BFM - June/July 2016 by Associated Media Group Pty Ltd

BUSINESSFIRST for Business Leaders

June/July 2016

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AVANADE’S SARAH ADAM-GEDGE Helping business build a digital culture

Peter Lock The culture of the customer owned bank

BUSINESS CHALLENGES THAT KEEP CEOS UP AT NIGHT

ELECTION 2016

Business leaders have their say

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MARCHING ELEPHANTS

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Range Rover’s Evoque’s updated design SONOMA WINE COUNTY A wine lover’s paradise

ASIA FINANCE MARKETING SALES SME and more

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BFM | CONTENTS

CONTENTS REGULARS 4 Editor’s Desk 5 News

SPECIAL FEATURE ELECTION 2016 8 The industry lowdown on the 2016 election 13 Infographic: Federal Budget Overview 14 EOFY 2016: It’s all about the money!

FEATURES

COVER STORY Why top down digital strategies are the way of the future As we move to more knowledge based businesses models, digital efficiencies are crucial to improve productivity in the workplace. Avanade’s Sara Adam-Gedge explains why. 48 Simple steps to improve your cash flow this tax time by Roger Mendelson

16 What keeps CEOs up at night?

54 How technology is changing the real estate industry by Kegan Harry 60 Demystifying customer communications management by Nick Dempsey 66 SMEs key to our nation’s growth by Julie Rynski

18 Why a franchise model could be an answer to the owner/driver pay dispute 20 Vision: Finding Purpose

74 The Internet of Things and Security: Is Your Enterprise Protected?

22 New protection rules needed to maximise whistleblowing

79 The logo so simple a child can draw it by Serguei Beloussov

PEER TO PEER

83 How to win at negotiation by Patrick Bright

24 China 2.0, index evolution and the mainstreaming of RI

87 The Year of the Sales Leader by Michael Lang

30 Information overload driving poor leadership and crippling employee loyalty by Mike Irving

90 Imputation bonds and superannuation

36 The 5 biggest teamwork ills by Dr. Mario Moussa

94 Destination –Hideaway – Sip and swirl your way through this agricultural wonderland

42 Why you should NEVER pre-sell your online course before it’s built by Sarah Cordiner

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LIFESTYLE

96 Fast lane – Range Rover Evoque – Updated design

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CONTENTS | BFM

BUSINESS FIRST LOUNGE 32 Leading the way in IVF treatment Dr Hamish Hamilton speaks with Business First about the serious business of fertility and Repromed’s role in helping families achieve their fertility aims. 38 Enabling social entrepreneurs Marching Elephants has become a profitable entity operating with a growing suite of clients and a clear vision that sets it apart in the social entrepreneur sector. 44 When people matter most Heritage Bank’s Peter Lock speaks about transitions in banking over 30 years and how customer-owned banking has changed the landscape. 50 Education and maturity Education is big business these days, bringing in almost $16 billion to the Australian economy.

38 76 The career cheerleader Part of Glenda May’s success, is the psychology-backed approach she takes to getting the best out of people.

80 Creating total security Established in 1969, the Australian Security Industry Association is the peak body of security professionals in Australia.

56 The transition of a c-suite executive For many people, the link between retail and executive coaching may seem strange; however John Joyce’s experience and strategic thought process makes a compelling case. 62 Power to the people Powershop’s business model is designed to let its customers know exactly how much power they’re using and what it costs before they get their bill. 68 Data takes a quantum leap If there is one thing in the world that is too big to ignore, it is the rise in the use of data and analytics. Enter Adam Driussi and Quantium. 72 Getting the good oil When Riverina Oils and BioEnergy (ROBE) opened its state-of- the-art plant in Wagga Wagga last year, it was one of the largest value-added food and agricultural investments in Australia in the last five years.

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84 Bringing financial investment security to the people FIIG Securities Mark Paton says getting the asset class on the map in this country was and is a big agenda.

88 Scanning the business landscape ADEC Preview Solutions is one of Australia’s leading document scanning and document archiving companies that also provides a vast range of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services. 92 Looking out to grow within Murrumbidgee Irrigation is one of the largest private irrigation companies in Australia and, having been established in 1912 following the commissioning of Burrinjuck Dam in the Snowy Mountains, it is also one of the oldest.

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BF | EDITOR’S DESK

New age digital disruption Technology in the workplace and data analytics have transformed the way we do business. Statistics.com states: “As data continue to grow at a faster rate than either population or economic activity, so do organisations’ efforts to deal with the data deluge, and use it to capture value.” Technology and data go hand-hand and therefore businesses must be aware of how best to use technology to get the most from their data. According to a Forbes article “more data has been created in the past two years than in the entire previous history of the human race. “Data is growing faster than ever before and by the year 2020, about 1.7 megabytes of new information will be created every second for every human being on the planet. “By then, our accumulated digital universe of data will grow from 4.4 zettabytes today to around 44 zettabytes, or 44 trillion gigabytes.” Those numbers are somewhat intimidating, but for many businesses the management of that data is now part of their operational strategies. And if it’s not, it should be. The question is how do you integrate digital strategies into the workforce? And further to this, how do you digitise the workforce? In this issue Avanade’s Sarah Adam-Gedge and Quantum’s Adam Driussi, give insight into the role digitisation has in the workplace, how it affects employees and how data analytics can turn a business into a thriving customer-centric operation, with enormous reach and top-down buy-in. After all, it’s a powerful thing to analyse what your staff and customers want to build a better organisation. Bryan de Caires of ASIAL talks about security in the modern age, Repromed’s Hamish Hamilton gives us insight into IVF, Ed McManus reveals how sustainable practices are changing energy consumption and John Joyce and Glenda May discuss their different approaches to executive coaching. We feature Heritage Bank’s Peter Lock, FIIG Securities’ Mark Paton, Marching Elephants’ Andrew Roberts, Murrumbidgee Irrigation’s Brett Jones, ADEC Preview Solutions’ Eric Rollett and Riverina Oils and BioEnergy (ROBE)’s DD Saxena. If you want to fly away somewhere you may like to consider Sonoma Wine County; if you want to drive there in style from LAX, get off the plane and hire the new Evoque from Range Rover. Finally, we take a look at what Australia’s business groups think about the budget and the coming election. It’s another big issue, so take some time out, put the feet up and enjoy the read.

Jonathan Jackson Jonathan Jackson Editor, Business First Magazine

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www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au PUBLISHER Alan Hyman EDITOR Jonathan Jackson SUB-EDITOR Judy Hyman MEDIA & Gareth Roberts COMMUNICATION Jake O’Donnell Gavin McCullough WRITER Jonathan Green DESIGN Gino Hawkins PRODUCTION Danise Li Head Office Level 1, 33-35 Atchison St St Leonards NSW 2065 Advertising enquiries Phone: 02 8416 5294 Email: bfadvertising@amgroup.net.au Subscription enquiries Phone: 02 8416 5294 Email: bfsubscriptions@amgroup.net.au Contributors Darren Ash, Patrick Bright, Serguei Beloussov, John Corias, Stefan Crisp, Sarah Cordiner, Jack Delosa, Nick Dempsey, Chad Gates, Kegan Harry, Ross Higgins, Mike Irving, Michael Lang, Roger Lawrence, Roger Mendelson, Steven Minnet, Mario Moussa, Julie Rynski, Siobhan Sellick. Associated Media Group Pty Ltd ABN 68 123 058 926 Copyright ©2016 Associated Media Group amgroup.net.au DISCLAIMER Readers are advised that Business First Magazine and Associated Media Group (AMG) cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of statements made in the advertising. Opinions expressed throughout the publication are the contributors own and do not necessarily reflect views or policy of Business First Magazine or AMG. While every reasonable effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, AMG takes no responsibility for those relying on the information. AMG and Business First Magazine disclaim all responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by readers of third parties in connection with the information contained in this publication. WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY Advertisers and/or advertising agencies upon and by lodging material with AMG for publication or authorizing or approving of the publication of any material indemnify Business First Magazine and AMG, its servants and agents against all liability claims or proceedings whatsoever arising from the publication and without limiting the generality of the foregoing to indemnify each of them in relation to defamation, slander of title, breach of copyright, infringement of trademark or names of publication titles, unfair competition or trade practices, royalties or violation of rights or privacy regulations and that its publication will not give rise to any rights against or liabilities against AMG, its servants or agents and in particular, that nothing therein is capable of being misleading or deception or otherwise in breach of Part V of the Trade Practices Act 1974.

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NEWS | BF

High-potential Asia-Pacific women A new survey of Asia-Pacific women entrepreneurs has found that while confidence and bold growth plans are trademarks of the region’s female business owners, they face some behavioural barriers to successfully scaling their operations. The survey was conducted as part of the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ (EWW) Asia-Pacific program, which is sponsored by Standard Chartered, and assists established women-led businesses ready to become global market leaders. An overwhelming majority (90%) of the 143 respondents reported that they plan to scale their business, with 60% planning to grow internationally and 16% working toward an IPO. Almost two-thirds (58%) of those surveyed have explored external financing options; however, 73% admitted they found the process ‘intimidating’. More than half (53%) of respondents

lack a clear exit strategy, something most investors want to understand before providing financing, and more than a quarter are yet to replace themselves in operational roles, spending 40% of their time working in, rather than on, the business. Building a key advisory network has also been shown to yield new opportunities and ways of thinking. Yet only 35% of respondents have a network of trusted advisors, while a majority (67%) says establishing one is a priority. For those seeking to expand globally, building a public profile has been shown to accelerate growth; however, only 10% felt they were ‘very prominent’ and almost half (43%) spend less than 10% of their time promoting themselves. Annette Kimmitt, EY’s Global Middle Market Leader and Executive Sponsor, EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ Asia-Pacific says: “Women entrepre-

neurs already add enormous economic value to the Asia-Pacific region, with this year’s 15 EWW participants alone generating a combined US$5.5b in 2015 revenues. Despite this, our ground-breaking survey identifies some key behavioural barriers among women entrepreneurs that could prevent them from reaching their full potential. “Research has shown that the most successful entrepreneurs accelerate growth through a set of key behaviours, including their ability to evaluate financing for expansion, establish key advisory networks and build a public profile. “Through the EWW program, EY aims to provide the tools, guidance and networks needed to promote these behaviors among high-potential women entrepreneurs and help ensure that they are limited only by their own definition of success.” BFM

Digital stationery for everyday business

NEW REPORT FINDS INNOVATION KEY TO SUCCESS FOR NOT FOR PROFITS

Old habits die-hard when it comes to note taking. Despite more business people turning to laptops, tablets and even smartphones for taking notes in meetings, pen and paper remains popular. Whilst laptops may be more efficient, oldfashioned note taking is better for remembering conceptual information long term and is considered more personal. Wacom®, a world leader in digital technology, has just launched the Bamboo Spark which brings note-taking into the 21st century, letting you write on paper and save digitally. The Bamboo Spark marries the tactility of a traditional ink pen with digital pen technology in a smart pen and smart folio, allowing users to write and sketch on most A5 (148 x 210 mm or 5.83 x 8.27 inches) paper. The smart folio’s EMR (Electro-Magnetic Resonance) board communicates with the pen and offers proven, near-perfect digital input. With the push of a button, Bamboo Spark synchronises whatever has been

A new report assessing 1,111 Not for Profit organisations around the country has found that innovation is one of the key drivers for success. The recently released GiveEasy Innovation Index for 2016 has found a direct link between innovation and growing budgets in the sector. This fact has been well recognised in the corporate sector for some time now, but until recently no study had established whether the same was true for Not for Profits. The findings of the Index are clear however: innovation drives growth, as opposed to growth or funding being the driver of innovation. The GiveEasy Innovation Index identified that innovative Not for Profit organisations share a number of qualities. These include hiring people of across all age groups, recognising and rewarding innovation, operating either nationally or across multiple states as well as collaborating externally to generate new ideas. One other key finding of the index was that innovative organisations are 34 per cent more likely to have increasing revenue than those who are not. BFM

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written or sketched to your smart device for fast, simple editing and sharing. From there it is synced with the Wacom Cloud, so no idea is ever lost. “Bamboo Spark powers up the authentic pen and paper experience with the digital features you use every day on your smartphone, tablet and computer. It is the perfect solution for anyone who appreciates the freedom and simplicity of working with pen on paper to take written notes and share ideas,” says Shane Cook, Managing Director, Wacom Australia. BFM

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BFM | NEWS

How can HR help the C-suite drive innovation? New research from Ipsos MORI and Cirrus shows 49% of C-suite leaders say not enough attention is being paid to innovation. The report, Leadership Connections: HR and the C-suite driving innovation, builds on 2015’s Leadership Connections research which found that a majority of C-suite leaders felt HR could do more to help them achieve their goals. The 2016 research further explores this to discover more about the C-suite’s priorities and the role of HR in helping to achieve these priorities. One C-suite leader in two is concerned about the innovation capabilities within their organisation, while a majority of employees and managers find enough attention is being paid to innovation (from 60% for managers to 69% for HR). As illustrated in the graph below, fewer than three in ten see innovation as an area requiring organisational attention. One manager in five even thinks too much attention is paid to innovation at the present time, which can be interpreted as a sign of destabilisation in times of accelerated changes. The 24-point gap between the C-Suite and HR (not enough attention for 49% of C-suite respondents vs. 25% of HR respondents) points to a lack of alignment in this area and a potential underestimation of Board expectations. The HR contribution to build inno-

The Captains of Industry interviewed by Ipsos MORI selected ‘leadership development’ as one their three main areas where a higher contribution is expected from HR over the next 12 months. This choice resonates with the post-recession change imperative. “A large number of challenges still lie ahead,” says JB Aloy, executive director To be eligible to enter the 2016 Telstra of Ipsos LEAD. “Many organisations Business Women’s Awards, an entrant went through leadership and organimust meet set criteria. sation changes in the past few years. For Award in Asia category: Qualities that potential Award For Australian Award categories: vation capabilities is essential. It goes Business leaders are now becoming more winners share: • Entrants must be a resident of Asia • For simply all categories, entrants and retaining beyond attracting focused on leadership style and cultural (see list of eligible countries in Terms must be living in Australia as an The Judges look for qualities in each and Conditions) the right talent. teams need to dechanges. Softer dimensions need to be Australian citizenHR or have Australian entrant that reflect the values of the status leader and employee • They are not employed by Telstra, velopresidency the required addressed - and assessed - to continAwards; qualities including: a sponsor, or direct supplier of the If entering the Entrepreneur category, • a compelling vision that shapes skill• sets in order to foster a culture of ue to improve performance moving Telstra Business Women's Awards they will have been operating their what they do innovation forward.” businessin for their at least organisation. one year by 20 • Telstra does not have a financial • excellent leadership Juneof 2016 “One the biggest challenges for interest in their business HR professionals have yet to be or • overcoming adversity with organisation • They are not employed by Telstra, many large organisations today is recognised as transformation agents. determination and creative a sponsor, or direct supplier of the • They have not been involved in the of C-suite problem solving picked encouraging a more entrepreneurial, Around a fifth leaders Telstra Business Women's Awards judging of the Telstra Business responsive and risk-taking mindset Women’s Awards “business transformation” in their • championing the skillstopof relationship in the past five years • Telstra does not have a and negotiation in business financial in their business amongst allinterest colleagues,” says Simon three of HR building contribution areas • They were not an Awardselection winner in or organisation mentoring otherssuch to succeed the 2014 or 2015 Hayward, CEO of Cirrus. inTelstra 2015.Business Traditional•HR missions as Women’s Awards • They have not been involved in the • performance giving back to their community “This is a huge challenge when the talent attraction and manjudging of the Telstra Business • challenging theof notion that there is number of colleagues runs agement continue to be on top their Women’s Awards in the past fiveinto years tens or only one way of doing things even ofAward thousands. list, leaving room for a greater partner• hundreds They were not an winner in Too often, the 2014 orcan 2015get Telstra bureaucracy inBusiness the way of mainship between the C-suite and HR teams Women’s Awards taining a culture where innovation and to achieve the change and innovation • They are aged 29 years or younger improvement aretovalued and people feel agenda in 2016. by 20 June 2016, be automatically enteredto into the Young Business confident experiment without fear The full research report is available Women's Award of failure. To fuel innovation, we need online at: http://www.cirrus-connect. to encourage more collaborative ways com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/ of working and to increase learning and Cirrus-Ipsos-Leadership-Connecknowledge sharing.” tions-2016-report.pdf BFM

ELIGIBILITY

Entries open for Telstra Business Women’s Awards

Jessica May, 2015 Telstra Australian Start-up Award winner

Entries are now open for Australia’s longest running and most esteemed women’s award program, the Telstra Business Women’s Awards, which for the first time will include a category to recognise business women in Asia. The new Telstra Business Woman in Asia Award will be the sixth Awards category, alongside Entrepreneur, For Purpose and Social Enterprise, Public Sector and Academia, Corporate and Private, and the Young Business Women’s Award. Kate McKenzie, Telstra Chief Operations Officer and Telstra Business Women’s Awards Ambassador, said the new category is a reflection of Telstra’s growing presence in the Asia-Pacific region and will provide finalists and winners from Australia and across the Asian region the opportunity to expand their networks and build valuable relationships. “The Asia-Pacific region is an eco-

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nomic powerhouse and presents great growth opportunities for Australian businesses. In addition to celebrating brilliant women, this new Award will offer our Awards Alumni the opportunity to foster valuable connections with business women in Asia and develop a greater understanding of how they are succeeding in this dynamic environment.” The 2015 Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year, Captain Mona Shindy, said the Awards provide an opportunity for nominees to reflect on their achievements, set bold goals for greater success and join a vibrant Alumni community of like-minded women. “The Awards bring together a diverse range of talented and accomplished women from across many fields. It continues to be a privilege for me to be among such a superb group of supportive, highly-driven, wise and inspirational women,” Captain Shindy said.

Jessica May, 2015 Telstra Australian Start-up Award winner Telstra Business Women’s Awards Information Pack | 2

“With the new Telstra Business Woman in Asia Award, the Australian Alumni will also have the opportunity to be enriched by the know-how of exceptional women who have achieved success in the fast growing Asian region.” Entries for the 2016 Telstra Business Women’s Awards close at midnight AEDT on Monday 20th June 2016. www.telstrabusinesswomensawards. com/nominate  BFM

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NEWS | BFM

SMOOTH WEALTH TRANSFER BETWEEN GENERATIONS Insurance bonds offer the simplicity of creating lasting inheritances and inter-generational wealth transfers, says Richard Atkinson from Austock Life, a leading specialist issuer of insurance bonds. As you can structure insurance bonds with vesting dates out to a child’s 25th birthday, it can be a simple and cost-effective way to create lasting inheritances as well as use them to achieve inter-generational wealth transfers. An insurance bond can play an important role in arranging an estate’s affairs with certainty, and importantly you can use the bond either outside, or in conjunction with normal Will and legal estate arrangements. For instance, with an automatically investing bond: • Parents in blended family situations and in second marriages might make financial provision outside of their Will for the children of a previous marriage or relationship; and • Grandparents might use them to prevent potential conflicts and inequities between classes of beneficiaries (e.g. children vs. grandchildren) that might be difficult to handle under their Will. Also important is that prior to its vesting, the bond owner retains full ownership and control just in case there is a change of mind about the child, or a change in the bond owner’s financial situation. This includes being able to make full or partial withdrawals for the owner’s personal use. An insurance bond can be used in estate planning to achieve similar inter-gener-

ational wealth transfer objectives instead of creating a testamentary trust under a Will. Importantly, this can be done with the bond directly vesting in favour of the Nominated Child irrespective of the death of the person who has established the bond such as a parent or grandparent. An insurance bond is subject to the Life Act. If a parent or grandparent dies during the bond’s accumulation stage, then their personal legal representative must hold the bond in trust for the Nominated Child until the vesting age, or until the child’s prior death. Over the period the bond is held in trust under the Life Act - similar to how a testamentary trust typically works – the bond can only be operated for the mainte-

nance or benefit of the Nominated Child. To achieve similar outcomes using a testamentary trust not only requires creating the trust under your Will, but also appointing a willing and “investment-competent” trustee to act, and sometimes for many years. Setting up a trust can also be impracticable for smaller dollar bequests, and trust structures also entail annual administration and tax reporting costs and can be inflexible to access and costly to unwind. Investment bonds are a low maintenance investment with tax and cost-effectiveness, and operates in a “Set-andForget” tax environment (nil tax return requirements unless withdrawal made in first 10 years). BFM

$10,000 donated to prevent violence against women Business First contributor CMC Markets, official partner of the NSW Waratahs, has donated $10,000 to White Ribbon following the Super Rugby match between the NSW Waratahs and the Cheetahs, which doubled as the Waratahs’ annual Ladies Day. CMC Markets committed to donating $1,000 for every try the NSW Waratahs scored, with the total money raised going to White Ribbon, as Australia’s only national, male led campaign to end men’s violence against women. The money will assist White Ribbon’s

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campaign to aid awareness and education of violence against women, through programs with youth, schools and workplaces across the broader community. Matthew Lewis, head of CMC Markets Asia Pacific said: “As a company in a

male dominated industry, we recognise the importance of playing a leadership role in the prevention of men’s violence against women. Supporting White Ribbon through our sponsorship of the NSW Waratahs is the perfect alignment, helping to raise awareness of the issue of violence against women in the broader community.” CMC Markets is in its third year of corporate sponsorship for NSW Waratahs, and is a proud supporter of domestic violence, previously supporting Bay City Care. BFM

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BFM | FEATURE

The industry lowdown on the looming election With the election looming, Business First takes a look at the post-budget thoughts of industry to see what their sentiments are about certain policies leading into the July election.

on’t Panic! Change to superannuation is here to stay What is clear from the Federal Budget (and Labor response) is that no Government plans to leave superannuation untouched. The real work now is to look at what this means for current and future retirement plans. Tim Wedd, executive director of privately-owned Crystal Wealth Partners, said: “While we were anticipating some change to contribution rules in the Budget, the changes proposed for retirement incomes provide another twist in the ongoing adequacy debate.”

