.

As graduate expectations and market conditions continue to evolve, their approach demonstrates the value of regularly reviewing programmes, listening to stakeholders and treating early talent as a long-term investment.

For organisations considering a review of their own graduate or internship programme, the message was clear: start with your purpose, listen to your stakeholders, and focus on building a connected talent pipeline that supports future growth.

The full recording of this session can be watched on the NZAGE Members only YouTube Playlist. Mark your calendars for our next forum event with Auckland Transport on September 9th at 12pm.