Rotorua father swaps sharemilking for supermarkets in midlife career change

Cliff McKenzie is the grocery and storeroom manager at Rotorua’s Pak’nSave.

Rotorua father Cliff McKenzie used to wake up at 4am every day to milk cows on a dairy farm in Galatea.

That was until just over a decade ago, when he sold his herd and went to work at a Four Square.

Since swapping sharemilking for supermarkets, 47-year-old McKenzie has worked his way up to the grocery and storeroom manager at Rotorua’s Pak’nSave and aims to own a supermarket within the next couple of years.

He shared the story of his midlife career switch this week, a time when a recruitment agent says many Kiwis may be returning from holiday considering changing jobs.

His advice to anyone in that position was to give it a go: “Fail forward, I say.”

McKenzie told the Rotorua Daily Post his uncles were farmers, so he grew up baling hay on holidays.

“[I] just got to love it from there, really.”

Originally from Whakatāne, McKenzie started working as a sharemilker on a Galatea dairy farm at age 26.

Cliff McKenzie during his early sharemilking days.

He sold his cows in 2013. At the time, he was also running two online businesses which replaced his farming income.

McKenzie said the Four Square in Murupara owner suggested he look into Foodstuffs, which also owns brands including New World, Pak’nSave and Gilmours.

McKenzie said he started working at Four Square in Fordlands about 10 years ago, filling shelves and working at the checkouts.

He started at the bottom and worked his way up, he said.

In 2018, he joined the team at Pak’nSave Rotorua where he has worked since.

He said his dairy farming experience helped with the early starts, sometimes 5am.

‘Just give it a go’

McKenzie said the main challenge with his career change was working with people.

“Cows don’t answer back,” he said with a laugh.

“[I] had to become a team player. It’s been good.”

McKenzie said he most enjoyed the “diversity” of working in the supermarket sector.

“Every day seems to be different. Even though we sort of do the same stuff.”

His two children also work at Pak’nSave Rotorua which he enjoyed: “You get to see their growth as well.”

Daughter Bailey is the store’s duty manager and is keen to go down the store ownership pathway, while son Casey, who works in grocery, is showing promise too.

His message to anyone who might be considering a midlife career change was “just give it a go”.

“You don’t want to be looking back and going, ‘I should’ve done that’.”

McKenzie is one of the staff featuring in a Pak’nSave national recruitment video series.

Pak’nSave Rotorua owner-operator Amanda Elliot said in a press release the company was “big on investing in our people” and supported McKenzie’s development as he showed his passion for continuous improvement, leadership and customer service.

Cliff McKenzie joined the team at Pak'nSave Rotorua in 2018. Photo / Andrew Warner

The store had 240 team members and many customers visiting daily, and McKenzie’s leadership had been “instrumental” in streamlining operations, creating a stronger team and improving the customer experience.

He also mentored staff, implementing a 90-day training plan for new team members, and encouraging a culture of inclusivity and diversity.

New year, new you - new job?

Eden Hepi, marketing co-ordinator at Personnel Resources’ Rotorua office, said people generally started looking at what they wanted in their lives moving into a new year.

“Obviously you have all the New Year’s resolutions ... and a lot of that sometimes is looking at a change in your job.

“We do tend to see a lot more people ... looking for work.”

She said work was “a big chunk of your life” and people wanted their workplace to be somewhere they enjoyed going.

Hepi said there were not as many listings in the Christmas and New Year period, but this would hopefully increase after January and February when more companies looked at filling any gaps.

“We do just really encourage candidates … to actually just have the conversation that you’re looking for new work because sometimes it’s just word of mouth of where you’d get your new job.”

Hepi said agencies could sometimes let candidates know of jobs that were not being advertised.

“It’d be awesome to get more candidates that are looking for a career change or wanting to jump to a new role or just upskill.”

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.