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“Since superannuation started in 1983, we have seen maximum contribution rules, maximum funding rules, compulsory (SG) contributions, maximum benefit limits (RBLs) and a raft of other ‘voluntary’ savings sticks and carrots. Now it appears we look set to work with both contribution and final benefit limits from 1 July 2017. This will make proper analysis and personal advice crucial for clients to successfully navigate the right retirement outcome. “While the proposals are not law – and may inevitably see further change before final implementation (particularly given the upcoming Federal Election) - it

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FEATURE| BFM

is important for everyone to take a stock take of their current position now,” said Mr Wedd. Just ask yourself the following simple questions: 1. Do you make or plan to make more than $25,000 pre-tax contributions to super each year (including SG amounts)? 2. Do you earn now or will earn over the near 12 months more than $250,000? 3. Will you have an individual member account balance of $1.6M or more by 1 July 2017? 4. Have you made more than $500,000 of after-tax (non-concessional) contributions to super since 1 July 2007? 5. Do you plan to make additional after-tax (non-concessional) contributions at some stage in the future? 6. Will you have a ‘transition to retirement’ pension by 1 July 2017? If the answer to the above is ‘no’ then you are not impacted by the Budget proposals and planning can continue uninterrupted. In fact, you may benefit from the additional flexibility being introduced with some of the super contributions changes. Otherwise seek help! Remember, despite constant tinkering any Government still needs super to remain the most tax-effective form of saving for retirement to support an ageing population.

INFRASTRUCTURE WILL GROW THE ECONOMY, NOT TAX INCREASES Consult Australia welcomed aspects of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s Budget-In-Reply speech and the Opposition’s commitment to infrastructure and nation building projects, however the opportunity to provide business with tax relief has been missed. “While there were a number of positive commitments were made in Mr Shorten’s Budget Reply speech that recognises the importance of good public infrastructure, the opportunity to provide business with certainty and broader tax relief has been missed,” said Megan Motto, Consult Australia’s Chief Executive Officer. “Any tax relief for business is welcome and we are pleased that Opposition Leader has committed to a reduced company tax rate for businesses with turnover under $2 million, yet we believe that it is a missed opportunity for bipartisan support for broader company tax relief.” “While the overall the signs for the Australian economy are still shaky business is looking for confidence to ensure that they remain competitive in the global market. Increasing taxes doesn’t solve the expenditure problem that this country faces,” Ms Motto said. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten did however highlight the important role infrastructure plays in enhancing the economy. “The decision to boost Infrastructure Australia with a new $10 billion funding facility and to seek investment from the private sector is a positive move. “We believe that Infrastructure Australia is a vital part of the decision making framework around infrastructure projects, and it is critical that it is positioned to make a positive contribution to infrastructure deci-

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sion making and the related public policy debate. “The Opposition’s commitment to invest in infrastructure is acknowledgement of the vital role that infrastructure plays in boosting productivity, but it ignores the fact that increasing our competitiveness through reducing the overall tax burden will also drive further private sector investment in infrastructure, and therefore enhance that productivity boost over the longer term.” Ms Motto said, “These announcements address a range of policy issues that we have advocated for over a number of years. “We look forward to the Opposition substantiating the commitments made in Mr Shorten’s speech over the coming weeks and submit that the best way to increase productivity and boost the economy is by reducing the long term tax burden whilst simultaneously investing in vital infrastructure projects.”

COSBOA CELEBRATES BUDGET COSBOA praised the budget, declaring it a win for small businesses of Australia. CEO for COSBOA, Peter Strong, credited Scott Morrison, Treasurer, and Kelly O’Dwyer, Small Business Minister and Assistant Treasurer saying, “The economy is in now a better position to deal with and take advantage of change.” Explaining further what the budget means to small business, Mr Strong continued: “The big ticket item is that the threshold for determining what is considered a small business has been raised to $10 million annual turnover. This creates a change immediately for government support actions around tax breaks, instant tax write offs and other initiatives.”  This higher threshold will give more businesses access to the $20,000 instant tax write off announced in last year’s budget. There is also another tax decrease for these businesses, which means tax has decreased 2.5% in 2 years. Mr Strong said, “This is a good message to send to businesses, who want to grow and employ, or start to export and take advantage of the global economy.  “The budget changes and the decisions that were made last year put these businesses in an ideal pool to work with smaller micro businesses to innovate and add value; produce and manufacture goods for domestic and global markets.  “The simplification of the BAS shows a commitment from the government and the ATO to making compliance easier and reflects the fact that the great majority of businesses are honest and transparent in their dealings with government and need less monitoring and better flexibility,” said Mr Strong. Funding for the Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (SBFEO), Kate Carnell, has increased from $2m to $6m. Mr Strong said, “This is important because Ms Carnell needs to develop the role and gather the information and resources required to aggressively advocate where needed and when needed.” The last six months also saw significant changes to the Competition Act: the Effects Test. Peter added, “When implemented, the Effects Test

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will create more space for innovators to be rewarded for their efforts. “The creation of fairness in contracts between small business and bigger businesses will provide the fairness necessary for individual stress management and for proper and honest negotiations and contract contents,” said Mr Strong. The creation of the SBFEO provides the infrastructure and the advocate within the bureaucracy to inform the business community and represent them as necessary. The changes in competition and in contracts cost nothing and the SBFEO is $6m a year. However, a key issue that has not been addressed in the budget, and COSBOA is hoping it will become a centrepiece of election industry policy, is the reform of the Vocational Education and Training sector. Mr Strong said, “To take the greatest advantage of this small business budget and the confidence it will create, we need workers with the right skills, not the skills that make easy money for some greedy RTOs. For example, those who are unemployed, or workers seeking new careers or to increase their earning potential are the ones who require these skills the most. “The Youth Pathways outlined in the budget go some way to helping focus on our needs and the needs of the unemployed person, but more needs to be done in VET. We know that it could not be solved in this budget as the problems in that sector are profound and cannot be fixed overnight,” concluded Mr Strong. Budget lays the foundations for quality jobs and sustainable growth beyond ‘human resources’ The Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals welcomed the measures announced by the government to support employee share schemes, self-employment, and entrepreneurship among youth. “In today’s gig economy, we are setting people up for repeated joblessness unless they are able to take greater control over their place in the workforce, by becoming co-invested, financially or by other means,” said Melina Morrison, Chief Executive Officer of the BCCM. The BCCM welcomes the government’s investment of $840 million in a Youth Employment Package to help 120,000 young people into jobs, including $88.6 million to support young people who wish to start their own business. Initiatives include “Exploring Being My Own Boss” workshops to connect young job seekers with the business training, finance and networks they need to develop their innovative ideas into successful businesses. This training must include information on co-operative and mutual models of ongoing co-ownership. Budget reforms to employee ownership and crowdfunded equities aim to encourage different models of business ownership, but don’t go far enough, Morrison pointed out. “A recent Senate report into co-operative and mutual enterprises strongly backed the lifting of restrictions on capital raising, allowing billions of dollars of fresh investment to flow into the sector. “The BCCM is pleased with the overall direction of the budget, but we note that more needs to be done on reducing red tape for people who wish to enter into collaborative and co-owned business relationships,”

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Morrison said. “The small business tax breaks improve the bottom line for SMEs, but the co-operative model strengthens their overall market position and long term survival.” “We look forward to working with government and opposition to ensure that regulation matches intention, unlocking the potential of the co-operative and mutual sector to give the economy resilience and strengthen the social fabric of communities by giving everyone the opportunity to be a job creator.”

BUDGET 2016: SUPERANNUATION REFORM PACKAGE WELCOMED Australia’s seniors advocacy organisation, COTA Australia, welcomed the package of initiatives in the Federal budget which better target superannuation tax concessions, lift age restrictions on contributions, provide opportunities for women and people on low incomes to better save for retirement, and make the system more flexible and responsive to retirement needs. COTA Australia Chief Executive Ian Yates said the superannuation changes were the most significant structural reforms since superannuation was first introduced. “COTA is pleased to see the government move in a direction that ensures superannuation is used for the purpose it was originally intended – as a way for people to save for their retirement rather than a wealth accumulation scheme for Australia’s highest earners,” Mr Yates said. www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

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“The changes, many of which COTA has called for over the last few years, will make superannuation much more sustainable and fit for purpose for the long term.” Mr Yates said he particularly welcomed measures that better targeted superannuation tax concessions: • introducing a $1.6 million cap on the total amount of superannuation that can be transferred into retirement accounts; • reducing the income threshold from $300,000 to $250,000 for the 30% tax rate; and • introducing a $500,000 lifetime cap on non-concessional contributions. “COTA is also extremely pleased to see the lifting of the restrictions on the age people can make superannuation contributions over 65 years to a new limit of 75 years”, Mr Yates said. “This acknowledges that increasing numbers of people are choosing to work well into their 70s and sends a positive signal about mature age employment. “It’s also good to see the efforts made to recognise that many women retire with low superannuation because their careers are often broken by caring for children and ageing parents. “The opportunity to make ‘catch-up’ contributions and for spouse tax offsets are a step in the right direction. More will still need to be done to ensure women have equitable retirement incomes, but it can’t all be done by the super system itself. “The decision to enhance the choice of retirement income products to support provision of deferred lifetime annuities and other annuitisation products is welcome and we look forward to being consulted on further detail. “Overall this is a significant and integrated set of reforms that better utilises taxpayer funded concessions for genuine retirement income support,” Mr Yates said.

RETAIL COUNCIL SEES NO GREAT SURPRISES The Federal Budget provides few surprises for households and additional business tax measures designed to support greater investment, job creation, drive innovation and boost productivity, according to analysis from the Retail Council, representing Australia’s top retailers. Retail Council Chairman, Peter Birtles said there is little in the Federal Budget to spook consumers and business can also be buoyed by a commitment to set a clear path to long-term growth. “Personal income tax cuts and company tax cuts for small and medium businesses announced tonight should help business conditions and stimulate economic activity. “We are encouraged by the Government’s commitment to reduce the company tax rate for all businesses. However, we are disappointed that these measures will take a decade to implement – particularly as those companies that must wait the longest are the very companies that employ a high proportion of the workforce and make a significant contribution to economic output. “Furthermore it delays the flow-on benefits delivered to Australian households who would also benefit www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

from a reduction in the company tax rate, primarily through higher real wages and increased employment,” said Mr Birtles. The Retail Council is encouraged by the continued commitment of the Government to take careful and necessary steps to move the Budget to a more sustainable path. The Government must now continue to clearly communicate the tax and benefit changes to ensure the Budget does not cause any crimping of activity across the economy. The 2016-17 Federal Budget has delivered, in-part, on the Retail Council’s key Budget focus areas to lower company taxes for all businesses, commitment to drive a deregulation agenda to enhance competition and confirm the Government’s commitment to deliver the zero GST rate on all imported goods and services. As a sector which employs more than 1.25 million Australians and contributes around 4.5 per cent to GDP, the Retail Council supports measures that will foster a more sustainable and efficient use of resources, productivity improvements, increased workforce participation and an overall higher rate of economic growth.

BUSINESS-FRIENDLY BUDGET The 2016 Budget is big on engendering the have-a-go spirit on which Australia was founded with a strong package to incentivise businesses to invest and Aussies to work, but it lacks a strong narrative for the case for broader reform. Industry association Consult Australia, Chief Executive Megan Motto stated ‘Overall the signs for the Australian economy are still shaky. The budget position might be relatively strong in global terms but it has deteriorated since MYFEO, and this budget acknowledges the difficult path to surplus. The Budget papers and rhetoric make no mention of the diminishing dependency ratio or the challenge of our transitioning economy in volatile times. “However, the Budget lays the groundwork for enhanced confidence amongst the business community, increased international competitiveness, and renewed energy to combat youth unemployment. Tax breaks for middle(ish)! Australians are also welcome. “Importantly, the Budget hits the right note that the government was desperately in search of in light of an upcoming election – it is fundamentally fair. “The continuation of a solid infrastructure investment pipeline is important, although there is very little new spending in the package. Hopefully this is only to leave room for pre-election announcements to come.” The Government’s commitment to the Smart Cities Plan acknowledges the role of cities in driving economic, productivity, sustainability and liveability outcomes. It represents a modest but symbolic investment in ensuring we plan better to leverage these potential gains. Consult Australia remains interested to see the Government’s response to the National Infrastructure Plan. Ms Motto observed “It is critical that the Government, through its advisory body Infrastructure Australia look closely at the broader policy and funding reforms proposed in the Plan. This will need dedicated resourcing and should not be ignored if we want better

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bang for our infrastructure buck in the future. “The return of over $850 million in unused funds from the Government’s Asset Recycling Initiative is an indictment on those state and territory governments that have failed to take advantage of this facility. “It is disappointing not to see savings from previous commitments to infrastructure redirected to reform initiatives. For example, these funds could help improve business case development for new projects, or accelerate pilot studies into alternative funding arrangements like road user charging, or value capture, to charter difficult challenges more broadly in the infrastructure arena.”

GROWTH AND JOBS DEPENDENT ON CONSTRUCTION GROWTH The 2016-17 Budget forecasts for growth and jobs depend on continued strong performance by the construction sector says the Property Council of Australia. “This Budget confirms that the continued strong performance of the property industry is vital if the Australian economy is to keep delivering jobs and growth,” said Ken Morrison, Chief Executive of the Property Council of Australia. “There is good news in this Budget for the industry – record infrastructure investment continues, there is certainty over property taxation and business stimulus measures are provided. “The current negative gearing and capital gains tax arrangements are vital if our industry is to continue to deliver strong growth.” Mr Morrison said the Budget forecasts rely on continued strong performance by the property industry. “We are currently moving through the top of the construction cycle and the Budget forecasts this to continue for another two years, with economic growth also to lift to 3 per cent. “To deliver this growth will require a concerted effort by all governments. It will rely on continued reform of state planning regimes, continued strong investment in infrastructure, steady consumer confidence, and certainty in taxation arrangements. “There is a strong economic case for the Commonwealth to work with the States and Territories and deliver housing supply incentives. The Property Council released a paper that detailed how these incentives could work. Our estimates are that they could deliver $3 billion in economic uplift.” Mr Morrison said he was disappointed that the Budget contained no plan for further Federal-State taxation arrangements. “It seems the Government has given up on state taxation reform. “We know state tax reform is difficult, but it is essential if we are to boost growth over the long term. “Whatever benefit Australians will get from cuts to company law and PAYE taxes over coming years is offset by the drag on our economy from inefficient state taxes. “Stamp duty, in particular, is a drag on growth and jobs as well as a huge hit on homebuyers and investors.”

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‘ ONE-OFF’ FUNDING BOOST NOT A LONG-TERM FIX FOR ASIC The Federal Government’s decision to provide ASIC with a ‘one-off’ funding boost of $127 million to enhance the corporate regulator’s capabilities in the wake of continuing financial sector scandals is welcome, but it does not address the more urgent need for a sustainable long-term funding model to give ASIC the financial stability it needs to be an effective ‘cop on the beat’ into the future, says Governance Institute of Australia. “The $127 million funding increase is a positive move but at the end of the day, all it does is restore ASIC’s coffers to their level prior to the 2014 Budget cuts. Importantly, it misses the opportunity to take up the Financial System Inquiry’s (FSI) recommendation to introduce a three-year funding model supported by a user-pays system so that ASIC has long-term financial certainty and is not subject to government revenue swings,” said Governance Institute chief executive Steven Burrell. “ASIC needs more money when it is busiest in a downturn, which is exactly when Canberra dips into deficit and tightens the screws on expenditure. The seeds of misbehaviour are sown when markets are strong, but by the time the economy is in bad shape and ASIC needs more resources to sort out the wreckage from the boom times, government funding has dried up.” “The FSI recommended a three-year funding model to ensure that ASIC can plan how to deploy its resources and have flexibility about where they are needed most. This pressing problem remains unaddressed and, if neglected, will continue to compromise ASIC’s surveillance and enforcement outcomes,” Mr Burrell said. “It is also disappointing that the government appears to be walking away from its responsibility to fund ASIC. The Treasurer has said that funding in the future will come from levies imposed on market participants, even though the FSI never envisaged that the ‘user-pays’ funding component would completely replace government funding. On the contrary, the FSI considered that a properly resourced corporate regulator depended on both government funding and a user-pays funding regime to supplement it. “The ongoing raft of scandals, particularly in the financial services industry, starkly highlights that misconduct will continue to happen where the perpetrators perceive they have an opportunity to get away with unethical behaviour. In this environment, the role of a vigilant and proactive corporate regulator is absolutely paramount. “ASIC must be visible and active in its brief to police and enforce high standards of corporate conduct. To do this effectively, it needs to have an adequate and assured funding regime so that it can set priorities that meet community expectations and have the capacity to enforce compliance rigorously.” “ASIC needs to be given the chance to do its job properly into the future, and this boils down to a simple question of stable long-term funding. We urge the government to go beyond a one-off funding boost and back a sustainable funding solution for ASIC,” Mr Burrell said. BFM

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EOFY 2016: IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY! With year-end fast approaching now is the time for a financial reboot that is going to make the future smoother by following 3 key criteria to improve your bottom line and bank balance. Here are 3 key things for you to consider before 30 June 2016. By Siobhan Sellick, Director, Prosperity Advisers Group.

. Cash flow planning is paramount! Regardless of size, cash flow management can be a challenge for business owners. Tips to help improve your cash position include: • Have a cash flow forecast for the coming year. This will help you better understand the ins and outs over the next 12 months. • Make sure you track your cash flow forecast against your actual cash in and out the door at least monthly. • Don’t use the cash in the business like a personal bank account! Break this habit if you are. Work out an amount you need each month and stick to it. • Be on top of your debtors and creditors. Understand what your collection days look like. Are you in line with industry average? 2. Making the most of Technology If you’re looking for the opportunity to save time, money and hassles consider turning to cloud-based software solutions. Whether you’re a fan of cloud accounting or not, current technology gives businesses opportunities, such as: • Access to valuable information in real time about business performance and benchmarks; • Save money by eliminating the purchase of software programs and servers to host the traditional accounting packages; • Allow seamless workflow amongst business teams and advisers by having data available to all authorised users at all times. Now is the best time to talk to your advisers. Don’t just have the conversation about performance and results once a year – do it regularly and ask them how you can improve your business. 3. Year-end tax planning There are still opportunities for businesses to reduce an overall tax liability. Here are a few noteworthy items to have on your checklists: • Bring forward any creditors you know will come due in July or spending the money in June instead of deferring it until July; • Conduct a stocktake before year end to work out what stock can be written off; • Consider maximising the concessional superannua-

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• • • •

tion contributions for key individuals. Don’t forget that you don’t get a tax deduction for super contributions until it has been paid into the fund; Make sure you have met your superannuation guarantee obligations (9.5% for 2016) for all employees; Review your debtors list and write off any bad debts; Review your FBT costs and determine if it’s possible to reduce this cost; Maximise work related car expense deductions. With changes applying from 1 July 2016 to limit the methods under which you can claim car expenses, it may be worth considering keeping a log book and record of expenses. Otherwise the maximum (under the only other available method) is 66 cents per business kilometre.

