Over the past few weeks, ACE New Zealand and Projectworks have sat around tables with engineering leaders from across the country. Regardless of region, size or speciality, the message we’ve heard from businesses is the same – the pipeline is starting to pick up.
But those early signs of a rebound are forcing leaders into a tough corner – when’s the right time to hire, invest and build capability again, especially when you’ve just survived the most gruelling two years in recent memory?
1. Sell first, hire second
There’s widespread unease across the country about hiring too early, and for good reason. Many firms held on tightly to their best people throughout the downturn, banking on the tap turning back on. Leaders felt like they’ve been shouting “it’s coming!” for two years now, only for the promised flood of projects to remain stuck in the Government’s strategy pipeline.
Everyone knows recruitment is essential, but all the founders, chief executives and chief operating officers we spoke with agreed that the work needs to come first. The phrase “sell first, build later” came up repeatedly. It’s not about playing defence; it’s about holding your line until you’ve got the right projects in place to support new headcount.
The risk of overhiring now isn’t just financial – it’s cultural. Your existing team has stuck with you through lean times. Adding new people before you have meaningful work for them can create resentment, dilute focus and risk morale.
2. Mind the gap
While junior and senior engineering talent are (relatively) available, many firms – especially in Wellington – are worried about how a mid-career vacuum is going to impact their ability to deliver the work when it arrives.
A generation of technical experts have moved to Australia, lured by better pay and clearer career pathways. These are the people who typically lead delivery, and the ones who know how to run a project without needing constant oversight.
The fear we heard from leaders was real: when the work finally lands, we won’t have the depth to deliver it to the standard expected.
You can’t fill that gap with graduates, and parachuting in seniors won’t fix it either. For many leaders, the answer lies in internal development – using this ‘quiet before the storm’ to identify emerging leaders, build their delivery capability fast, and arm them with smarter systems that reduce their admin load, and free them up to focus on the real work.
3. AI isn’t a shortcut
AI came up at every table, with almost every leader. Leaders weren’t afraid of it but they were clear that AI can’t be allowed to erode engineering judgment, trust or credibility. One hallucinated output, one error in a report, one poorly trained prompt – and years of brand value could go out the window, just as their firm is getting back on its feet.
Many are experimenting with AI in admin and support roles, things like RFP drafting, code lookups, or internal comms. But when it comes to core design, safety-critical work, or anything requiring sign-off, experienced human engineers are the only tool for the job.
Humans might be the right tool for the job today, but multiple leaders shared a cautionary tale around dismissing AI for the bigger stuff. When computers hit the industry, many firms missed the wave and lost ground permanently. The AI wave feels similar, but even the high-tech firms are cautious: test small, roll out slowly, train your people well, and align tech with both culture and process.
4. Invest in productivity, not just people
Hiring isn’t the only way, or even the best way, to prepare for more work. The most progressive firms in the room weren’t staffing up. They were doubling down on internal systems, leadership development and delivery tools.
One team of leaders shared how they’re using the quieter months to upskill project managers, invest in tools like Projectworks, and sharpen delivery planning across the business. That means when the work does arrive, they’re not scrambling to scale. They’re ready to hit go with a team that operates efficiently, backed by systems that surface risk, capacity and financial performance early.
Contrast that with some horror stories from other firms – software systems worth hundreds of thousands of dollars that needed full-time staff just to make sense of, or bloated ERPs that outpaced the team using them. Leaders should be adopting software and systems that fit them today and scale with them tomorrow – not heavyweight ones that require three new hires just to get going.
5. Diversify, or spend another two years on the rollercoaster
Leader after leader expressed deep frustration – not just at central government, but at the sense of powerlessness that comes from being almost entirely reliant on it.
The project pipeline is still lagging way behind infrastructure promises. Property, infrastructure, health – they’re all still in the planning phase, with real work trickling through painfully slowly.
The firms seeing the most green shoots are those who have already diversified across markets, geographies and sectors. Some were expanding into aerospace. Others into grid and transmission. Some had taken Kiwi capability global, feeding their teams offshore projects during the downturn. It’s not without risk – but it’s building a hell of a lot of resilience.
Engineering firms like Groundline, Lumen and Ruamoko Innovation are examples of this in action: backing innovation, chasing opportunity and building systems that help them track delivery performance across disciplines.
If you’re keen to hear how Groundline General Manager Kyle James has scaled his firm from seven to 90 people by expanding to markets outside of New Zealand, join his conversation with Projectworks Chief Executive Mark Orttung on growing a firm, without fumbling your margins – or mental health.
The work is coming. The question isn’t whether to get ready – it’s how. For firms willing to think differently about their people, their tech and their pipeline, this isn’t a time for caution – it’s a time for smart, deliberate action.
Webinar: Tough calls leaders make on hiring, projects and technology
27 August 2025 // 12-1pm // Via Zoom
This webinar is designed to help consulting leaders make sense of 2025’s challenges: political and economic uncertainty, talent drain and the pressure to act without clear pipeline visibility.
Through peer insights and practical strategies, we’ll explore how to lead with confidence and clarity – because the choices made now will define the firms of 2030 and beyond.
Find out more and register here
This article was brought to you in paid partnership with Projectworks.