Best Recruitment Agencies in Napier and Hastings
We assessed 15 recruitment agencies in Napier and Hastings and ranked the top 5 on public rating quality, review volume and how recent the reviews are. The businesses listed below hold 442 Google reviews between them. No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Last updated 9 October 2026. How we rank →
Before you hire
Whether you need temp staffing, a permanent hire or an executive search, recruitment agency fees vary widely, and the best agency for a role depends heavily on their network in your sector. Ask about their placement rate for roles similar to yours, how long placements typically take to fill, and what guarantee or replacement policy applies if a hire does not work out.
Top 5 Recruitment Agencies in Napier and Hastings
The top 5 recruitment agencies in Napier and Hastings are #1 RWR Health, #2 Tradestaff, #3 Pursuit, #4 Manawa Recruitment, and #5 Adecco Hawke's Bay, ranked by Top5 score. Scroll for our take on each, plus what to ask before you hire.
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1
RWR Health - Lower North Island
★ 5.0 96 reviews +1 Top5 Score 160 +25★ 96RWR Health places nurses, health professionals, and community sector candidates into new roles, including international relocations to New Zealand, with a process that spans job matching through to contract negotiation. Jeanette and the team keep candidates informed at each stage, check in after the first day on the job, and actively advocate for the best offer rather than simply closing the placement.
location_on 207 Avenue Road East, Hastings
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2
Tradestaff Hawke's Bay
↑ 1★ 4.8 61 reviews +1 Top5 Score 154 +55★ 55 4★ 4 3★ 1 1★ 1Tradestaff moves candidates from sign-up to placement quickly, with multiple reviewers starting work within a week and some going on to secure permanent roles with clients like Napier City Council. Consultants like Tania and Juan check in regularly throughout assignments and work to match placements to individual circumstances, including study schedules and entry-level experience.
location_on 3/1128 Omahu Road, Twyford
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3
Pursuit Limited
↓ 1★ 4.8 77 reviews -1 Top5 Score 1535★ 69 4★ 5 2★ 1 1★ 2Pursuit gets job seekers ready for work by updating CVs and running them through the process in a way that leaves people feeling prepared rather than overwhelmed. Consultants like Aiyleen and Laura are noted for taking time to listen and making appointments feel relaxed, which helps candidates who may not have engaged with recruiters before.
location_on Flaxmere Community Centre 30 Swansea Road, Flaxmere, Hastings
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4
Manawa Recruitment
★ 5.0 54 reviews Top5 Score 1515★ 54Manawa Recruitment focuses on engineering and construction roles, placing candidates in civil, structural, and building services positions, including people relocating internationally with no existing New Zealand connections. Kerry builds long-term relationships with candidates, with multiple people still in roles he placed them in five, ten, or even eleven years later, pointing to a strong record of matching people to the right fit rather than just filling vacancies.
location_on 66 Munroe Street, Napier
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5
Adecco Hawke's Bay/Te Matau-a-Māui - Recruitment Agency
★ 4.6 52 reviews Top5 Score 146 +35★ 45 4★ 1 3★ 2 1★ 4Adecco Hawke's Bay places candidates into roles at employers like McCain Foods, and consultants like Cayne, Aletta, and Judith work to get people placed even when other agencies have turned them down. They supply work gear including boots, helmets, and hi-viz where needed, and follow up on candidate wellbeing at each workplace throughout the assignment.
location_on 117 Market Street North, Hastings
Before you hire a recruitment agency in Napier and Hastings
Drawn from 128 customer reviews collected for this page. The first answer is what it costs.
What do recruitment agencies typically charge in New Zealand? expand_more
Employer clients pay the agency fee, never job seekers. Fees for permanent placements run from 10% to 20% of the candidate's first-year salary, with most roles sitting in the 12% to 15% range.
Senior, executive, or specialist roles can attract fees of 20% to 25% of annual salary. Charging a fee directly to a job seeker is illegal under the Employment Relations Act 2000, and any worker asked to pay can file a complaint with the Labour Inspectorate.
How do I know if an agency specialises in my industry or role type? expand_more
Ask directly how many roles matching your type they placed in the past 12 months, and whether they have a dedicated consultant for your sector. Agencies focused on a specific field, such as health, trades, early childhood, or rural industries, tend to produce faster and better-matched placements than generalists.
Reviews here show that sector-specific agencies were able to connect candidates with relevant roles quickly, often within days, because their existing candidate and client networks were already aligned. A generalist agency placing you in an unfamiliar sector will often rely on job boards rather than direct relationships, which slows the process and risks a poor fit.
What happens if the placement doesn't work out? expand_more
Replacement guarantees in New Zealand run from 8 to 12 weeks for most permanent placements, extending to 3 to 6 months for senior roles, and the standard remedy is a free replacement search rather than a cash refund. The guarantee is only triggered if you give the agency written notice promptly within the specified window, so do not delay if a placement fails.
Read the service agreement carefully before signing, noting conditions that void the guarantee, such as redundancy, a change to the role description, or conduct on the employer's side. Negotiate the guarantee period and its terms upfront, because recruitment agencies in New Zealand operate under no licensing regime and these protections are entirely a matter of contract.
What are the warning signs of a recruitment agency you shouldn't use? expand_more
- –Poor communication between first contact and placement is a red flag; one negative review flagged messages being seen but repeatedly ignored, with no follow-up from the consultant.
- –Watch for vague or inconsistent explanations about why your application is not progressing, which can indicate a consultant is managing too many candidates without proper attention to each.
- –Be cautious if an agency fails to check visa or eligibility requirements before inviting you to induction, wasting your time with a rejection that should have been caught earlier.
- –Slow initial response time after you register is a signal of disorganisation; reviews highlight that the better agencies made contact and offered work within one to two days of sign-up.