UNDERSTANDING SMALL BUSINESS ENTITIES The big winners in terms of accessing various new and existing tax concessions are small business entities – businesses with an aggregated turnover less than $2m. While in the Federal Budget the government announced a change to the definition of a small business entity, for the purposes of accessing a number of tax concessions, the current definition remains: Reduction in company tax rate The income tax rate payable by a company carrying on business has been reduced for the year ending 30 June 2016 by 1.5% to 28.5%. Small Business Tax Offset If you are an individual carrying on a business via a trust, partnership or sole trader and your taxable income includes assessable business income, then for the year ending 30 June 2016 you may be eligible to a maximum tax offset of $1,000. Immediate Deduction for New Assets One of the concessions for all small business is the ability to get an immediate deduction for depreciating assets that cost less than $20K (generally $1k). You must ensure that the asset is first used or installed and ready for use by 30 June 2017. Note that the government did announce in the Federal Budget to extend this date further. Restructuring If you a small business operating via a trust and keen to access the lower company tax rate, changes to tax rules from 1 July 2016 will significantly broaden the landscape for small business owners to restructure with generally no immediate tax consequences. Roll-over relief will be available where a small business entity transfers a business asset including goodwill to another small business entity that is part of the same family group under a “genuine business restructure”. Together with the existing capital gains tax concessions for small business, the new concessions provide small business entities a significant opportunity to restructure for genuine commercial reasons such as asset protection, estate and succession planning. There could also be the added benefit of tax savings that arise from a restructure so speak with your adviser about the options for your business. BFM Siobhan Sellick has more than 20 years’ experience providing business advisory, taxation and private client services to a range of clients with a focus on business owners, high net wealth individuals and family groups. She is currently a Director in the Business Services and Taxation group at Prosperity Advisers. Siobhan is known for developing strong, collaborative relationships with her clients and working together with key parties such as lawyers, bankers and financial advisors to provide a comprehensive client service. Her clients range from privately owned businesses and start-ups in the retail, aged care and professional services sectors, to mid-sized corporates and primary producers, leading sportspersons and executives.

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WHAT KEEPS CEOS UP AT NIGHT? The Australian business climate is dealing with a number of changes at present: the Australian economy appears to be progressing through a period of uncertainty, which has been buffeted by rising international competition, the end of the mining boom, and reduced demand for key commodities such as coal and iron ore. By Chad Gates, Chief Operating Officer, Pronto Software.

ith so many external factors at play, CEOs are under increased pressure to respond to these challenges by harnessing internal opportunities, such as people and technology, to deliver stronger business outcomes. To better understand the concerns keeping Australian CEOs up at night, Pronto Software in partnership with The CEO institute recently surveyed 175 CEOs from various industries including resources, manufacturing, retail and imports. The results show that their top five concerns reflect both industry and economic pressures, and savvy CEOs must have a plan to address these concerns, to ensure they can continue to steer the business in the right direction. 1. Hiring and retaining talented staff Almost 30 per cent of CEOs said staff management is a key challenge during 2016. For some CEOs, this means attracting, training and retaining key talent. One respondent said that a major goal for the year was to “find the right people (in

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terms of attitude and skills)” to drive the continued development and growth of their business. Other CEOs focused on the need to engage existing staff members to boost productivity and performance. Perhaps unsurprisingly, staffing attracted more feedback than any other issue. As the old adage goes, a wagon only moves as fast as the slowest horse pulling it. 2. Taking advantage of new technologies Just over one-quarter of survey respondents considered disruptions and opportunities caused by technology to be one of the most significant trends they are facing this year. For instance, one CEO worried that 2016 would see the “continued disruption of business models as a result of rapid changes in technology”. Those CEOs who see technology as an opportunity tend to focus on how it will allow them to make largescale changes to their business processes. For example, one CEO said that technology would allow him to

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and exports will have to counterbalance a continuing decline in the value of key commodities as well as a predicted drop in house prices. In this environment, it’s not surprising that one in six CEOs cited economic uncertainty as a key concern for 2016 and this anxiety is resulting in reduced business budgets and apprehension towards business spending. Interestingly, economic uncertainty appears to have pushed CEOs towards setting more conservative targets for success. One CEO said: “If we can maintain the same level of growth as last year I would be more than happy … considering the economy.” 5. Managing change and improving processes For 15 per cent of CEOs, managing change will be one of the major challenges of 2016. Overall, the need for ‘change management’ was framed as a consequence of other trends, such as economic fluctuations, technological developments and international competition, particularly from Asia. Technology is also a key driver of the perceived need to manage change. However, CEOs were divided over the exact nature of the issue. Some saw change as a necessity in the face of existing technologies, while others spoke of “converting the rhetoric of innovation to real change”. The need for improved change management – be it in the face of demographic, technological or other changes – went hand-in-hand with a call for improved processes.

STAYING AHEAD OF THE GAME “move away from a traditional heavy ‘cost-centric’ business model to a more agile model for sustainable and scalable growth”. On the other hand, some saw technology as a potential threat that is shaping industry and client expectations faster than they can be satisfactorily met. As one CEO put it: “Technology will continue to transform our business as we try to keep pace with the changing needs of our clients.” 3. Business growth In 2016, around one in four CEOs described growth as a key area of transformation and concern. For many CEOs, this means finding new ways to take advantage of changing conditions. One CEO explained that “the speed and pace of change has been coupled with a requirement to do more with less”. Another added that business growth would necessitate “changing to adapt to new demographic trends”. A common theme in this year’s discussions of growth was the impact on businesses of the apparent slowing of the Australian economy. 4. Economic uncertainty According to a recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Australia’s economic growth is set to recover to 3 per cent per annum by 2017. However, this recovery will be uneven: growth in non–resource sector investment

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In 2016, the prevailing mood among surveyed CEOs is one of wary optimism. CEOs will face a variety of complex trends and must be equipped with the best possible tools if they’re to transform challenges into opportunities. So, what can CEOs do to ensure their businesses are ready to adapt and grow? One solution stands above the others: technology. By implementing the right technological solution, CEOs and their teams can gain clarity regarding how their businesses are performing, transforming underused data – be that administrative or financial – into actionable insights that empower them to make better decisions. An integrated business management solution can create consistency across large organisations. Properly selected and implemented, this technology can consolidate data from an organisation before analysing it for actionable insights that can have a trickle-down effect, empowering staff at all levels of an organisation. For example, sales team members can use this technology to better understand customer purchasing patterns, allowing them to optimise their results. At the executive level, CEOs can use this data to make informed decisions about the short- and long-term growth of their businesses. If CEOs harness the power good technology can play in their business, they can tackle concerns head-on, and transform these challenges into business opportunities. BFM

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Why a franchise model could be an answer to the owner-driver pay dispute The Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal may have been put together with the best of intentions, however it has failed those it sought to protect. By Darren Ash, Managing Director of Freight Cost Solutions.

he correlation between safety and owner-operator driver’s pay rates was determined by the National Transport Commission after a 2008 investigation into the underlying causes of unsafe practices in the road transport industry. The argument being that if these contract drivers are paid a secure minimum wage then they would be ‘safer drivers’ because they would spend money on ensuring their vehicles were maintained properly and would reduce their work hours, thereby reducing fatigue. Unfortunately, the only likely outcome of the introduction of a minimum wage would be to price owner-drivers out of the market and create an adverse effect on competition in the sector.

A CONSTRUCTIVE ALTERNATIVE An alternate solution to the dispute that addresses both the safety concerns and the commercial interests of the owner-drivers is that the large transport companies should take more responsibility for the contract driver engagement process by developing a secure licensing or franchising agreement with them. Done correctly, this sort of arrangement would provide more security, more stable income and increased job satisfaction. The proposed franchise model would need to be performance based so that neither the transport company

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nor the contractor felt they were being disadvantaged. Unfortunately, the unreliable few have tarnished the reputation of contract drivers, and transport companies are at risk of reputation loss if they use them too often. Monetary incentivisation for timely and effective delivery would benefit both parties and eliminate these risks. If executed correctly, the proposed franchising model would also support the road safety issues at the centre of the legislation dispute. A secure agreement between a transport company and an owner-driver, with clear expectations and deliverables, would mean more accountability from both parties. More accountability would naturally translate to more care and less risk-taking – a positive for everyone. A very real concern for the transport industry is the reduction in the number of available drivers. As online shopping and importation powers the demand for freight services across Australia, unfortunately the attractiveness of driving as an employment option has severely decreased. It’s an ageing industry with fewer and fewer newcomers, due in part no doubt to historical issues regarding safety and conditions. A franchising model, where the owner-driver feels supported and protected in his or her own business, may well be what’s needed for the industry to survive.

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A POSITIVE EXAMPLE Fastway Couriers offers an example of this franchise model done well. They have both courier and regional franchises available and offer support and training, guaranteed income for a select period, exclusive territories, and perpetual franchise agreements. Franchise owners take responsibility for their own success, but with low entry costs and a guaranteed start-up income, they feel protected and well looked after; as a result they are more likely to deliver on their objectives. According to Chief Operating Office Richard Thame, it is Fastway’s focus on being a great franchise company that delivers the quality that satisfies their customers. Thame says that a customer’s freight needs are simple - a reliable pick up and delivery, and uncomplicated, flexible pricing. As an individual franchisee with Fastway, your income depends on delivery, which means these customer needs are assured. Fastway couriers also tend to pick up and deliver from the same customers on a regular basis, which assists in forming solid relationships with customers. This has its benefits too as you are much less likely to disappoint someone you know. Another positive to this franchise arrangement is that franchisees work to a set timetable rather than on demand – a marked shift in the way most owner-drivers are forced to operate. This factor alone helps to reduce fatigue and

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therefore combat safety concerns. All of the stated benefits, combined with a simple pricing system and a sophisticated distribution and tracking system, provide the elements for both customer and franchisee satisfaction.

IS RESOLUTION POSSIBLE? Concern about the outcome of passing the minimum wage legislation is rife. This is not a new debate but the imminence of this legislation has stirred the pot once more. Australian Industry Group Chief executive Innes Willox said in a statement: “The Tribunal’s order will increase costs for industry and consumers… threaten jobs and work for contactor drivers and harm to regional and rural areas which are heavily reliant on road transport.” The drivers aren’t happy, the transport companies aren’t happy and consumers won’t be happy. An alternative approach needs to be implemented that supports a fair right to income potential for owner-drivers and promotes safety on our roads. This franchise model could well be the answer. BFM Darren Ash is the Managing Director at Freight Cost Solutions, an independent freight auditor that provides guaranteed cost savings and is committed to making a positive change in the freight industry.

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VISION – FINDING PURPOSE

‘Who you are speaks so loudly, I can’t hear a word you’re saying.’ Ralph Waldo Emerson

T Jack Delosa Gen Y Entrepreneur & Investor

he extent to which you fulfil your vision is the extent to which you can mobilise other people towards it. Those who are able to achieve great things are those who have developed an ability to touch the hearts and minds of people everywhere. This ability is called leadership, and its essence is greatly misunderstood. Any meaningful endeavour in life is going to require you to be an exceptional leader. Whether you want to be a great parent, a great partner, a great employee or a great entrepreneur, how successful you are in that endeavour will come down to how well you are able to move people. The problem with a lot of the existing thinking around leadership is that it doesn’t recognise the importance of character. It speaks of tactics rather than intention. It speaks of behavioural manoeuvres rather than personal principles. Character cannot be faked and therefore leadership cannot be artificially manufactured. If you are approaching your people with the intention of ‘maximising human capital efficiency’, then you have already lost the game. Efficiency is, of course, important. However, it is achieved through creating an authentic culture that is centred around a purpose, not through viewing people as resources to be exploited. Becoming a great leader is about unlearning much of what we’ve been taught about what it means to lead. Leadership is about resonance. To what degree are you able to resonate with the people who look to you for guidance? In this sense, leadership demands authenticity and is strongest when your leadership style and your behaviour are a natural extension of who you are. It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, ‘Who you are speaks so loudly, I can’t hear a word you’re saying.’ Sustained leadership demands that you are the person your people think you are. I care for my people with all of my heart. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing the right people step into the right environment and flourish. The most rewarding part of my life to date has been enabling people to become somebody they hadn’t imagined. I love to challenge people to do just once what they previously considered impossible and see how their entire life changes forever as a result. Their self-image, the way they view the world, their confidence, their communication, their relationships, their work – it all transforms when somebody steps into the best version

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of themselves. This is what leaders do – they help people completely reimagine who they are and what is possible for them to achieve. It is the essence of contribution: to touch the lives of others in a way that makes them more, in a way that makes them shine. The biggest advantage I have when it comes to business is that I was never taught the tactics. All of my principles around business, leadership and legacy have been built from the ground up using first principle reasoning. This means starting from the foundations of any particular subject and finding your own way from there, rather than relying on other people’s models. I was never part of another business or a large corporation, so, when it comes to leadership and business, I never learnt how things were ‘meant to be done’. As such, by default, my thinking has always begun with a blank canvas, and I have only painted on it that which has proven itself to work. My principles on leadership have come from having built teams of over 100 people whose self-actualisation I obsess over, and from directly studying the character of those throughout history who have touched the hearts and minds of people everywhere and mobilised millions towards one common vision. This kind of exploration has led me to a very human-based leadership style that enables great people to come together in a tribe and do the impossible. In 2015, The Entourage was named Australia’s Fourth Best Place to Work by BRW magazine, a testament to developing a heartbased culture that cares for the individual. So, while leadership cannot be manufactured, it can be developed. And the development begins with you. Consciously create yourself as the embodiment of your principles and as a model for others to follow. As leaders, we must live our lives as if everybody is taking their cue from us. In this way, whether you want to build a great family, influence the team in which you work, or lead an organisation with thousands of employees, you will be the example that people silently seek. Contrary to conventional thinking, culture is not about beanbags, bicycles and fireman’s

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FEATURE| BFM poles. These are gimmicks that often serve only to detract from the true essence of an organisation. Culture goes far beyond the eye candy the media hold up as ‘great culture’. Don’t be fooled. Go deeper. Culture is about uniting around a purpose. It is about a group of people collectively sharing and working towards a vision. It is about creating an environment that inspires and enables people to do their life’s best work. It is about purposefully creating an environment with teams of people who understand the importance of what’s being done and therefore demand of one another that every single person performs and contributes. It challenges, demands, invites and enables every member of the team to continuously be growing out of and in to the best version of themselves. Great leadership needs to be ingrained into the DNA of the organisation. Often, the energy of the founder of the company or the leader of the team is enough to spark a great culture in the early days, when there are few people. However, as the team grows and the leader is no longer able to reach everybody directly, the leadership needs to be structural – it needs to be infused throughout the company using guiding principles. It is critical for anybody who wants to be an impactful leader to understand that great leaders do not create followers; they create more leaders. The three principles that underpin any great culture are vision, mission and values. Vision relates to the ultimate purpose being pursued by the organisation; its reason for existence. This purpose is contribution centric, focusing on the contribution the organisation will make to the lives of other people or the planet. For example, the vision for The Entourage is to push civilisation forward by enabling more people to live on purpose. Mission is the measurable and company-orientated target for what you want to become. While the vision focuses on others, the mission is centred on you – the ultimate goal for what you as a company or a team are trying to grow into. It is through achieving the measurable goal of the mission that we fulfil the purpose found in the vision. For example, the mission for The Entourage is to become the world’s number one education institution for entrepreneurs. Values are the set of standards that govern and guide who we are and who we must be. These values articulate the expectations, beliefs and behaviours that we want to exist in our organisation. They ensure that when we arrive at the achievement of the vision and mission, we arrive gracefully, with our heart still intact. BFM Jack Delosa is changing education for entrepreneurs. He is the founder of Australia’s largest and most disruptive education institution for entrepreneurs, The Entourage. Prior to The Entourage, Jack co-founded MBE Education which assisted SME’s to raise money from investors. MBE quickly became one of Australia’s fastest growing companies. Along the way, Jack also became a high-profile investor, investing in growth companies such as Q-Biotics, Martin Jet Pack (ASX:MJP), and founding The Entourage Growth Fund. His last book UnProfessional became a best-seller in just three weeks. He has been listed in the BRW Young Rich List since 2014.

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BFM | FEATURE

NEW PROTECTION RULES NEEDED TO MAXIMISE WHISTLEBLOWING The leaders of the world’s largest current research project into whistleblowing have called for comprehensive, evidence-based law reform to maximise the benefits of whistleblowing for corporate governance and public integrity – but warn that achieving this may require a change of mindset for some policymakers, organisations and the media.

peaking at the launch of the Australian Research Council project Whistling While They Work 2: Improving managerial responses to whistleblowing in public and private sector organisations, project leader Professor A J Brown said there was broad consensus that new laws and standards were needed to support whistleblowing, but as yet little guidance on what form they should take. “As a result, given the negativity that dominates much current debate over how to respond to problems of corporate culture, regulatory capacity and whistleblower mistreatment, we risk missing some of the greatest opportunities for solving these issues,” Professor Brown said. “Perhaps the single greatest opportunity is the high proportion of Australian companies who already know their own people can be the best and fastest way to find out about significant problems of wrongdoing or culture – but who, like all organisations worldwide, lack clear guidance on the tools and systems needed to properly encourage and protect whistleblowing in practice.” “The same is true of regulators – it is too easy to criticise corporate leaders, attack regulators and paint a picture of whistleblowers as overwhelmingly ignored and mistreated, when we know that in both government and business, there are positive efforts and lessons, not just negative ones.” “Given the extent of consensus on the need for new legal and governance standards, it’s time to turn our attention to what those standards need to contain, to best support internal, regulatory and public whistleblowing – rather than defeat ourselves by assuming that organisations and regulators can never get it right, or that all whistleblowers are destined to suffer, no matter what.” The Whistling While They Work 2 research project is focused on identifying current and potential best prac-

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FEATURE| BFM

tice in organisational management of whistleblowing, based on comprehensive evidence drawn from the widest possible spectrum of Australian and New Zealand organisations. The Australian-led project stands to be the largest in the world to date, and is the first to attempt systematic comparison of organisational experience in maximising whistleblowing, in a consistent way across the public and private sectors, and between countries. Led by researchers from Griffith University, Australian National University, University of Sydney and Victoria University of Wellington, the project is supported by 22 regulatory and professional organisations including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), CPA Australia, Governance Institute of Australia, Australian Institute of Company Directors and Transparency International Australia, along with the Commonwealth Ombudsman and leading public integrity agencies in all states, including all state Ombudsmen. In April-May, every Australian public sector agency (federal, state and local) and all of Australia’s 31,000 public unlisted and large proprietary companies are being formally approached by these partners and encouraged to participate in the project. An equivalently broad approach to public and private sector organisations is also underway in New Zealand, where partners include the New Zealand State Services Commission and Ombudsman. “This is the first time in history that integrity and regulatory authorities are known to have combined to approach every organisation in one country – let alone two – to get behind improved processes for effective disclosure and action against risks of public interest organisational wrongdoing, on such a comprehensive scale,” Professor Brown said. There are two phases to the research – a threshold Survey of Organisational Processes and Procedures, which takes approx. 20-30 minutes and is open to all organisations, from now until June; and a more comprehensive survey of staff, managers and systems in those organisations that elect to participate in depth, called Integrity@WERQ. Individual responses from organisations will be confidential to the university researchers, and participant responses in Integrity@WERQ will be anonymous. “However, aggregated results at jurisdictional, sectoral and organisational levels will provide unprecedented evidence of what is currently working, and why, or why not, in the encouragement and management of whistleblowing within organisations.” “This is the evidence that organisations need to help them get it right, and law reformers need to know what standards should be set in new or reformed legislation, or elsewhere, including clearer and better resourced roles for independent regulators,” Professor Brown said. “For example, the research team has already resolved to place the results behind a proposal to write the replacement to the Australian Standard on Whistleblower Protection Programs (AS 8004), which was published in 2003 but is currently withdrawn.” BFM

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BFM | ASIA

China 2.0

index evolution and the mainstreaming of RI AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) has unveiled the key trends long-term investors should consider for the next decade.

