Any NZ employer who offers a job to a foreigner already knows that everything, including a possible start date, depends on INZ issuing a visa. They can't influence INZ any more than you can influence INZ, so they should know that waiting is part of the whole situation.
And I should add that 6 months-ish or less for verification can well be the case AS LONG AS everyone who needs to reply saying that your evidence is true does so promptly - for instance, present employer, ex-employers, the institution that awarded your qualification(s), anyone testifying to your relationship. You can ask all such people please to watch out for INZ queries, and to deal with them as a matter of urgency (but obviously, you mustn't have anything directly to do with writing the answers). When the CO has had all the replies, s/he will decide on what decision to recommend, and then, at that point, the case will go to another department for 2pc.