- –Avoid agencies that cannot clearly describe their screening process for candidates, as vague answers suggest they may forward CVs without meaningful assessment.
- –If an agency gives you no visibility on the status of your application and stops proactively reaching out, that pattern is unlikely to improve once a placement is made.
What should you ask before engaging a recruitment agency? expand_more
- –Ask how they screen candidates before presenting them to an employer, including reference checks, skills assessment, and any eligibility or visa verification steps.
- –Confirm in writing exactly how fees are calculated, what is included in that fee, and whether any additional costs apply for advertising, psychometric testing, or background checks.
- –Ask what their replacement guarantee period is, what triggers it, and what specific conditions would void it, then get those terms in the signed agreement before the search begins.
- –Ask how long the process typically takes from brief to shortlist for roles similar to yours, and request examples of recent placements in your sector or role type.
- –Establish upfront how communication will work: how often you will receive updates, who your dedicated contact will be, and what happens if that person is unavailable.
- –Ask whether they have an active candidate pool relevant to your needs or whether they will be sourcing from scratch, as the answer will directly affect how quickly you see results.
Also recommended recruitment agencies in Napier and Hastings
Ranked 6 to 10 on the same public review record.
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6
OneStaff
↓ 2★ 4.8 43 reviews Top5 Score 1455★ 39 4★ 2 2★ 1 1★ 1OneStaff connects candidates to roles across recycling, roading, and general labour, often placing people within a day or two of first contact. Consultants like Ashlee, Sarah, and Kristan make regular check-in calls throughout assignments to catch any issues early and sort them out quickly.
location_on 718 Karamu Road North, Mayfair, Hastings
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7
ALH Hawkes Bay Labour Hire & Recruitment
★ 5.0 15 reviews +2 Top5 Score 136 +55★ 15ALH Hawkes Bay keeps casual workers in steady employment by actively seeking out new assignments rather than waiting for candidates to follow up, with consultants like Daniel, Jade, and Hayley noted for scheduling work around personal and study commitments. Candidates who had signed up with multiple agencies report ALH as the first or only one to come through with actual placements.
location_on 125 Queen Street East, Hastings
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8
Equip Recruitment Hawkes Bay
↓ 2★ 5.0 15 reviews Top5 Score 134 +15★ 15Equip Recruitment turns around placements in days, with multiple candidates moving from sign-up to a permanent full-time role within a week. Consultants like Sonya, Matt, and Helena stay reachable throughout the process, including over the Christmas and New Year period, and keep candidates updated with regular communication until a position is secured.
location_on 201 King Street North, Hastings
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9
Able Personnel
↓ 1★ 4.2 20 reviews +1 Top5 Score 1285★ 15 4★ 1 2★ 1 1★ 3Able Personnel takes time at the initial meeting to understand what a candidate actually wants from a role, including their motivations and working preferences, before making suggestions. Consultants like Jane, Mel, Tracy, and Darnah maintain contact through the placement process and follow up to check how people are settling in, including during temp assignments.
location_on Level One/143 Dalton Street, Napier South, Napier
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10
Toi Toi Recruitment
★ 5.0 9 reviews Top5 Score 1285★ 9Toi Toi Recruitment specialises in early childhood education staffing, placing qualified and unqualified kaiako into relieving and permanent roles across ECE centres. Their app lets centre managers book specific relievers they already know, and consultants like Tessa and Te Paea are available for calls, advice, and personal support well beyond a standard job-matching service.
location_on 258 Havelock Road, Akina, Hastings
About this ranking
What the 10 recruitment agencies listed above hold, at the 9 October 2026 check.
We first assessed recruitment agencies in Napier and Hastings in July 2026 and have rechecked the ranking twice since. RWR Health has held first place at every check, and Tradestaff, Pursuit and Adecco Hawke's Bay have been in the top 5 alongside it throughout. Across the 14 locations we assess recruitment agencies in, the 130 businesses listed have a median rating of 4.8, and one-star reviews are 2.8% of their total.
What has changed since July 2026? expand_more
- Oct 2026
Scoring method updated. Manawa Recruitment entered the top 5 at #4. OneStaff left the top 5, down to #6. Toi Toi Recruitment returned to the list at #10.
- Aug 2026
Able Personnel entered the list at #8.
- Jul 2026
First check. RWR Health #1.
How are the top recruitment agencies in Napier and Hastings chosen? expand_more
We build this page from Google Maps results for recruitment agencies in Napier and Hastings. Each one is scored on its public rating and review record. Businesses outside the area, or whose reviews describe a different line of work, are left out, and a business whose main Google category is a different trade is held back until a person has checked what it does. A business whose website no longer resolves and that has had no Google review for six months is treated as dormant and left off the page until either changes. Every category and city is rechecked on a rolling cycle, about every two to three months. A location with a subscribing business is rechecked every month, and the whole page updates with it. See how we rank for the full method.
What does a business subscription offer? expand_more
No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Claiming and verifying a listing is free. It adds a phone number to the card and a small trust bonus (+3 points) to its score, for confirming a real operator stands behind the listing. The owner also gets a dashboard showing how their score is made up. A paid subscription provides an enhanced card with more ways to reach the business, including a website link and a detailed profile page. It also refreshes this page monthly and adds ranking history and competitor analysis to the owner's dashboard. The subscription adds nothing to the score. Claim your listing or see what a subscription includes.
Why isn't my business listed? expand_more
We build this page from Google Maps results for recruitment agencies in Napier and Hastings. The usual reasons for missing out are a Google Business category that does not match, too few reviews to score near the top, or an address outside the area we cover. Sometimes we miss a business that should be here. Check where you rank first. If you are not there and think you should be, get in touch.