XA IM’s leading global commentators identified a number of emerging trends: the rise of China 2.0; the changing role of indices – no longer do they simply reflect investment reality - they shape it; and responsible investment’s (RI) journey to mainstream. Commenting on the trends Craig Hurt, AXA IM’s Director, Australia and New Zealand said smart investors continued to look to the long term rather than getting distracted by short term market ‘noise’. “With low returns across capital markets Australian investors are looking for more innovative ways to achieve target returns. From an investment perspective we’re not talking about a rapid revolutionary change but more of a subtle evolutionary shift in global equity and responsible investment opportunities over the long term,” he said.

CHINA 2.0 – THE MAIN ENGINE FOR ASIAN GROWTH Despite its attractive investment prospects, Asia currently represents only around five per cent of global portfolios – something which will likely change over the next ten years, according to AXA IM’s Head of Framlington Equities Asia Mark Tinker. “Opportunities for long term investors look most attractive in Asia as China builds out a new capital markets system to support the shift to China Growth 2.0 and also invests heavily throughout the region in infrastructure via the One Belt One Road scheme. “New energy technology, which includes efficiency measures and low-carbon technologies, will also

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offer great investment opportunities with attractive returns to long term investors. It won’t be without challenges though, as it will need US$13.5 trillion of capital by 2030.” Mr Tinker added that China’s long term challenges of building a capital markets system, urbanisation and shifting to higher value added production are disrupting existing business models, as well as offering investors access to China’s giant balance sheet. “In ten years’ time half of your portfolio may be in Chinese assets that currently don’t exist as investments at the moment such as infrastructure bonds, muni bonds, corporate bonds as well as restructured State Owned Enterprises.”

INDICES ARE SHAPING REALITY, RATHER THAN JUST REFLECTING IT Tackling the ‘evolving role of indices’ Kathryn Mohan McDonald, Director of Investment Strategy, AXA IM Rosenberg Equities, said the investment decisions underlying familiar indices had grown in number and complexity. “As global equity managers who’ve been in the market for nearly 30 years, we’ve witnessed a profound evolution in the role of index providers. Once used as barometers of markets, published indices are increasingly complex and can, themselves, move capital. No longer do they simply reflect reality, they shape it.” Ms Mohan McDonald added that a key question for long-term investors to answer is whether anchoring their portfolios to published indices is in step with their long-run investment objectives. “While indices play an important

role in benchmarking – which is of critical importance to asset owners – the cap-weighted nature of most indices, as well as the short-run relative–return pressures faced by our industry, may lead to sub-optimal investment decisions.”

RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT’S (RI) JOURNEY TO MAINSTREAM Talking on responsible investment’s coming of age Matt Christensen, AXA IM’s Global Head of Responsible Investment, said 2015 had been the ‘Big Bang’ equivalent for RI. “The old world of RI, as a one per cent part of a portfolio largely focused on equities, is over. The COP 21 Accord, and subsequent multiple initiatives to connect ESG (environmental, social and governance) to the fiduciary duty definition, saw climate change being used as the lever to push RI boldly into the mainstream of asset management. So much so, that in ten year’s time there will no longer be a standalone RI field.” Looking ahead Mr Christensen added that impact investment would become another natural extension of RI and valuable complement to ESG. “We have seen a positive client response to RI demonstrated by the increasing popularity of innovative products such as green bonds and the growing interest in impact investing. There will be continued evidence of the gradual progression of RI from a specialist area to a ‘must have’ with impact investing becoming the key trend – clients are increasingly seeking ESG to minimise risk and impact to accentuate outcomes and opportunities,” Mr Christensen said. BFM

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BFM | COVER STORY

STRONG LEADERSHIP HELPS AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES BUILD A DIGITAL CULTURE AND THRIVE Very few business leaders have adopted full-blown, enterprise-wide digital strategies to ensure their companies have a vibrant future. Avanade Australia’s Managing Director Sarah Adam-Gedge speaks about why a lack of digital strategy can be a business killer and how Avanade is facilitating a shift towards a new standard of business behaviour.

igital is no longer a niceto-have – it is at the core of how modern business gets done, as well as underpinning engagement with employees, partners and customers. Some of the most renowned companies in the world today built their success on getting ahead of the competition and by being digital from their foundation, or by transforming to embrace a digital strategy. Atlassian is a fantastic example of an Australian business that recognised the power of digital and has subsequently redefined workplace collaboration and unlocked doors to productivity and innovation. In the retail industry, there has been a strong shift away from bricks-and-mortar stores, with brands like The Iconic making online shopping the norm for the next generation of Australians. Now think of mining. With the global commodity price slump, slimming down costs and boosting efficiencies is critical to survive and deliver profit. In a heavily regulated industry that places significant focus on safety, employee engagement and

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productivity, digital strategies for the organisation itself are now seen to be as important in driving success as physically extracting iron ore. No industry is immune to the digital revolution. Implementing a digital strategy is by no means easy, but businesses should see it as a significant opportunity. The first step is to create a digital culture. Digital transformation cannot be achieved by reading a manual or eBook. It requires leadership, wisdom and guidance. If there are no digital or tech-friendly leaders guiding teams, it becomes almost impossible to implement a workable enterprise-wide strategy. According to Avanade Managing Director Sarah Adam-Gedge, to be a digital company on the outside, it’s vital to be digital on the inside. “For organisations to be relevant, they need to adopt digital operations to cultivate and nurture their own digital culture. This includes having digital leaders, digital engagement, and ethical frameworks to help navigate through this brave new world. These elements ensure the entire

business goes on the journey. Acting as a digital leader doesn’t always require deep technical knowledge and skills, but rather an ability to lead by example and embrace digital tools and work practices that help drive productivity and flexible working. Establishing a digital culture starts with a vision from leadership and a comprehensive road map to realise that vision.” Like any business change, it must be owned and championed by the leadership team, but digital is not just about technology, it’s about people. A digital strategy must be human-centric and focussed on enablement – be that deeper data insights to help an employee perform his/her role better, or a more connected and customised buying experience for a customer. To drive digital engagement, leadership is key. “Effective digital leadership should drive widespread digital engagement throughout an organisation, and beyond to its customers. One of our clients, Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), has migrated to the cloud to bolster

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COVER STORY| BFM

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BFM | COVER STORY

global collaboration across its global network and ultimately deliver better engagement with customers,” Sarah says. “TWE has also moved to a managed services model for its commoditised applications and processes, freeing its people to focus on innovation and enabling them to provide more value-added activities.” In January, the Australian Computer Society (ACS) published a report entitled Tomorrow’s Digitally Enabled Workforce, which outlines how businesses and education can benefit from driving a digital workplace and equipping the next generation of workers with skills to survive and thrive in an increasingly digital work environment. Avanade’s vision is to be the leading digital innovator, realising results for its clients and their customers with digital and cloud technologies. “Not only are we seeing client demand for digital transformation, but a digital culture is desirable for the next generation of workers. People entering the workplace

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today expect that the experience they have outside the workplace is mirrored within,” Sarah says. According to analysis conducted by the CSIRO’s data innovation department Data61, in conjunction with the ACS and other bodies, the makeup of Australia’s workplace is shifting faster and more dramatically than ever before. “Digital workplace transformation is critical for countries like Australia as we shift to a knowledge- and innovationbased economy. Many companies are primarily focused on digital to drive customer engagement, but to remain relevant during this time of fostering new digital innovations, organisations need to walk the talk by cultivating and nurturing their own digital culture.” This is where Avanade’s experience comes to the fore. “I’m not going to say we help to develop an organisation’s vision, but we certainly help them understand how we can digitally enable the business to achieve its vision. That’s where we operate,” Sarah says. Avanade was formed as a joint venture between Microsoft and

Accenture in 2000 and now has more than 29,000 professionals worldwide. Avanade helps large enterprises to innovate with technologies in the Microsoft ecosystem, but also provide advice to company leaders on the best way to develop and implement an enterprise-wide digital strategy. “When Microsoft, Avanade and Accenture come together, we are working with a client to solve a difficult issue and help them move into the future. We call it the ‘power of three’ because we think that’s an unbeatable combination.” At the root of Avanade’s culture is a passion for technology and a desire to change the world for the better. Most organisations are challenged by what Avanade calls ‘two-speed IT’ – the difficulty of maintaining and building a core business, while innovating to continually adapt to the fast-evolving market. “No two clients are the same; some are slower to adopt new technologies, while some race ahead,” says Sarah. “We put that whole transformation of an organisation down to: ‘are you just

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COVER STORY| BFM trying to make operational changes or are you trying to build a topdown pervasive digital culture?’” Looking at how Avanade has helped businesses transform gives some insight into exactly what can be done. “We work at a rapid pace to help businesses meet innovation objectives,” Sarah says. “We are currently working with an Australian retailer on a pilot program. Adopting an agile, fastfail approach, we first ideate and prove the concept out in a two to three week period, and then – once we have the client’s feedback – we go ahead and build and deploy. Another example is how we worked with Henkel, a multinational company active both in the consumer and industrial sectors. Henkel wanted to replace an aging IT environment with better workplace technologies, rapidly and with minimal risk to business operations. We moved quickly on the deployment and cut the time to get it done by half. For the client, the shift to a digital workplace reinvigorated the corporate culture and spurred productivity, with 50 per cent of the workforce adopting the internal messaging tool to increase collaboration across teams. Similarly, we recently completed a project with the Australian Department of Industry to deliver a persona-based solution that promotes national innovation by making it easier for Australian businesses to navigate to information they need on the Department’s website.” Avanade also ensures that it too is taking care of its own digital needs. How can it expect to be a leader in its field, if it is slow to adapt itself? Sarah is clear when she says: “We believe in leading by example. For example, to drive global collaboration, we’ve rolled out Skype for Business to our global workforce, and all of our team members have their mobile devices securely synced to Office 365, so they can do what’s needed anywhere, any time. Our staff often work remotely from both client offices and home base, so having a functioning remote office environment is important. To ensure our teams don’t lose the sense of their community, as a

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business we have also embraced the internal social network, Yammer, to share ideas and thoughts between staff members.” Avanade also supports its staff globally to innovate. “Each year, we gather colleagues and partners from all around the world for the annual TechSummit (an event that provides a platform for ideas-sharing and global innovation). A select group of clients also join us as at TechSummit to discuss new technology trends and see solutions we are showcasing as we imagine the future. TechSummit is an annual pilgrimage not to be missed, and all Avanade businesses around the world invest in ensuring colleagues can get together to exchange ideas and inspire each other.”

Sarah says the second half of this decade represents a period of further significant change. More change than the entire history gone before us, thanks to digital. “The speed of digitisation is on the rise and will continue to set the agenda for the way businesses interact and operate in the future. Innovation will define a number of critical choices we have to make: what work to do, how to develop skills, and how companies enhance work environments to stay relevant to all types of workers.” In that sense, Avanade stands at the forefront of this change, influencing and inspiring Australian companies to embrace a digital culture to drive productivity and fuel Australia’s future economic success. BFM

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BFM | BUSINESS

Information Overload Driving Poor Leadership and Crippling Employee Loyalty Information overload is a problem in business. Not only are we snowed under with news that’s coming at us 24-7, we’re finding it harder for our own voice to be heard in a saturated audience on the world wide web, where there is pressure for us to be writes Mike Irving.

irst a website was a must, then a Facebook page, then Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, now Periscope and Snapchat are moving in on us. The amount of information created in the world from the dawn of time to 2003 is created every two days now, taking people’s attention away from those around them and the task at hand. There is no doubt many bosses are becoming distracted and failing to fully engage with their staff, putting business at risk. Technology has enabled employers to be switched on day and night it, which can leave them feeling overwhelmed with an overactive mind. This can lead to problems of not really listening when their employ-

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ees are talking to them or being dismissive and lacking empathy. When that happens employee loyalty goes as well as engagement, which means if staff are asked to put in extra hours to get a job done they’ll be less likely to and they’ll most likely be scouring the positions vacant ads. A survey of a thousand workers on staff engagement found more than half thought their efforts weren’t recognised by their boss. It’s becoming harder for bosses to say thank you, for example, because they’re losing their empathy skills as technology and information distract them. There’s a simple online test I encourage employers to do, called The Reading the Mind in the Eyes test, to measure and be aware of

their empathy abilities. During the test you are shown 36 images of eyes from the eyebrow to the bridge of the nose and you’re asked to determine how that person is feeling via multiple- choice options. There are four possible answers for each image but only one is correct and this test is often a good wake up call for employers. Empathy is the number one skill that determines success in a leader and sadly it is lacking more and more as we become ‘so busy’. There are four steps to improving empathy: Psychological Safety: Create an environment where members of a team feel accepted, their opinion is valued and they won’t be ridiculed for speaking up.

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BUSINESS| BFM

Engage: Give staff your full attention when talking to them. If you find yourself getting distracted by your phone or your own thoughts you’re not truly engaged and present with the person you’re talking to. Your relationships with your team will grow exponentially by taking this action. Understand: Have an intention to understand what is happening with your staff and how they feel. Support them where and when you can and at the same time be aware that it’s not your job to solve their problems for them. Find the balance between being supportive and ensuring they fend for themselves and solve problems for you and the business.

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Direct Communication: Teams in an office who engage face to face rather than send emails when they are sitting opposite each other tend to be more connected. Good leadership ensures good communication and connection between all parties involved. Face to face communication gets the team using and developing their empathy skills and strengthens the connections that lead to top performance in a team. Every leader in business will benefit if they pause and take a good look at themselves to ensure they’re building their four invisible muscles – intention, awareness, interest, and attention. These muscles all play a significant role in developing empathy, and empathy plays a big part in

improving the collective intelligence of the team. Collective intelligence is very different to the sum of the intelligence of the individuals on the team as it takes into account the social sensitivity of the group and their interactions, in other words empathy. The most productive teams on the planet right now use these muscles to build and create success together. BFM Mike Irving runs Leadership Skills Accelerator course across the country. He is a recruiter, business owner and leadership performance coach who has built teams of 300 in his own businesses.

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BFM | PROFILE

Leading the way in IVF treatment Dr Hamish Hamilton was appointed the General Manager of Repromed Adelaide and Darwin in 2014 – having previously held the role of General Manager Repromed Darwin from 2012. He has extensive experience as a scientist in the field of reproduction, obtaining his PhD in Mammalian pre-implantation embryo development in 2005. He speaks with Business First about the serious business of fertility and Repromed’s role in helping families achieve their fertility aims. Business First (BF): Hamish thanks for your time today, could you tell me about yourself and your experience in the fertility industry? Hamish Hamilton (HH): I’m a reproductive scientist. I completed my PhD in the field of reproduction at The University of Adelaide and was very interested in the clinical field. I started working in human IVF in 2005 as a clinical embryologist and after two years I took on the scientific director position at a fertility unit, which is the position that oversees the laboratory aspects of IVF. In 2012 I began managing the Darwin IVF unit in Northern Territory and in 2014 I took over South Australia and Northern Territory as general manager, by which time we were part of the Monash IVF group. BF: What are Repromed’s origins? HH: Repromed began in the 1950s as a joint venture between the University of Adelaide and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The goals back then are the same as now: to help people conceive. Repromed has a long history. It was owned by the University of Adelaide all the way up until 2006 when it was purchased by a small group of clinicians and managers. Three years later it was sold to a private equity company Ironbridge who acquired Monash IVF in Victoria and Queensland. In 2014 the company was listed on the ASX and changed the name to the Monash IVF Group. That’s the genesis of Repromed as it is part of the

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Dr Hamish Hamilton Monash IVF Group. BF: How has treatment changed in this time? HH: Fertility treatment has transitioned from an experimental intervention to a routine clinical practice. We have a much better understanding of the egg, sperm and embryo physiology which has lead to optimisation of clinical IVF practices. During this time the industry has also redefined what constitutes successful outcome in IVF and clinics are much more focused on giving patients a healthy singleton baby. BF: In the last 10 years in particular what have been the scientific and technological breakthroughs you’ve seen?

HH: In the last 10 years the pregnancy rates that we’re able to achieve with IVF have really advanced a long way. Let’s say for a couple that is under 38 years of age today the pregnancy rate per cycle of embryo transfers is about 50%. Ten years ago it was probably half that. BF: That’s a big jump. HH: That is advances in the culture media, the fluid that we keep the embryo in. It’s much closer reality where the embryo sits in the uterus. It’s advances in the technology in the embryo culture that’s a big part of that. The other thing is in the last two years we’ve been testing embryos

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PROFILE| BFM for chromosome numbers so that we’re only transferring embryos that have a normal chromosome number. Half of the embryos that humans create have an incorrect chromosome number. This increases the pregnancy rate and decreases miscarriage. That’s another advance and we call this Embryo Screen. These advancements combined mean that we also only put back one embryo per transfer and that reduces multiple pregnancy rates, which means a reduction in the obstetric complication rates, preterm births, and neonatal deaths. That’s been something that we’ve really led the way with in Australia and at Repromed. BF: Which leads us into the next question and how Repromed is leading the space? What are you doing differently from other IVF clinics around the country? HH: At Repromed we have had a very particular focus on innovation. The two biggest influences on success rates are your scientific governance and your quality control systems. We employ eight PhD scientists in our laboratory to drive research and innovation and ensure advancements in best practice. We’re the only ones in South Australia that are doing that. That’s really what gives us those success rates. Having excellent people that are using the absolute latest and greatest technologies really delivers those extra outcomes. Apart from that the genetic testing that I mentioned earlier, we are the only unit in South Australia that are doing that on site. That’s integrated into our laboratory systems. Obviously our clinicians who are using the very latest techniques in clinical management and our patients using the latest protocols of IVF, combined with the latest protocols in the laboratory this will deliver those excellent success rates. BF: What are the modern day costs of IVF treatment? HH: The basic IVF treatment is around $2,500 out of pocket for a patient. That’s if they’ve got health insurance, and that’s for your basic treatment. If you need extra particular procedures, there are additional costs depending on

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exactly what you need. But the basic treatment here is about $$2,500 out of pocket including Medicare subsidies. BF: So it has become a lot more reasonable over the years from what it was say 10, 15 years ago? HH: Actually the government reduced the Medicare contribution in 2010. It used to be a lot more generous. It used to be about $1,500 out of pocket before 2010 with the Medicare safety net, but they changed the rules to make it a bit less generous. It’s still very generous pared to the rest of the world. Very few countries have the government supporting IVF like we do here. If someone were to pay full price for it, it would be probably $12,000 for a cycle. You can see it is very reasonable in that context. That’s due to the support of the government. BF: IVF is a big decision to make, how do you help couples make the decision? HH: If someone can’t get pregnant after a year of trying they’re clinically infertile. It is at that point most couples will come in and see one of our specialist doctors. The doctor will take their history, do investigations and testing, and identify what the problem is in terms of conceiving – whether it’s a male factor problem, a female factor problem, or whether it’s a combination. Also, in about 30% of cases you don’t find out what the problem is and this is called unknown fertility. The doctor will do all the workup and then decide what the best treatment is. In some cases it’s just taking a tablet. In other cases they need IVF and they need a bit more intervention to achieve the pregnancy. Ultimately, the goal is to help these couples have a healthy pregnancy as soon as possible. The doctor will recommend the most appropriate treatments to them to achieve that healthy pregnancy. IVF is probably the most effective and has the best success rate. BF: What happens if the process fails? HH: If it fails we have counsellors on staff to help couples deal with an unsuccessful IVF cycle.

The integration of genomics into evidence based healthcare transcends into the field of reproductive medicine. This enables prospective parents and their clinicians to make empowered choices using advanced genomic solutions that deliver fast and accurate information. Partnering with visionary leaders, such as Dr Hamish Hamilton at Repromed, part of the Monash IVF Group, Illumina is committed to responsibly delivering scientific and medical breakthroughs that are greatly improving IVF success rates. Understanding that the journey to parenthood is not always an easy one, we work with Fertility Centres and clinicians to ensure a holistic cutting edge approach to clinical practice. As leaders in genomics, Illumina are proud to support Repromed to deliver the best choice of technologies and the highest quality of patient care. - Sonia Gowan, Illumina

Some people don’t need it, but a lot do because it is a very stressful thing to go through. Very transparent communication from our clinicians, providing reasons why treatment might not have worked is important. It is also vital to have a plan for the next step. Our doctors are excellent at that communication and engagement with the patient, so they can then plan treatment going forward for their patients. Or if there is very little chance for them then, they can counsel them as to what solutions are available such as donor eggs and sperm or surrogacy. It’s a very complex process and there are a lot of options available to couples. Communication is absolutely critical in this area. BF: The Repromed website says more than 90% of patients under 38 will conceive within two IVF cycles, overall majority. HH: That’s right. That’s a good example of how far we’ve come in the pregnancy rates in the last 10 years. BF: So, if we have come this far, where do you see this technology and the broader industry heading? HH: I think in the future we’ll have continuous improvements in the laboratory to improve pregnancy rates. Still today when we select embryos to transfer back to the patients, the best way to do that is through a morphology

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VF and PGSPGS helped IVF and helped makemake the reward of of the reward parenthood possible— parenthood possible— he years of trying are aare a the years of trying distant memory. distant memory.

ora andNora Travis, and Travis, rospective parents parents prospective

There’s nothing more There’s nothing more personal than genomics. personal than genomics.

Powerful stories.stories. New possibilities. Nora and herand husband, Travis, and couples like Powerful New possibilities. Nora her husband, Travis, and couples like hem, inspire us to innovate the genomic solutions that empower informed choices them, inspire us to innovate the genomic solutions that empower informed choices t multiple touch points reproductive and health journey. IlluminaIllumina next- nextat multiple touchalong pointsthe along the reproductive andcare health care journey. eneration sequencing and array-based solutions deliver the answers that translational generation sequencing and array-based solutions deliver the answers that translational nd clinical physicians, and their patients need. Valuable insightsinsights from from and researchers, clinical researchers, physicians, and their patients need. Valuable preimplantation genetic genetic screening (PGS)—early on. Andon. that’s the just beginning of preimplantation screening (PGS)—early Andjust that’s the beginning of what’s possible. www.illumina.com/personal what’s possible. www.illumina.com/personal

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PROFILE| BFM

BF: Hamish, what have been your major achievements in the area? HH: In the science lab my achievements have been introducing new

technologies, including new freezing technologies into the clinical IVF program and improving quality control in our IVF program. More recently as an administrator and as a general manager, in a business sense it has been to improve our services and thus our market share as the number one place for couples to come and have IVF treatment. My goal is to continue to lead Repromed to be on the cutting edge and have treatments that improve outcomes for our patients by employing the very best scientists and clinicians to take us there, and offer that service to our patients. BF: What more do you hope to achieve in your research and study? Is there anything on the horizon? HH: I hope to continue to be able to drive the absolute best quality patient experience, and service offerings in the area. One thing about Repromed is that we try and have everything here for our patients,

Improved pregnancy rate

No adverse events

so they don’t have to go to an ultra sound business or a separate pathology business. We have a centre of excellence here and I’d like to continue to grow that. I think there are a lot of opportunities for the company in Asia. We have an IVF unit in Kuala Lumpur, which is a very high growth area, much more than Australia. In Australia the growth projections are annually about 4% organic growth. In new markets and in South East Asia it’s more like 10%. There’s such a large market in China, now they have abolished the one child policy, that there is going to be a lot of opportunity in those regions and Monash IVF Group will be part of that. I think there are a lot of opportunities to take the very best technology that we offer here in Australia and help them achieve that in other countries, and be part of that growth in those particular areas. BF: Hamish, thank you for your time. HH: Thank you. BFM

More babies born

Improved implantation rate

EmbryoGlue. for increased take-home baby rate. EmbryoGlue is an implantation promoting transfer medium with a unique combination of hyaluronic acid and recombinant albumin and is the most welldocumented implantation medium with proven effect in IVF.

Another meta-analysis on almost 10,000 embryo transfers with EmbryoGlue showed increased implantation rate and pregnancy rate, confirming the Cochrane report2.

A meta-analysis from the independent research network Cochrane Collaboration showed that when EmbryoGlue was used for transfer, there was an overall increase of 8% in both pregnancy rate and live birth rate, compared to a medium with low or no hyaluronic acid1. The positive effect was seen regardless of embryo transfer day.

Contact Donnie Linck at dlinck@vitrolife.com for more information or visit www. vitrolife.com to learn how you can benefit from using EmbryoGlue.

Vitrolife Pty Ltd. . Level 10 . 68 Pitt Street . Sydney NSW 2000 . Tel 03 8844 4878 . order.au@vitrolife.com . www.vitrolife.com © Vitrolife 1.160531.1

1. Bontekoe S et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014 Feb 25;2:CD007421. 2. Hashimoto et al. ALPHA 2014, poster presentation.

assessment. I think more molecular non-invasive embryo testing to select embryos for transfer will be a future improvement that research will no doubt achieve in the future. I think genetics is going to become more important. IVF is used a lot is for people who have genetic diseases and don’t want to pass those genetic diseases onto their children. If they’ve got cystic fibrosis for example they can do IVF and we can test the embryos and not transfer the ones with cystic fibrosis. I think in the future people will be able to come and have genetic testing to screen if they have any genetic diseases they don’t know about. Then if they do, we’ll be able to prevent them passing those diseases on to their offspring. I think genetics will play a very big part of improvements in IVF as it already is today.

BFM | TEAMWORK

The 5 biggest teamwork ills

Twisting your features into a mask of pain, you dig your heels into the soft grass. A rope tears into your palms. A clear, tiny voice speaks to you amid the many confused thoughts swirling in your head: “So-o-o-o … what am I learning from this experience?” By Dr. Mario Moussa, Dr. Derek Newberry and Madeline Boyer

ell, if you’re like many who have done this exercise at a corporate retreat, you should be learning about teamwork. As others join you, the collective rope-pulling effort seems to demonstrate the point. Little by little, the boulder starts moving until it nudges over the 30-foot mark. Cheers erupt. But you notice something. With each additional person who contributes to the effort, the boulder moves faster, but not as fast as you would have imagined. By the time the tenth person steps up, you feel the group is barely pulling

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harder than when it was only six, even though everyone seems to be working hard. This well-documented phenomenon, social loafing, is an issue that plagues any group of individuals working together, but it isn’t the only one. Knowing what to look out for can be half the battle. Below are the top 5 Biggest Teamwork Ills, and some prescriptions to help you avoid them. 1. Overemphasising abstract goals People like to talk about transcendent goals for a reason. Steve

Jobs was known for his inspiring keynote talks that emphasised changing the world. Such goals are uplifting, and can make work feel more meaningful. But when teams overestimate the importance of inspiring vision when setting goals for their team, they risk not paying enough attention to aligning personal priorities with those bigger goals. If team members don’t understand ‘What’s In It For Me?’, it can be hard for them to commit to working towards team goals. Teamwork Rx: Make sure that big, collective goals align with

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TEAMWORK| BFM 4. Ignoring reflection One of the major cognitive biases recognised by research is outcome bias: if you’re successful, you don’t really reflect on what went well or could have gone better. However, in a world characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, or VUCA, successes are fleeting, and reflection is as imperative when things are going well as they are when they’re not. Too often companies and teams reserve formal reflection for annual retreats or quarterly reviews, when in reality it needs to be taking place with much more frequency. Teamwork Rx: Remember that check-ins need not always be huge affairs reserved for day-long retreats—they can be as simple as a weekly stand-up meeting.

small, personal commitments that drive performance. 2. Underemphasising roles Many teams think that merely getting the right talent in play is all that it takes for a team to be successful. Research has shown, though, that you need clear structure and well-defined interdependent roles in order to best leverage the strengths of those on your team. Contrast the 2004 U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball Dream Team’s disappointing performance to the 2015 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors’ expert management of team roles. Teamwork Rx: Well-structured teams generally outperform those with more raw talent—strength, skill, or IQ. Take time to find the roles and structure that make sense for your team.

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3. Making too many rules Human beings are rule-making machines—it is what defines us as a species and allows us to interact as social beings. Often the tendency in teams is to try to plan for every possible situation and create rules for all potential contingencies. This is both time consuming and ineffective. Starbucks CEO and founder, Howard Schultz understood the importance of focusing on the right rules when he decided to bring back in-store bean grinding to help restore the brand’s reputation and performance. Teamwork Rx: Focus on the few rules that are likely to have the biggest impact on your team’s culture and performance: information-sharing, decision-making and conflict resolution.

5. Failing to sell the change You can be right, but ultimately still be unsuccessful. Such was the case for Lloyd Braun, the ABC executive who was the champion and driving force behind the smash hit, Lost. Braun was so convinced that his idea would be a hit, he barreled through green lighting the most expensive television pilot budget to date, $12 Million. He did not take the time to get others on board with his vision, and even though his intuition was correct, he was fired before the show even premiered. Teamwork Rx: Strength of will and charisma are not enough to push through change—work hard to get buy-in so that people want to come along with you. In the end, good teaming is about being mindful about how you’re working together, and making sure to check-in frequently to close the gaps between what you say you want to do and what you’re actually doing. BFM Dr. Mario Moussa, Dr. Derek Newberry and Madeline Boyer are the authors of Committed Teams: Three Steps to Inspiring Passion and Performance. Dr. Moussa teaches in the Executive Programs at Wharton School of Executive Education. Dr. Newberry and Boyer are lecturers at the Wharton School of Business and Senior Consultants at Percipient Partners. For more information, please visit, www.moussaconsulting.com and www.percipientpartners.com and connect with the authors on Twitter, @Committed_Teams.

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BFM | PROFILE

ENABLING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS When a company is in its first year, you could be excused for thinking that it would still be finding its feet and forging an identity. However, at barely six months, Marching Elephants has become a profitable entity operating without any external funds, with a growing suite of clients and a clear vision that sets it apart in the sector.

“

We are the world’s first and only enabler for social entrepreneurs,” says Marching Elephants founder and chief executive officer, Andrew Roberts. “What we do, and we do it very well, is we are an idea generator, we’re a growth enabler, and we’re a business liberator. We want to support social entrepreneurs to do what they do best in their businesses.” The important part of this conversation is the term ‘social entrepreneur’. Andrew has assembled a core team of market leading consultants with particular skills that empower individuals and put ideas into action. But those ideas must be underwritten by a desire to build a better world. “If a business has an idea that can make positive change, whilst maintaining a sustainable business model, Marching Elephants wants to be involved,” Andrew explains.

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“If a social entrepreneur has a passion for branding but is not an IT person, we will provide the IT technologies to build what they require. If they’re a technology person but they’re not very good at branding and they’re not very good at marketing then we will provide the branding and the marketing from our business – so we do the idea generation with them. Then we enable them to grow successfully as part of the Marching Elephants stable of social entrepreneurship businesses.” Andrew will say that social responsibility has always been important in his life. He speaks of a history of community involvement and a life-long commitment to people – a trait he shares with his wife. However, a personal battle a number of years prior reinforced the need to focus his efforts in such a meaningful way. After some 30 years in the

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PROFILE| BFM

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BFM | PROFILE

corporate world, rapidly rising to senior level positions within large organisations, Andrew found himself managing large scale teams, travelling regularly and working excessive hours. Eventually, it took its toll. “By 2007 I had a major critical event that put me in hospital. I should stress that it was not a direct result of my employer. If I could say anything about my employers at the time, and my fellow partners, they were supportive. A lot of people say you need to slow down in the corporate world but it gets harder and harder to do that in the global environment, and I suffered a major critical illness that put me in a coma for 14 days. I obviously came out of that coma, but I was not in a good state. Thanks to the love and the care of my family I have managed to recover – but in the two years that I went through physiotherapy and all the medical requirements to get my health back I did a lot of self-reflection.” Of all the thought processes and reflection that Andrew went through, he makes special mention of the book Sixth Wave, which talks about the future of commerce in the 21st century and the need to build and invest in a sustainable way of living to benefit society, communities and the human race. In turn, it suggests that such an approach will also benefit businesses. “I went and did some studies and research at Swinburne University and I started looking at a different view of the world,” says Andrew. “I started looking at what was wrong with our societies, what we’re not doing for our communities, and how we could do it better. I started looking at the whole entrepreneurship, innovation, social entrepreneurship ecosystem at an academic level. “I identified a number of flaws in the way social entrepreneurs approach their business models. I wanted to help social entrepreneurs identify how to go to market and, more importantly, how they seek to raise capital to fund their businesses going forward.” The development of Marching Elephants is a clear embodiment of these philosophies. Even the name came about as a simple reflection of the business’ ideals. “We want to create a herd of ele-

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PROFILE| BFM

phants of various sizes, from small to medium and onto to fully fledged elephants. In other words, from idea generation through to a self-sufficient entity that can go into the world and create its own ecosystems within social entrepreneurship.” The key to this success, says Andrew, is actively seeking out new social entrepreneurs, then building long term relationships with them. Marching Elephants has three major divisions; the creation, branding, marketing, and social media team – the business, commercial, legal and financial modelling team – and the technology division. Between those divisions, Andrew says they can support the needs of any social entrepreneur. Of course, the proof is in the results and (their results are proof of this), at time of interview, Marching Elephants had some 20 social entrepreneurship businesses at various stages of development, with a number already successfully moving on to the next stage of their journey. Perhaps most impressively, the team managed to raise almost $2 million of capital funding across a number of businesses in only a three-month period. With such a clear business philosophy and proven success, Andrew is looking to expand Marching Elephants into the US market in the near future, with further expansion into the UK in the pipeline. A presence in Singapore and China thereafter would be the potential third step. In the interim, Andrew will continue to work with the Australian market, hoping to gain a level of engagement from State and Federal Governments along the journey. In its commitment to reaching both metropolitan and regional Australia, Marching Elephants has opened two offices in Melbourne and a creative studio in Byron Bay within a short timeframe. “As a country we are committed to the innovation boom, and at Marching Elephants we have invested in some unique models that are proven, tried and tested. If I could wish for anything I’d like to engage more with government, not because I want government’s money but it’s because I believe that we can contribute to that agenda in a positive way.” BFM

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BFM | MARKETING

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MARKETING| BFM

Why You Should NEVER Pre-Sell Your Online Course Before it’s Built You’ve got knowledge and experience you’re dying to share with the world in the form of an online course, but hold off on asking your audience for their money unless you have something to give them immediately writes Sarah Cordiner.

ne of the most insidious online course marketing methods we are seeing as ‘Edupreneurs’ try to cash in on this multi-billion dollar industry, is the dangerous ‘sell it before it’s built’ method. Although this ‘advice’ appears to be everywhere in the marketing sphere, I would strongly urge online course creators to think very carefully before employing this strategy - or better yet, just avoid it like the plague. As someone who has been spectacularly ripped off by paying for a course that didn’t exist, and someone who pre-sold a book that wasn’t finished (to the detriment of my reputation when it wasn’t delivered on time) - I want to share a few of my ‘learned-it-the-hardway’ reasons why you should put that credit card machine away before you have a fully fledged, tried and tested, iterated course ready for your learners to enroll in as soon as they get their payment confirmation. Equally dangerous however, is focusing only on completing your online course and thinking that the ‘build it and then they will come’ technique will earn you a cent for all of your hard work. Before you launch your much-anticipated course to your followers and potential customers, take a look at the bigger picture. You could be setting your product up for failure if you try to sell it before you’ve established a solid ‘product to market fit’. I work with aspiring course creators everyday who are surprised when they realise that what they thought their audience wanted to learn about, and what it transpired after research that they wanted to learn about were almost worlds apart - yet a shocking amount of online course creators are still

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‘pre-selling’ courses that only have their own bank accounts in mind, instead of their learner’s satisfaction. Here’s how not to be one of them: Consider these tips before you end up with a product you can’t sell. 1. People hate waiting. Your customers will be angry if you offer a course that is not ready, and by ready we mean a tangible, real life, undeniably available course. It doesn’t have to be ‘perfect’, but it does have to ‘be’. If people pay for something, and you can’t give it to them you will face resentment, frustration, complaints and refund requests - all while you’re still desperately trying to build their course! 2. Conduct thorough market research Talk at length with your audience - ask them what they want your course to include (and NOT include!). What do they want and what they need? (These are usually different). Does your product resonate with them? Or are you trying to sell something they don’t want? Compile a list of possible learning outcomes from your research and then let your market tell you what to include and exclude from your course by getting them to ‘rate’ how much they would like to attain each learning outcome in a likert scale survey. 2. Get a group of volunteers to test a pilot version of your product before you sell it to the public. They can provide feedback, ask questions, flag issues and help you refine your product. Update your product according to the feedback you receive. This might take a few iterations of your “final” version, but it’s worth the

extra time and effort. Reward your volunteers with a significant discount on the product you sell to the public, give it to them for free or offer some type of gift to make helping you worth their while. A bonus side-effect of this is that this core group of testers feel like they are part of the product creation and often become ambassadors for your course. 3. Update your product regularly Remember that although you must have something ‘completed’ in order to start selling your course, it should also never be considered as ‘finished’. Trends in your industry will change, so you will have to update your course to stay current and to offer your customers the latest in your field. This is another reason why pre-selling is dangerous, as I have seen online course creators take such a long time creating their course after the ‘launch of nothing’, that it was already out of date by the time they got it to their (now very annoyed) remaining customers. 4. Pay attention to questions product testers or customers ask. You’ll get feedback from customers down the road that will help you build a better product over time. If you get the same question repeatedly, it’s time to update the product with additional training content answering that point. In conclusion, if you want to be seen as a trustworthy, honest and ethical online course provider, then don’t take anyone’s money for something you don’t have. Pay attention to what your customers need, create what they want and you’ll be well on your way to having an ‘actual’ learning product that is truly ready to satisfy and to sell. BFM

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BFM | PROFILE

WHEN PEOPLE MATTER MOST When Peter Lock walked past an in-campus interview for the National Australia Bank, it started a long rollercoaster ride in banking. Peter speaks about transitions in banking over 30 years and how customer-owned banking has changed the landscape.

eter Lock had no intention of being a banker. He had eyes on the oil and gas industry in an IR capacity. So when he started at the National Australia Bank on a graduate program, it wasn’t meant to be a long-term deal. Except he was hooked after the NAB sent him down to Melbourne for a three-week course at the Bank of Melbourne as part of the graduate program. “I was then identified for another accelerated program in the bank, in corporate banking,” Peter says. “I was taken out of the normal graduate program and put into a corporate banking program which accelerated you with the promise of becoming a manager in the corporate bank within 18 months.” He took the position of assistance corporate finance manager, working corporate banking in the 1980s. “It was a really good time; a really good bank and I learned the craft of banking. At the same time, I started additional studies, studying applied corporate finance through the Securities Institute.” There were other forces working in his life at the time and after moving back to South Australia and starting a family, Peter went to work for the State Government Insurance Commission in financial insurance.

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“Financial insurance was more akin at that stage to investment banking. I was doing a lot of investment banking type of deals.” At this stage the recession of the 1990s hit hard. Peter was working with the State Treasury Department and was seeing first hand the effects of the ‘recession we had to have’. Yet, in what some may call a brave move, during a time of high volatility particularly in banking, he moved back to the sector. “I went back to the NAB as a business banker and then had the opportunity to take up a job with the Commonwealth Bank in Melbourne. I was given the opportunity to take some significant leadership roles and had a really good run where I was asked to set up some new divisions.” For approximately seven years, Peter had a new job every 12 or 18 months, starting new divisions. It led him into the GM position by the time he was 40 and he started working with trailblazers such as Gail Kelly before she went to head up St. George. Peter followed her soon after and during the Westpac acquisition was tasked with introducing the Bank of Melbourne brand. He stepped away for a short amount of time to run his own corporate consulting business focusing on business

transition and inter-generational change and then saw the opportunity to head up Heritage Bank – Australia’s largest mutual bank. Unlike the big banks, Heritage is not run to maximise the profits made from customers to pay shareholders. The bank retains modest profits to guarantee its financial strength, then returns the rest to its customers through what it says is fairer pricing, competitive fees and charges, flexible products, and more personalised service. Heritage is about adding value to its customers, who just happen to be its owners. “Customer-owned banks have a different look and feel about them; a different culture from sharehold-

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PROFILE| BFM

Peter Lock, CEO Heritage Bank

er based banks,” Peter says. “You can feel the difference when you come out of big banks and into customer-owned banks. The people within them have this genuine desire to do the right thing by the customers, who happen to be their owners. There’s a genuine sense of ownership and pride in the brand and there’s a genuine sense of wanting to do the right thing by the customer. That means putting the customer first. ‘People first’ is our motto. Through Heritage, you see it every day. Our people have this twinkle in their eye, this belief that they are making a difference to a customer’s life. That’s what banking is about.” Peter’s passion for the industry

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is evident in conversation. He has a fundamental belief in helping people achieve ambitions. “I think everybody has this desire to improve: where they’re working, where they’re living and how they’re living their life. In a lot of cases, they are trying to make those improvements through financial help. That’s what a lot of banks do. They allow you to borrow, they allow you to hopefully improve yourself, educate yourself, go on holidays, buy cars or buy houses. Our people get that. Our staff get the fact that they’re helping people save, they’re helping people achieve, they’re helping people protect their wealth. When you have that type of culture in a

bank, then the decisions that come out of the bank are motivated by people outcomes and community outcomes.” Those outcomes have led the bank to a boost in profits. Pre-tax profit for the six months to December 2015 was $25.326 million, up 9.3% on the corresponding period the previous year. Profit after tax was $17.184 million, an increase of 9.8%. Loan approvals totalled $810.50 million for the six-month period, up 2.2% on the corresponding period in 2014. Retail deposits grew by $111 million in this period, up 60% on the $69 million in the same period the previous year. It’s fair to say it has been a peri-

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Four winning reasons to switch to Heritage. Winning four major awards is certainly exciting but the real prize for us is knowing weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re providing our customers with the best products and service. At Heritage, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll always put people first.

This advice has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this you should, before acting on this information, consider its appropriateness having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. You should read the guides to Heritage products or the product disclosure statements (available in branch, by phoning 13 14 22 or at www.heritage.com.au) before you decide whether any product or service is right for you. Heritage Bank Limited ABN 32 087 652 024 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 240984.

Call 13 14 22 or your local branch direct. heritage.com.au

PROFILE| BFM od of growth and prosperity for all involved. “Having a good and strong capital base and with profitability is an essential part of running a sound and prudent bank, but also making sure that those profits are going back into better products and better services for our customers. That means more points of presence, more investment into better digital applications, better apps for their mobiles. It’s not just product, it’s also the service challenge that we’re having to improve through enhanced profitability, which flows back through enhanced serviceability.” Banks and their profits are affected by economic markets, yet Peter believes the Australian economy is in a healthy position and the bank should continue its run. “I’m optimistic about the economy,” Peter says. “By and large, we’re in a pretty good spot. In property, we run the risk of a little bit of oversupply in some markets, and a little bit of heating, but some structural changes that have been introduced have been effective and taken some of the heat out of the market. I think overall, the market has a reasonable sense of stability.” Much of that stability is based around economic confidence reflected in strong employment rates. “When people have jobs and surety about jobs, people start feeling a little bit more confident to go out and to make an investment. The investment might be in home equipment, or a car, or a holiday or something like that. People start to say, ‘well, I’m reasonably confident the outlook is going to be okay, that I’m not going to suddenly be searching around for the extra dollar to look at how I’m going to pay my home loan’.” With a strong economy and rising profits and loans, the future for the banks looks bright. Yet there is still a lot to do from a branding position. “I think Heritage is in an absolutely fantastic spot. We are Australia’s largest mutual bank, the largest customer owned bank but not a lot of people know that. So we have to look and act and feel like Australia’s largest mutual. We already operate nationally. We’re

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From left: Heritage Bank General Manager, Emerging Business Streams, Mr Peter Cavanagh; Optus Director, Digital Payments, Mr Giles Novel; and Visa Head of Emerging Products and Innovation, Mr George Lawson at the launch of the Cash by Optus product.

based in Toowoomba. We’re 141 years old, but we have operations in every mainland state, and even Tasmania. We really have been a well-kept secret and we aim not to be a well-kept secret. We want people to know that our sector, the customer owned sector, is a viable alternative to the listed bank sector. “We have to let people know that there is a difference in banking, and a difference between a listed bank and a customer owned bank. In a customer owned bank, you own it, you will benefit through a better service, better product, and it’s cheaper than the major banks. We have an organisation that is and should be aligned to the values that you think are important: community, a sense of ownership, a sense of pride, and a sense of doing the right thing, of putting people first, not profits first.” What many people don’t know is that Heritage provides some of the card and payments smarts behind Qantas Cash, Cash by Optus, and Australia Post’s Load and Go products. It has 44% of the prepaid travel card market in Australia. “We are partnering with some of the best corporate names in Australia, but we have leverage that opportunity and let people

know that these firms have come to us looking for the expertise that we offer in payment technology. The other thing about our brand is there’s nothing in our brand that is geographically constrained. There’s nothing that says Queensland in Heritage. There’s nothing that says Toowoomba in Heritage. We have the ability to take that brand and truly operate it as a national brand. There’s not too many other banks that have that opportunity. The Bank of Queensland for example, will have the state emblem or the Bank of Melbourne has its own constraints. We want to make our brand a truly national brand. That’s really exciting. That’s what we’re working on at the moment.” Though the bank has beyond border ambitions, it maintains its sense of community, making many investments into the communities the bank operates in stretching across supporting cultural communities, larger community events and education. Peter has only been part of the organisation for five months, so taking a national approach is a big move, but underpinning this is the sentiment that bank has always operated under: belief in the customer. BFM

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BFM | FINANCE

SIMPLE STEPS TO IMPROVE YOUR CASH FLOW THIS TAX TIME With 30 June fast approaching, the time to start your tax planning is now writes Roger Mendelson, CEO, Prushka Fast Debt Recovery.

ost small businesses leave their tax planning until after 30 June and the simple fact is, by this time it’s too late to benefit from many of the steps which could have been taken in the previous financial year. With continuing uncertainty around future taxation laws and overall general business uncertainty, exacerbated by global share market volatility, and the changes to the way businesses operate, mean that you have to assume that next year will be very difficult, so save whatever you can when you can. Understand that steps taken after June to save tax for the 2016 year cannot involve any elememt of backdating documents or presenting a situation which did not really exist at the time.To do so would be a sham and, if investigated,would fail and may well lead to criminal charges. So how do you plan ahead with so many fiscal and political uncertainties? My Golden Rule - Tax Deferred is Tax Saved. It always pays to defer tax until the following year. The benefit is it not only improves your cash resources, but also allows for the potential of a comfortable year in 2016 and then an unprofitable year in 2017. Here are simple steps you can take to save tax and effectively

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transfer profit from this tax year into the next. Defer If your profit is going to be high this year, you can prepay expenses such as rent and other major expenses and thus receive the tax deduction in 2016. You might also consider deferring billings until after 30 June, to receive the income into the following tax year. Calculate There’s no doubt that superannuation, taxation and retirement planning will be addressed in the upcoming election. Calculate your maximum superannuation contributions and pay them before June. If you can afford it and are drawing a salary from your own company,

get a superannuation expert to look at how much you can salary sacrifice and pay the difference into your super fund. This will reduce your taxable income and the savings will help you build your super fund balance. Manage If you have major business purchases on the horizon, place the order and receive the invoice prior to 30 June to pick up the expense. Simultaneously, negotiate deferred terms with your supplier, so that your cash flow does not get hit. That is,order and claim now but defer payment as long as possible. Go through your debtors’ ledgers and physically write off the debts which you believe you have a low likelihood of being collected. This

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FINANCE| BFM

would include all debts which are older than six months. The amount written off will reduce your income for 2016, and will also result in a GST credit. You should refer those written-off debts to a collection agency and any amounts which are subsequently recovered by the agency can then be brought in as income in the year which the monies are received. Opportunity Tax deferral and saving is an important part of cash flow control. However, this is a valuable opportunity to address other steps that will improve your cash flow. Go through your business debts which have been written off from your books during the last five years. Just because you

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have written the debts off in your accounts does not mean that they are still not legally owing by your defaulting customers. You should also look to refer these written-off debts to a collection agency. If you refer them to an agency that offers a no-recovery, no-charge policy, you have nothing to lose from doing this. Debts in most Australian states have an enforceable life of six years from the date the debt was due for payment. If cash flow is looking tight, get on the phones and call your outstanding debtors. This is the most effective initial step you can take to stir them up. Offer discounts to your customers for quick payment. For example, your trading terms may be 14 days, but offer a discount if payment is made

at the time of purchase or within two working days. Rebalance When ordering supplies and equipment, negotiate deferred trading terms as part of the deal. You will be surprised at how much extra time you will be able to get from your suppliers by doing this. Further to this, never make the mistake of failing to make payments due to the Australian Taxation Office. This is a dangerous tactic which will only come back to bite you. Tax time is the perfect opportunity to get your business processes in place and set yourself up for a strong new financial year. Implementing the above steps will certainly help you get off on the right foot. BFM

BUSINESSFIRST MAGAZINE

BFM | PROFILE

Education and maturity

Education is big business these days, bringing in almost $16 billion to the Australian economy in 2013/14. It employs nearly 8% of Australian workers, and it is our fourth largest export earner, after coal, iron ore and natural gas.

hile the economic impact is undeniably important, the focus needs to be shared with the social impact. Economists often talk about education as being an investment in human capital. It is an interesting challenge – particularly at a tertiary level – where large universities and educational institutions need to balance the needs and pastoral care of students with a business model that remains profitable for further investment. “Our positioning is around being well balanced; we want to be very good at teaching, research and professional engagement, whilst maintaining high student satisfaction,” says Deakin University executive dean of the Faculty of Business and Law, Professor Mike Ewing. “I think we can put our hand on our heart and say, we’re honestly trying to make the world a better place and to have a positive impact on society. A lot of what we do generates no ‘financial return’; we do it simply because it is the right thing to do. We do some things that perhaps don’t make ‘business sense’ in a narrow definition but they help us to serve our communities better.” “We want to be very good at research and teaching, and we want to be impactful and relevant to industry. If you think of those as the three legs of a stool, our mantra is balance.”

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Mike started at Deakin University in March 2014, having spent 12 years at Monash University as professor of marketing, head of the Department of Marketing, deputy PVC and head of Faculty, as well as six years at Curtin University prior to that. Before entering the academic world, Mike was the marketing research manager for Ford Motor Company’s South African subsidiary, and has consulted to such organisations as Coca-Cola, Unilever, Holden, BMW Financial Services, Argyle Diamonds, Levi Strauss & Co., Glaxo Smith Klein, and many more. This mix of extended experience in the academic world with tangible success in the corporate sector puts Mike in a unique position to look at the state of universities within Australia. “My area is business; I can obviously speak with more authority about business schools than about other areas of university endeavour” he explains. “In this regard, I’ve witnessed huge improvements over the past 20 years. Back in the early to mid-1990s, most Australian business schools were generally average – they were not (yet) truly world class. There has been an exponential improvement in Australian business schools since then.” “There will always be room to improve, but all of the evidence will suggest that Australian universities are doing really well. For

a young country – with only a few universities over 100 years of age, – we compare well with a sector globally which is 1,000 years old. I therefore think our Australian universities are doing incredibly well.” In his position as executive dean, Mike is tasked with developing and growing the business and law schools of Deakin University. He acknowledges that his personal experience and knowledge sits more with the business arm, however he has a very able dean of law who reports to him as part of the faculty structure. While he says there is no perfect structure, he feels the two schools work well together under the overarching University strategic plan. “The University had a very strong strategic plan but the business school lacked a formal strategy when I arrived. We’ve worked hard to develop a threeyear strategic plan that’s aligned to the University. That involved some restructuring of the business and law schools to ensure we could address both research, productivity and student satisfaction.” It would appear that the strategic plan is working. Currently the Deakin University Business and Law faculty is number one for student satisfaction and number two for employability in the state. Of course, student satisfaction doesn’t mean just creating an environment where students feel comfortable and relaxed – it extends into cre-

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PROFILE| BFM

Deakin University executive dean of the Faculty of Business and Law, Professor Mike Ewing www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

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BFM | PROFILE

ating services and programs that suit the needs of the student and looking towards ways to help them gain employment. As such, Mike has worked hard to find suitable partners in the corporate world to ensure that Deakin University is teaching what industry and employers need, and to establish pathways for future growth. “I’m very proud about our industry relationships and partnerships with the likes of the Institute of Practicing Accountants, KPMG, Ernst and Young, PWC, Dimension Data, IBM, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, National Australian Bank and many many more. We’ve got very exciting relationships with industry.” Equally, Mike has been central to rolling out a range of programs that are designed to create flexibility and choice. The ability for students to speed up or slow down their course to suit their needs, and a real-time synchronised core-delivery across two locations, are positive examples of providing flexibility for students and stand as a point of tangible difference to competitors. “We’ve been joining our MBA class at Burwood Melbourne with the MBA class of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad in real time,” he explains. “They’ve been working on the same case studies and being lectured at the same time and interacting with each other. Not everybody can get on a plane and go overseas; not every-

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one can afford to spend a semester overseas or a three-week study tour, but they still want to have an international experience. It’s a model we anticipate to run out further and sits within our mission to drive the digital frontier.” This ability to be flexible, innovative and adaptive is important to Deakin University as an entity, and something that Mike is clearly proud of within his own faculty. Much of it, he believes, is possible because of the tight, nimble structure of Deakin University with its four ‘super faculties’. “We have four big faculties where other institutions of a similar overall size might have eight smaller faculties. We have arts and education together as one faculty, we have business and law in one faculty and so on.” “The upside of these big faculties is we have a much smaller university executive and I think that enables us to be more nimble. We also have direct access to the vice chancellor. I’m not suggesting this model is right or wrong compared to other Universities, but I think in terms of Deakin’s character and our personality and our aspirations, this model currently serves us well.” The concept of a university having character is interesting, yet entirely relatable when you think of the great institutions of the world like Oxford or Harvard. In this sense, Mike says that Deakin is still finding its position to some extent and at only 42-odd years of age there is clearly

some maturing to come. “There is a view that a university reaches ‘adulthood’ at the age of 50,” he says. “At that point, you’ve arrived, you’ve reached your full potential and your place in the world and in the rankings. I think we’ve got another six or seven years to continue to improve exponentially as we have been doing, and then we will come of age.” So how does Mike enable the Business and Law faculty to take the next step? “I think it’s a case of building on those platforms you already have,” he says. “It’s not revolutionary stuff; it’s more evolutionary. It’s just tweaking things, helping our research centres to reach their full potential. We’re on the right path, I sense that we’ve achieved a lot, we’re moving in the right direction but we haven’t yet arrived at the destination. I think the destination is perhaps five years away. Then, you never stop improving, you never stop growing but to use a metaphor, we’re teenagers now and we need to reach adulthood as a university.” BFM

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A DEAKIN MBA FITS AROUND YOU Studying doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to get in the way of your life. With a Deakin MBA, you get the best of both worlds â&#x20AC;&#x201C; quality and flexibility. Study online, on campus, or any combination that fits around your busy life. Our distance MBA has been ranked #1 in Australia again. Enrol now at deakin.edu.au/mba to start anytime Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code 00113B

BFM | APPS

HOW TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY

Technology has fast become ubiquitous in the real estate sector beginning with innovations in the utilisation of workspaces and now to ground breaking apps that are set to change the industry entirely writes Kegan Harry.

ith every industry moving forward into the 21st century with Activity Based Working, personal spaces like cubicles as well as meeting rooms are becoming redundant. The real estate sector is beginning to follow suit but with the idiosyncrasies of the job itself, technology has been a key aspect to move developments forward, with CBRE leading the way with many

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following their lead. Access to working remotely is becoming increasingly important with a look to reducing expenses related to office spaces, desks and balancing this all with eco-friendly and sustainable options. Time spent at desks and offices is next to nil for many agents, with a large portion of their time invested in meetings, on the road and with clients. It is financially and time

inefficient for many. Mobile operating seems to be the only logical solution and incorporating cloud computing solutions with social media, smart phones and tablets is not only cost effective but allows access to real time property information, which means deals being closed in unprecedented ways. Apps such as iCommercial, launched with CBRE in 2014, have been at the forefront of this tech-

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APPS| BFM

nological boom, becoming known as the leading sales and productivity tool for commercial real estate agents. With almost 3000 agents using the app Australia-wide and over 27,000 listings acquired it’s no surprise that the app has captured almost 70% of the commercial real estate market since launching. The first app of its kind, the basis for it is simple, enabling busy real estate agents to run their day-today business via their smart phone or tablet, with nothing comparable existing until now. Eliminating the need for contracts to be sent across, conversations with personal assistants and even in person property inspections, iCommercial looks to revolutionise the way the industry operates. Incorporating Apple 3D Maps, Google StreetView, Virtual Inspections and Car Parking reports.. The app allows agents to respond to enquiries with full property details in seconds as well as searching and viewing their full database of property listings pulled directly from the CRM. Automating

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the sales process has meant faster responses to enquiries, keeping vendors and landlords up to date like never before. From emailing documents to contracts of sales, it can all be done through the one app, streamlining work and allowing it to be done on the go. What is ultimately time consuming for agents is bouncing from place to place for inspections, which can often take them anywhere from interstate to overseas. iCommercial’s in-built virtual inspection feature allows users to remotely view properties, which has been specifically responsible for a buyer saying ‘yes’ to a property they weren’t initially interested in. The virtual inspection feature runs rings around any presentation that aims to explain attributes of particular industrial properties – now you can simply see them as they are, up to date and in real time. Ben Hegerty, Director of Savills Industrial Investments Victoria is at the forefront of this development, saying it has completely transformed the way his team does business. “Having all the infor-

mation pertaining to each property logged into our iCommercial app has completely changed our business in terms of how we’re able to communicate with our clients, whether that’s on the spot or on the fly.” Since iCommercial’s launch over two years ago, the app continues to grow stronger with uptake on the increase every month. During iCommercial’s first year in business, over 300 agents used the app, with this figure today growing close to 3,000 agents nationally. International agencies including CBRE, Savills, Colliers and Knight Frank have implemented the use of iCommercial and having acquired 70% of the Australian market it’s international reach is set only to grow. With more and more industries embracing online services, the real estate industry looks to engage tenants in this way and apps like iCommercial pioneer this movement. It has the value of increasing transparency, efficiency and most importantly driving down costs for busy agents. BFM

BUSINESSFIRST MAGAZINE

BFM | PROFILE

John Joyce, Client Services Director & Senior Executive Coach

The transition of a c-suite executive Development of executive leadership can be one of the greatest challenges to any organisation. Even the best executives face daily pressures and complex working environments that make it difficult to step back and see the bigger picture, or they develop ‘blind spots’ as they focus on immediate pressures and issues. While this clearly impacts business performance, it can also stagnate growth and negatively affect talent retention as frustrated employees look for opportunities elsewhere.

ith this in mind, smart organisations will often look to external executive coaches; however many do not have clear objectives of what they want from leadership development or know an appropriate time to instigate such a move. “Business results come through people,” says Transitional Executive’s client services director and senior executive coach, John Joyce. “While there will always be some variance between industries, most

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people are looking for results when they engage an executive coach. It’s not about sending executives away to have a coffee chat and put them at ease in our world. We are engaged to help them as part of the program of change through leadership development. It could be personal development as well, but generally it’s part of a change program in that organisation.” With this clear link between change programs and executive coaching, it is no coincidence that

the company is called Transitional Executive, and building a proper relationship between client and coach is fundamental to John’s business beliefs. “Our services deliver change. We are acclaimed for getting results with organisational change, because we’re partners in a significant way with our clients,” John explains. “In a lot of organisations coaches will often come in and go out under an associate relationship: meaning

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PROFILE| BFM

that they might come in for a day, do some coaching, and then go work for a different organisation, and then come back and go again. We take a completely different approach to that. We employ all our coaches and put them through a lengthy interview and assessment process. They’re working as part of Transitional Executive all the time, which means that we’ve got a very authentic approach to our clients, and they see the same coaching team the whole time.” John’s philosophies towards business, leadership and change were born in the retail sector, with more than 25 years’ experience in grocery, specialty, big box and department stores in both Australia and the UK. He received a fast-paced ‘business apprenticeship’ at a major UK supermarket group, starting as a university graduate trainee before receiving some seven promotions in only six years, experiencing many different elements of the corporate world at a young age. “I got an appetite early on to rise up that ladder. I liked retail and the fast pace of the industry. It was quite an aggressive learning environment with low margins and hard deals being done. The UK supermarket industry’s very cutthroat, so it was a great learning platform for me to hone some of my skills on negotiation, dealing with people, dealing with suppliers and dealing with colleagues.” After such a significant introduction to the business world, John was approached to join ALDI in its early stages in the UK, working through the challenges of growing an established business in a new country. His experience and success in the role was recognised when ALDI asked him to join its entry into the Australian market. “I came out on a two year contract with them to help set up the business here from scratch; absolutely right from the very beginning, right from opening the stationery account and getting the filing cabinets at the office,” he says laughing. John spent another eight years at ALDI Australia as the managing director of buying, describing it as a “fantastic organisation with very progressive thinking”.

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“Because ALDI is a global business you get to hone certain skills beyond your domestic market. You get to see what’s happening in many other countries around the world and what works for them, where they’re experiencing different challenges. It’s a rich learning environment.” A move into the private equity world, as CEO of Rebel Group, provided further learnings in successfully managing complex changes in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) environment, requiring a high level of strategic planning and action. The company needed to see results following a restructuring process that required sensitive human resource management and an amalgamation of different business cultures. “I came into the organisation as part of an acquisition. It was a completely different environment, the antithesis, in fact, of the ALDI environment,” John says. “Bringing together three or four different brands, owned by different people, was a massive change, a cultural change, but at the same time we had goals to make sure this business was a healthy business that we could move into the future.”

The change took time, patience and a focus on communication. It is here that John really came to understand the value of organisational communication. During this time John met Karen Barker, Transitional Executive’s managing director and senior executive coach, and they forged a strong working relationship as a consequence of the exceptional results Karen was achieving at Rebel. Due to the strength of their working relationship, John partnered with Karen to continue growing the executive coaching and leadership development business together. After some 20 years in the corporate world, John felt the time was right to “put something back into the industry from the other side”, confident that his learnings and experience in managing large organisations had substantial correlations to the coaching space. “They’re both about people development, where the results come through people. They are both progressive environments where the changes are tangible. In the retail world you can see changes, from store lines, in the product range and from merchandising solutions. In the coaching world as well, the

Karen Barker, Managing Director & Senior Executive Coach

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BFM | PROFILE changes are tangible because you can see people develop.” For many people, the link between retail and executive coaching may seem strange; however John’s experience and strategic thought process makes a compelling case. John views change management as an ongoing process of progression, rather than a disjointed or ad-hoc organisational project. It is an important distinction that fails many businesses, but one that is not lost on a man who deeply understands the value of people and the need to communicate clearly. “It does seem like a very straightforward thing, but often, in a leadership team, people forget to communicate down the line and then the message stops. Often in a change piece, the leader’s committed to a big change, but no one’s actually told anyone down the line what’s going on or how they’re actually going to do it.”

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These learnings from corporate life are clear drivers in how John and Karen run Transitional Executive. They understand the value of relationships, putting teams and people first, and the need for continual progression in business development. And while John says that it may sound straightforward, it is unquestionably the result of many years’ practical experience and a considered thought to refine the strategy to such a clear process. “We have a five-stage critical role dimension as part of our executive coaching and leadership development framework,” John explains. “When we’re looking at programs and when programs that we’ve written are in place, they’re around these five critical role dimensions. There’s leadership, communication, teamwork, planning and decision making, influence and impact as the core drivers of our one-to-one coaching, group

coaching, 360 degree feedback and team development day programs. “I think that enables us to be very much a strong partner with any organisation because we’re lining back up with what’s important to them through multiple leadership development programs. It’s not just a theoretical based coaching environment. It’s based on tangible business role dimensions.” “We work directly with organisations across the globe and are now expanding to provide public workshops, enabling our leadership development programs to be more accessible to individual executives from any organisation. We are very excited about the benefits our public workshop programs will bring to the wider business community.” Tangible results driven by developing people with clear strategies and strong relationships. There’s a lot to learn from Transitional Executive’s approach to leadership development. BFM

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EXTEN D. ENHANCE. EXCEL.

Leadership Development Program Leadership is the most coveted skill in today’s executives. Learn how to get an edge and become a more effective leader through our ‘Transitioning Leader’ group coaching program. This 6 month leadership development journey includes three workshops exploring useful tools and techniques, plus two one-to-one discussions with an accredited executive coach. Transitional Executive has successfully trained over 1,000 executives to perform and work better at all levels within an organisation and has facilitated over 100 workshops in the past year around the globe.

Call or email us now to find out more or to register your interest in our upcoming national program.

02 8757 3461

info@tranexec.com.au www.transitionalexecutive.com.au

BFM | CUSTOMERS

DEMYSTIFYING CUSTOMER

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT As Australia shifts more and more towards digital interactions, every customer interaction counts. With just one interaction, a company may wind up losing a customer, gaining a new customer through the sale of an additional product, or even make a strong enough impression to create a brand advocate, who will in turn draw a larger audience towards a company writes Nick Dempsey, General Manager, GMC Software, Australia and New Zealand.

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CUSTOMERS| BFM

single interaction can be immensely powerful and should not be underestimated. Today, companies must begin to differentiate themselves with a better customer experience to keep their customers happy and loyal. In the face of the ongoing digital transformation and ever-increasing connectivity in today’s world, how can companies create more meaningful engagement with customers and communicate seamlessly across all interactions and channels?

WHAT IS CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT (CCM), AND WHAT DOES IT DO? A term that describes the converging set of IT solutions that help companies improve and advance the way they communicate with their customers, CCM is not particularly new. Yet, while CCM can and should be a vital part of business strategy, not many business leaders know what it is. CCM is, in other words, a strategy to help companies improve the creation, delivery, storage and retrieval of outbound communications, and the benefits that CCM could bring to a business are many. In particular, some areas of customer communication that CCM can enhance includes marketing, product introductions, renewal notifications, claims correspondence and documentation, as well as bill and payment notifications. The customer interactions can occur through a diverse array of media and output, which includes documents, email, Internet pages and text messages. Simply put, a CCM solution gives companies an easy-to-use application to improve outbound communications with not just their customers, but distributors, partners and regulatory bodies too.

WHAT DO CUSTOMERS WANT? Today’s landscape presents a mobile reality – Australia has seen a significant increase in the up take of mobile technology in recent years. A Deloitte Media Consumer Survey showed that in 2015, ownership of smart phones and tablets in Australia reached 81 per cent and 62 per cent of the population, respectively. Furthermore, eMarketer estimates that Asia-Pacific boasts

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over a billion smartphone users as of 2015. A wealth of information is now readily available at one’s fingertips – literally. We are in the age of the customer, but understanding what customers today want or expect from their interactions still poses difficulty to companies today. In this digital economy, we have observed some general trends in customers’ desires for communications: 1) Choice and multi-channel access Today’s customers are “always on” and refer to a range of sources to gain information to make a purchasing decision. This makes it all the more important that messaging to customers is consistent across all of a company’s communication channels. 2) Convenience and comparison Innovations in technology now allow customers to quickly and easily access information about product benefits and price comparisons. The rapid growth of technology reinforces customers’ preference for the mobile method of acquiring information and online purchasing. 3) Personalised service Digital natives both want and expect customised communications and product offerings. Companies must reach customers with messages that are relevant and contextual to provide them with the opportunity to grow their knowledge, loyalty and satisfaction with a company and its products.

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT (CCM) MAKE? How can businesses meet customers’ wants? A good CCM strategy could make it much easier for companies across various sectors from banking to insurance and print services, when effectively applied to enhance a company’s communication processes. Let us take a look at some industry-specific examples. According to EY’s Global Consumer Insurance Survey 2014, insurance consumers in Asia Pacific are more willing to make the move to digital channels than consumers in any other region globally. For instance, more than 90 per cent of Asia-Pacific insurance customers would consider using a digital op-

tion for inquiries or transactions. Many insurers have begun developing and executing strategies focused on CCM, and recognising the benefits of CCM strategy in improving operational efficiency. By reducing chances of human error, automated workflows result in improved compliance when it comes to regulatory filings and making changes in regulation. In the financial services sector, digital banking through desktops, smartphones, and tablets has become much more common in APAC, presenting opportunities for banks to improve customer experiences across their full product portfolio by leveraging CCM. Customer experience is critical to the success of financial service firms in APAC, but document communication, while crucial to the customer experience strategy, is often overlooked due to legacy systems and ineffective processes to ensure that content produced is accurate and relevant. With a single, integrated platform, insurance and financial services companies can easily modernise and update legacy forms and documents, and offer on-demand access to accurate information. A range of data handling, content collaboration and message management capabilities and more allow business users to use the white space on documents or policies to embed calls-to-action to increase cross-sell and up-sell, or insert relevant messaging. CCM solutions can build responsive digital communications with interactive tables, charts and graphs, and also seamlessly produce highly personalised, cost-effective correspondence on demand, interactively, or in high-volume batches for delivery via print, e-mail, web or mobile. In essence, by helping to customise and personalise documents, CCM solutions are not only making these documents easier to understand, but also more engaging and effective. Besides insurance and financial services, the business benefits that CCM can bring can be applied across various other sectors. In navigating the transition towards digital, CCM can help companies engage meaningfully with customers across the entire customer journey, and adapt to ever-changing market needs. BFM

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BFM | PROFILE

Ed McManus, CEO of Powershop

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PROFILE| BFM

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

As the CEO of Powershop, a relatively new entrant into the Australian power industry, Ed McManus doesn’t think about explosive company growth. In fact, he takes a more customer centric approach with a ‘stay small and stay close to customers’ mindset. It is an approach that is clearly working and delivering growth. In the short time that Powershop has been in operation it has built a customer base of over 70,000 customers in Australia.

or many Australians, thinking about their power supplier remains a secondary consideration until the bill arrives and they tear their hair out wondering how it rose 10% on the last quarter. Powershop began operations in Victoria in 2014 with the intention of putting the ‘power’ back in their customers’ hands. As an arm of New Zealand’s Meridian Energy, the largest provider of renewables in Australasia, McManus says Powershop aims to change the industry in the same way Uber has changed passenger transport or AirBnb has disrupted travel – simply by giving customers transparency. “Uber takes away the anxiety of wondering if and when the taxi will turn up. We are trying to do the same in electricity”, McManus says. Powershop’s business model is designed to let its customers know

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exactly how much power they’re using and what it costs before they get their bill. All of this information and control can be managed via a smartphone. The decision to orientate their business model towards helping customers has proven the right move, with Powershop winning Canstar Blue’s Most Satisfied Electricity Customers – Vic, 2015 the first year they were eligible. The goodwill being generated has allowed the company to expand operations into New South Wales. “There was frustration with the way the industry was operating and mostly still is operating,” McManus says of the rise of Powershop. “We’re in 2016 and most customers still receive a paper bill in arrears and are asked to pay for the product at that point, with no notice along the journey of how much of the product, in this case electricity, they’ve been using.”

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BFM | PROFILE

“We think that’s an out of date mode of operation, so our model provides customers with information about how much electricity they’re using in real time. We feel that is the best way to save money and do the right thing by the environment.” Yet the major power companies with those out-dated methods have a stranglehold on much of the consumer base, so how does Powershop compete and more importantly get its ‘reduced use is better for the environment’ message to the public in order to change the current oligopoly? McManus says it would be foolhardy to ignore the bigger brands, but the best way to effect change is to do things differently. “To compete we need to try and do things differently and really address what the real customer pain points are around things like customer service,” says McManus who is, of all things, a former PhD biochemist.

“I think the major energy companies are focused on delivering shareholder value, where we are focused on delivering value to customers which, in the long-term, is the best way to deliver value to our shareholders. That might sound like a trivial distinction, but I think it’s extremely important. That said, our large competitors are well known brands so we’ve got to think differently and operate differently to try and compete.” Another point of difference is Powershop’s unique focus on the environment. Powershop’s parent, Meridian Energy Australia, has a long history in renewable energy and its approach is no sales gimmick; it is a genuine attempt to make Australia a renewable friendly country. It is an approach that is being helped by Australians growing acceptance of climate change, environmental issues and their willingness to modify their behaviours. The group’s generation arm is a

“I THINK THE MAJOR ENERGY COMPANIES ARE FOCUSED ON DELIVERING SHAREHOLDER VALUE, WHERE WE ARE FOCUSED ON DELIVERING VALUE TO CUSTOMERS WHICH, IN THE LONG-TERM, IS THE BEST WAY TO DELIVER VALUE TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS.” 100% renewable. Powershop Australia, and their parent company Meridian Energy Australia, both based in Melbourne, own and operate two large wind farms in Australia, which produced a combined 519 GWh last year. In addition, Powershop’s customers’ electricity use is 100% carbon offset by Powershop. McManus told Tech Exec, “What we do is offset the carbon that is produced as a result of our customer’s electricity usage [through] using accredited carbon offsets that we buy

PROFILE| BFM

Meridian Energy Australia, Mt Mercer Wind Farm, Victoria

from projects both in Australia and overseas. We do that at no extra cost to our customers.” Thus, when Powershop customers purchase their electricity, McManus says they are able to have a positive impact on the environment without any effort. In terms of other ways Powershop provides a difference to the major brands, it is worth noting the ‘Mum Test’. It is a test designed to bring out the best in the way people conduct their day-to-day business, by having them ask themselves: ‘Would my mum be proud of what I have done today’. “It’s a day-to-day process that we use to determine the way we do business,” McManus says. “A practical example is the traditional way electricity retailers built their customer base through door knocking. Now if I went home to my mum and said, ‘Hey Mum, guess what? Today I set up a door knocking team’, I can tell you she wouldn’t be very happy or proud.” Powershop has never door knocked and in fact most of the business decisions the company makes are based around a ‘Mum Test’ framework. www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

“We think it’s pretty effective and another example that is very important and very different from the rest of the industry is when you sign up to Powershop as a residential customer you receive the same price and discounts that every other residential customer is on in your area. Most other energy companies use an approach where the most loyal customers get the worst deal.” “We think that’s going to be increasingly important around fairness and equity as the industry evolves.” McManus is helping to build

Powershop as a trusted brand around those ‘Mum Test’ values such as no door knocking or cold calling and a fairer price system. And the technology behind Powershop is designed to address those types of pain points and add transparency. Essentially Powershop’s reason for operation is to help customers gain control of bills by seeing how much electricity they’ve used, how much they’re going to use in the future and what that’s going to cost. It is a new way of thinking, but one that seems to be working well in Powershop’s short life. BFM

BUSINESSFIRST MAGAZINE

BFM | SME

SMEs key to our nation’s growth Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) is the backbone of the Australian economy. With small businesses employing 4.7 million Australians, the health and sentiment of SMEs is critical to our nation’s growth. Their confidence levels, future plans, and willingness to innovate will keep our country thriving, at a time when our nation is experiencing great structural change and a transformational shift into a services-led economy writes Julie Rynski, Westpac General Manager SME and Connect Now.

upporting businesses in stages of transition has always been a passion of mine; whether it’s a business growing quickly, or implementing a new business model. I’ve spent a large part of my time at Westpac coaching customers and helping them reinvent their business to embrace a changing Australian economy. One of the most telling statistics that came from the most recent Westpac Melbourne-Institute SME Index, was that ‘young SMEs’ (those in business for less than five years) appear more optimistic about future business conditions (130.5) than those operating for five plus years (around 102.0). It’s definitely what I’m seeing from our customers, but I’m also seeing a real desire from more established organisations to take on the mentality of a start-up to really transform themselves. With a focus on increasing innovation and collaboration between SMEs and the public sector, now is a great time for all SMEs (not only young SMEs) to collaborate and think outside the square as to how they can best transform their business in a changing economy. We hear a lot about Australia moving to a service economy and SME’s have the opportunity to embrace innovation and technology to make the most of this

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economic transition. Westpac customer Commonfolk Coffee Company is a great example of a company that has really harnessed innovation, by taking a traditional business idea and transforming it in to something greater. Commonfolk first started trading with four staff in a warehouse on the Mornington Peninsula. Now, they have expanded to wholesale to over 20 cafes across Australia, also running markets, and winning multiple awards for their amazing coffee, food and service. The best part about Commonfolk, is their investment back in to the local community. They hold a youth coffee training program called ‘Give to Live’, designed to teach troubled young people how to make great coffee, while being paid for their efforts. The team has also developed a program called ‘The Cup that Counts’, a charity aimed at establishing a sustainable coffee industry in the developing world. What I love about stories like this is that it proves businesses don’t always have to come up with something new to embrace innovation. They can take something that has been done for years and add their own point of difference and really succeed; something Australian businesses do well. Another important ingredient to

success is having a positive mindset. I am consistently impressed with the attitude of Australian SMEs, and often talk with our customers about how they are feeling during times of uncertainty – whether it’s the economic climate, changing regulation, elections or budgets. They have seen ups and downs, and it’s evident that support from government is appreciated, but many have succeeded even when support hasn’t been as strong. In my experience, many of the SMEs that succeed are often the ones with a positive outlook, strong networks and a willingness to never give up. Digital is also an area most SMEs acknowledge as a challenge, but also an opportunity. The challenges lie in the quick evolution of technology and the biggest inhibitor for many SMEs – lack of time. Tapping in to the needs of the SME to deliver intuitive digital services is becoming increasingly more important, and it’s something we’re constantly looking to improve. The SMEs I’ve been speaking with are feeling inspired about the future and recognise that there is a real potential for SMEs to grow through innovation. I’m confident we will see continued growth in the SME sector – a sector that has such a vital role in Australia’s economic future. BFM

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SME| BFM

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BFM | PROFILE

DATA TAKES A QUANTUM LEAP By the year 2020, about 1.7 megabytes of new information will be created every second for every human being on the planet. Research suggests there are 40,000 search queries per second on Google or 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year. Meanwhile, it was estimated there would be 6.1 billion smartphone users by 2020 all looking for some sort of data. IT giant Cisco predicts that over 50 billion smart devices will be connected all developed to collect, analyse and share data.

f there is one thing in the world that is too big to ignore, it is the rise of data use and how that has influenced analytics and technology to male data collection so much easier. Which brings us to Quantium. Quantium was established in Australia in 2002 as a data analytics firm, helping businesses make better decisions. Today Quantium is a globally recognised partner to businesses with the ambition to lead their industries. What does this mean? It means by using Quantium’s technology, its clients can navigate the complex world of data, analytics and technologies to deliver powerful insights with clear business applications. Just look at how retail uses data to target its customers and offer bespoke or unique differences to their shopping experience. That is the power of data and why it has become an every day part of the lexicon and business conversation. Quantium CEO and co-founder Adam Driussi, a former actuary and former Deloitte partner, says he and his partners co-founded Quantium 14 years ago to “see if we could build a business around applying analytics in a wide range of industries.” Of course in 2002 the data an-

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alytics conversation was a muted one. It was limited to big companies in insurance and finance. “A business like Woolworths didn’t even have a customer database; they didn’t have a loyalty program back then,” Adam says. Times have changed of course. Many companies now understand what they can achieve by analysing data. One of the reasons for this is the pervasiveness of technology that captures data. “This is the digital age. If you think about what your interactions are as a consumer, whether you’re doing something online or on your phone, or on Facebook, it’s commonplace that when you’re interacting with companies you leave a data trail.” The cost of capturing and keeping that data has dramatically reduced, as has the cost of the tools you need to process the data making it easier for companies to adopt data analytics processes. Yet despite the growth, Adam sees the data analytics industry as being in its infancy. “I still think we’re scratching the surface of where data and analytics can be applied to solve business problems.” Yet he says if we look 10 years down the track, those businesses implementing data technology now will have a strong data and analyt-

ics capability – depending how they do business – in future. Now is the time for businesses to equip themselves with the tools they need to understand their own potential. For the moment it is still larger businesses using data analytics in big ways and Quantium has numerous corporate giants on the books. “We partner with NAB and one of the things we do for NAB is process their customer transaction data. “From that we can help them provide their SME customers with insight into who their customers are.” This has a trickle down effect to NAB’s own business bank clients, so while SMEs may not have the resources to conduct their own data analytics, they are benefitting. “A bank that can provide insights to their own business bank customers about when they get most of their sales, where their customers come from, what their market share might be, what are the cost of products their customers are buying and selling. “In that case the SMEs don’t engage Quantium, but instead the SMEs would be using insight that we’ve helped NAB develop.” Quantium has a number of local and global clients for whom they are delivering this type of insight and has opened offices in South

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PROFILE| BFM

Quantium CEO and co-founder Adam Driussi

Africa and New Zealand with staff operating in India as well. With global expansion has come global clientele and they don’t come much bigger than clients such as Google, Facebook and Coke. “One of our early clients was a large German industrial gas company (Linde) for whom we supply pricing analytics services. Today our pricing engine and analytics is used by Linde in countries ranging from Brazil to China to Switzerland. “Up to now we’ve serviced most of our international clients from Australia, but we’re now setting up offices in overseas countries to

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expand further in those markets.” Quantium implements a range of tools to best suit its clients’ requirements, keeping in mind that every company will use its data in different ways. “There are a wide range of analytics tools we use and a wide range of data processing tools and we are at the forefront of adopting those tools, particularity in the analytics space.” Quantium has also built its own IP and has in fact influenced Silicon Valley developments including partnering closely with technology companies such as Cisco, MapR and MicroStrategy. “Typically that IP might be a way

around the analytics approach, answering a certain client question and so on. We have a lot of that IP we use in the business to deliver insights to clients and different industries. When we work with clients, we typically use a combination of our own IP and tools that we’ve built and best in breed tools from the market.” Adam views Quantium as an applied analytics company. He says Quantium does not apply analytics for analytics sake, but works closely with clients on what they really care about: business applications. “It’s all about, how can we understand what the client’s

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BFM | PROFILE question is and how can we help them with the answer? That is often by providing them with tools that assist in them making a decision and developing an ongoing business capability over time. Similarly, it might be in providing them with a report or an algorithm that sits behind their pricing systems, customer targeting or sales forecasts. An example of such a business application is personalising the customer experience within loyalty schemes. “Take the Woolworths Rewards program. With 10 million members and over 70,000 potential products to offer each member, the algorithm to determine which 6 product offerings communicate to each individual member in any given week is incredibly complex. But the result for the customer should feel like a highly relevant and personalised communication from Woolworths that ultimately drives higher customer engagement and sales.” As businesses cottoned on to what Quantium does, the client base and

thus the business has grown. Quantium now has roughly 500 staff who specialise in data, analytics and technology and has continued to grow by 30% p.a. since inception. Current growth is rapid and it is due to the range of capabilities that is now available. “As the industry has increasingly adopted data and analytics and broadened the sorts of questions they try to answer, our business has also broadened to accommodate that,” Adam says. The whole growth of the sector can be summed up by the fact that 15 years ago, CEOs would almost never have considered or even heard of a data strategy, today their boards are asking the CEO for what their data strategy is. In the next five years, Adam sees a dramatic expansion of the range of solutions that data and analytics will use to solve business problems, but managers still have to ask the right questions and make the right decisions. “What I don’t see is analytics or

data suddenly replacing the need for strong managers,” Adam says. “You still need good judgment from your managers but I think you’ll see that those managers will increasingly use data and analytics as a critical part of their business decisions. So with analytics and technology constantly changing and adoption growing by the day, what role will Quantium play in industries of the future? We believe that opportunity is unlimited in the age of information technology and change. Our goal is to bring together our data platforms, products and processes to power a world of new opportunities in all sorts of industries and business functions. At the same time, I feel we have a responsibility to help ensure that the industry takes issues such as customer privacy and data security seriously. Our business is designed with those principles at its heart and we need to ensure that everyone else entering the market now also appreciate their importance. BFM

EDITORIAL| BF

Sky’s the limit for female executives breaking self-imposed glass ceiling

ince completing her Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2011, Citibank executive Janine Copelin could say she reasonably expected the promotions, increased credibility and fast-tracked rise to executive positions within the finance industry. What she didn’t expect was the number of women reaching out to her post-graduation to ask how she could possibly fit the programme into her life, as a busy wife, full-time senior executive, and mother. “Women often write to me saying ‘I can’t study an MBA because my work/family commitments are too heavy,’ but I tell them quite honestly that they’re imposing a glass ceiling

on themselves, because women actually can have and do it all,” Janine said. “Yes, you need to acknowledge the fact that an MBA requires discipline and it is a commitment, but if you find a flexible provider like I did with the Australian Institute of Business, you can actually fit your study around your needs and keep up that work/life/ study balance.” Now Managing Director – Head of Retail Bank at Citibank, Janine has climbed the corporate ladder both in her previous company, the Commonwealth Bank, and now at Citibank, where she manages a deep and diverse portfolio of products and distributions. “There’s no limit to the advantage the MBA gives you. The

strategic knowledge I have gained and continue to use from my MBA is something that I couldn’t have learnt from my practical experience alone,” Janine said. “Today, when I am in meetings with the Executive Committee, I feel qualified to speak at any level or area of the organisation, and can share my opinion with credibility, which is largely due to the knowledge the MBA has given me,” she said. “My advice for other women who want to complete the MBA while having a family is to focus on the sense of achievement and pride you will gain at the end of the journey. My family dynamically supported me through my studies, and at the end, we celebrated this achievement together.” BFM

There’s no limit to the advantage an MBA can give you. You will gain strategic knowledge that can’t always be learnt from experience alone. Janine Copelin Managing Director – Head of Retail Bank Citibank AIB MBA Graduate 2011

12 Month MBA, while you work Rise above the competition with an accredited and internationally recognised MBA with the Australian www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au Institute of Business via Distance Learning.

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BFM | PROFILE

GETTING THE GOOD OIL When Riverina Oils and BioEnergy (ROBE) opened its state-of-the-art plant in Wagga Wagga last year, it was one of the largest value-added food and agricultural investments in Australia in the last five years.

he project has brought significant benefits to the NSW regional community; including farmers, transporters, storage, engineering companies, contractors and the entire supply chain industry. While new infrastructure is always exciting, it also requires a solid business plan or it can very quickly end up as an expensive mistake. In the case of ROBE, it was taking a product perceived as a basic commodity, and looking at what could be done to differentiate from the competition, and what could be value-added to the core business. “At the end of the day we can’t get away from the fact that we are essentially an ingredient supplier,” says ROBE Managing Director DD Saxena. “I mean, anyone who

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cooks, uses oil, but we’re trying to help people recognise that not all oil is the same.” Much of this communication has be done by building a very strong non-GMO (genetically modified organism) platform. “We’re the only Australian company certified as non-GMO in the USA, and only the second as we speak today in the USA in total. That gives us a huge platform in a country which is moving towards natural products, and has companies with a focus on baby products and foods that require this level of quality. “By creating a non-GMO platform we have created a market which has growth and is highly sustainable.” The second platform for ROBE

was to communicate that it creates low trans-fat oils. DD says that there is still a lot of confusion throughout the general public about trans-fat oils, but most acknowledge that it is preferred to have as little as possible – and, by nature, canola oil is low in transfats thereby allowing ROBE to consistently manufacture one of the lowest level of Trans Fats in the country. “We certainly think that the healthier oils are going to be the future of the world,” says DD. “The likes of China, the Philippines, India, Korea and Japan are big markets for healthy oils. Many of those countries have enormous populations so to reach only 5% of that market is massive growth for any Australian manufacturer.” Indeed, the raw numbers make for very interesting reading. As DD explains, the Indian market for canola oil is at approximately 18 million tonnes, yet their local production is at only 7000 tonnes – whereas the Australian market demand is over 200,000 tonnes whilst producing nearly 450,000 tonnes. The market potential is very clear – particularly if the Australian suppliers continue to put a focus on quality, premium produce. “My philosophy is I think Australia should very seriously invest in the front end of the business where it can crystallise our food safety, food security, and food reliability value. That’s one thing that we at ROBE we will continue to do.” The ‘healthy oil’ platform is a positive and logical step at a communication level, and an intelligent marketing angle for consumers; however, as DD explains, to leave the business plan there would be missing a huge opportunity. “When we crush seeds we get two products; we get edible oil and we get vegetable protein meal

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PROFILE| BFM

which is often used in animal feed. By achieving non-GMO and low trans-fat technology, we are creating a quality product at both levels. “The more you add value, the more you’re going to create market access. You’re going to create a more sustainable and reliable market which will take you up the value chain. If you’re a price taker and pure commodity supplier, you’re not building a sustainable business. “Ultimately, it’s people who add value. When you export wheat, people make wheat noodles out of it. When you export barley, people make malt out of it. When we export oats it can be processed into a finished oats product which is used in breakfast. The moment you start thinking value addition, you’re talking three to four times the value of the original commodity.” The drive to create the value-add, says DD, comes from having the right people around you. “I’m a great believer that people make the organisation. We can have the best asset in the world, but if we don’t have a motivat-

ed team that is committed, has passion, a sense of pride, a sense of psychological ownership and a commitment to success, then the asset will be of no great value.” Naturally, this extends from the people within ROBE to the creation of intelligent strategic partnerships – particularly when looking to enter new markets. As any exporter will tell you, utilising and leveraging local knowledge and expertise is critical when breaking new territory. “Put simply, if you want to enter into Asia, then the best way is by choosing the right strategic partner with the right fit, the right mindset, the right mind vision and the right alignment of objectives,” says DD. Whilst balancing the opportunities internationally, ROBE is also committed to offering the best service and supply for its customers and partners within Australia. Even after the massive investment in infrastructure and the ability to produce massive quantities of product, DD highlights how they still have their own packing centre

Transolve Global is a specialist in bulk liquid global logistics. Transolve played a crucial role in Riverina Oils and Bio Energy’s (ROBE) initial stages of development, shipping the very first flexitank containers of canola oil from the refinery in 2012. Transolve Global has helped develop logistics systems and procedures for ROBE across Australia, USA and New Zealand. All staff at ROBE are great supporters of Transolve Global and we look forward to further developing ROBE’s overseas markets in the future. - Rachael Budd - Managing Director Transolve Global Australia, New Zealand and USA

and service local restaurants and cafes in quantities as small as 20 litre tins. It’s an obvious challenge to remain customer focused at such a localised level, yet keep an eye open for the massive opportunities overseas, yet DD believes that ROBE has the product to appeal to all, and the structure to handle both. It’s been a very big 12 months, but the future looks even bigger. BFM

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BFM | TECHNOLOGY

THE INTERNET OF THINGS AND SECURITY: IS YOUR ENTERPRISE PROTECTED? Understanding the opportunities and risks unleashed by the ecosystem of ecosystems Finding smarter and more efficient ways of managing data overload is now dominating investment decisions in technology departments across Australia and New Zealand. With the digital universe experiencing unprecedented digital growth of roughly 40 per cent a year, data storage demand has never been more intense.

ith the Internet of Things (IoT), we allow everyday objects to connect virtually to multiply the power of people, processes and machines by orders of magnitude, unleashing levels of performance never seen before. Certainly that has value, e.g. smarter homes and buildings, better health, power reduction, improved crisis management and even increased public safety. Yet all those benefits come with associat-

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ed risks: misunderstood threats to privacy and physical security, new ‘features’ that trigger unwanted and unwarranted surveillance, new attack vectors with major ripple effects and data that never ‘shuts up’, to name a few. IoT introduces a network of networks we can’t yet size, with untold breakpoints and vulnerabilities added every day. This complexity itself provides an emergent value to data that we cannot yet define. How do we protect these emergent

properties? In our race to capitalise on the next big thing, we are creating the next big problem. A large-scale network with giant-sized problems Part of the problem is that the infrastructure of the Internet, that underpins the IoT, is designed to trust without verifying the credibility of data sources. Think about that for a moment. If all devices natively trust each other, and consequently share data, then

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TECHNOLOGY| BFM

how can we know when a device is lying? Not only that, but how can we protect a device among billions from compromise? Yielding to the unknown is dangerous in any network, but especially for a network composed of billions of nodes. “If all devices natively trust each other, and consequently share data, then how can we know when a device is lying?” A privacy breach in IoT could unleash brontobytes of sensitive data into the world, compromising not just privacy but also public safety. The financial liability could be in the billions. As an industry, we need to come to terms with professional and ethical shared control of IoT. We need a universal open source model for connected devices that addresses the proprietary endpoint wireless infrastructures of today, with open standards for interface protocols, software, firmware and systems on chips and hardware, including security standards. We can’t pretend we’ve learned nothing from the cyber insecurity we already have! So what can we do to improve security in this massive new network? Let’s start with these three things:

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1. Build security and privacy into the network. IoT is a risk management game at all levels — sensors, devices, firmware, applications and data. It’s critical to build security at every point to create the IoT version of ‘defense in depth’. Where really low-powered devices are involved, it’s necessary to create mechanisms for process flow security and privacy interventions. 2. Introduce analytics to make operational adjustments. In the IoT ecosystem of ecosystems, largescale analytics will yield insights and trends regarding overall network operations, from clusters of nodes down to devices. Take advantage of these trend analyses to scan for changes and alert first responders when risks are exposed. 3. Build new, specialised systems to control the noise. Personal choice is being buried by the push for connectivity and ubiquity. Push back. Be proactive in how you manage your own privacy. Someday, there will be a market for personal supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems for controlling the noise of IoT for real people like us.

Loose lips still sink ships We are quickly creating and adopting the future promise of IoT. We are retiring non-‘smart’ devices as a class of interim devices grows ‘smart enough’ to plug into wider networks. Infrastructure is adapting to handle the vast numbers and diversity of devices that IoT involves. IoT presents exponential potential exposure that needs more than a multitude of linear security solutions. Tighter control, better analytics and specialised systems will help, but this is a human challenge as much as it is a technology challenge. As people, we need to demand a balance of privacy that suits our sometimes extroverted, sometimes introverted, selves. Being ‘always on’, constantly firing data into IoT, threatens more than we care to acknowledge. BFM Roger Lawrence, Chief Technologist for Innovation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Asia-Pacific and Japan; David Fox, Senior Director and General Manager, Enterprise Security Services, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, AsiaPacific and Japan

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BFM | PROFILE

The career cheerleader After leaving her first job as a university lecturer in Psychology, Glenda May took a position as a careers consultant in the Victorian Public Service Board, where her passion for organisational consulting was born. She speaks with Business First about how consulting and careers coaching really can make a huge difference to organisations and people’s lives.

ow to redress the obstacles experienced by disadvantaged groups, was a question Glenda May had to confront when she was asked by the Victorian Public Service to design a program to tackle these issues. The resulting program was designed to cater predominantly to women and indigenous groups, who were struggling to follow a career path. “I wanted to know why it was easier for some people to advance; why did a department hire particular skills and people. The more answers I found, the more questions arose. From there, my passion for organisational consulting blossomed.” Glenda is now a Certified Master Coach, with a focus on career development. She uses the concepts and practices of Positive Psychology, to help people move forward in their careers and she has worked with some major clients in a range of industries including General Electric, Gippsland Water, CGU, Australia Post, National Australia Bank and McDonalds among others. Part of her success, is the psychology-backed approach she takes to getting the best out of people. “All my work is based on sound rigorous psychological practices. A corporate psychologist can provide the added dimension of a deep understanding of human behaviour and motivators, within the context of the quirks of organisational life. My clients learn what drives their behaviour, which can include social and environmental factors, even early and family experiences. “Careers are not about what you want to do, a psychologist can help you connect with your why. This results in a better fit and therefore greater satisfaction for both the

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PROFILE| BFM

individual and the organisation.” Glenda is not just a proponent of psychology, but also of positive psychology, a growing movement that is the scientific study of human flourishing, and an applied approach to optimal functioning. It has also been defined as the study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals, communities and organisations to thrive. “My clients benefit from my expertise in positive psychology, and my strong focus on the role of emotional intelligence in the workplace,” Glenda says. “I use proven psychological models and indicators: the SkillWill Matrix, values assessments, personality indicators, 360 degree feedback tools. “The services of a Career Coach /Psychologist can be particularly powerful when delivered in conjunction with psychological services; for instance, someone suffering anxiety related to their job search can at the same time receive concrete job-search techniques. Glenda takes an evidence-based approach. She is pragmatic, current and strategic in her delivery. When working with companies she immerses herself in their unique culture to discover challenging behaviours and obstacles, and identify the strong leaders who are able to get their staff on board with the overall purpose of the business. Once on board, new recruits want to know that individuals there can thrive as much as the company; that their careers are put on a solid path, if not some sort of fast track. As most executives know, getting everyone on board a company mission can be a challenge, but it is one Glenda has embraced for over 25 years. “I enjoy a challenge; particularly customising career and coaching programs that hit home and make a measurable difference in ROI,” Glenda says. That of course benefits everyone, especially in a more demanding employment climate, which at present can be quite intimidating for career people who want stability in their working lives. But the world has moved on. Australia’s job mobility is a long

way from job for life- in fact it’s closer to three jobs per decade! Career change statistics suggest that about 1/3 of the total workforce will now change jobs every 12 months. By the age of 42 you will probably already have had about ten jobs. “Uncertainty in the economic climate, means career candidates need to continually showcase their skill set, think creatively about what makes them unique and how they can make a value-added contribution to an organisation. “A candidate must not only prove they can do the job, but impress that they are motivated to do the job; and that they are a fit for the culture. “This is my ‘Can, Will, Fit, mod-

el’ which I use to analyse and tailor for each client.” Glenda says organisations are increasingly using of contractors, which in some instances can mean less commitment. “The challenge for leaders here is to influence their contractors’ commitment in the short term and help them feel valued and engaged.” This isn’t so much about changing personalities, but more about learning the power of choice. Glenda teaches organisations and individuals the value of choice. “We have a brain as well as a personality; this is where choice comes into play. We can choose to behave in the best way possible to

GLENDA MAY’S KEY COACHING STRATEGIES My objective is all about helping others to find their purpose and strengths so that they can achieve satisfying and rich work lives. Using the concepts and practices of Positive Psychology and Emotional Intelligence, I work with you to help you find your passion, that will drive you move forward in your career. A question I ask my clients to reflect on: “Is what you’re doing building a resume. OR is it building your legacy?” My simple 3-step career plan: 1. Find your passion. Ascertain the environment, the industry, you would be proud to be part of,

clarify your personal brand and your distinguisher, your values: 2. Get really good at it, 3. Get known for it/ increasing your profile and visibility, networking, lobby, political strategising. I’m not just a coach, but also a consultant who will partner with you. I believe people are as important to the success of a business as money and processes. I coach not just the individual but how they fit into the team. As an external person I work with your team member with my hat of objectivity

BFM | PROFILE achieve the outcome we want. “Personality indicators help you understand your preferred automatic way of behaving if you didn’t think about it. With this knowledge you can choose to flex your style and behave in a different way; the way that will help you achieve your outcome. “A coach will not give you the answer – what they will do is to make you think and help you to self-reflect and ask yourself ‘why am I doing this?’ On the matter of what makes a good coach, Glenda says there are several factors to consider, especially in an era when there are coaches for almost everything. She breaks this question into organisational and individual perspectives. From an organisation point of view, a good coach is, “Someone who can recognise what your organisation needs in a role. Someone who can help you work through the critical step of analysing the job to clarify what the ideal person needs to be and know and do. Someone who supports you to

visualise a star performer in this role – what that person needs to do and accomplish in order to be successful; and then works with you through a strategic targeted process to ensure a successful match.” From an individual’s perspective, the coach is “someone who can support you to map out your dream job and equip you to get it. It is someone who will work with you to holistically look at who you are, identify where you want to go and then work with you to develop the most appropriate strategies to find that job. “A good career coach is intensely curious about the inner workings of their clients, and of the challenges they face. And they don’t stop learning. For coaches to make a powerful difference in your life they have to have developed their own, teachable point of view, their own concepts, and their personal model for change – not just a regurgitation of the great coaching concepts that others have put forward. “Good coaches will be able to

tell you their coaching philosophy and how they have developed it through their training and experience. In my case I am passionate about career transition within the context of Positive Psychology, Self- Awareness and Emotional Intelligence. As your career coach I hold a mirror up to you – so you get you to see yourself honestly. As my client you can expect to be challenged, but also expect me to be your cheerleader or catalyst; I will be on your side.” Despite the changing times, Glenda says everybody wants to feel valued for their work; they want and need a cheerleader. She says that engaged employees add value to an organisation, those who do are therefore recognized for their contribution. This leads to living a career they love. Career planning is no longer an activity you do once before leaving school, it’s a work in progress and as Glenda May says, we should approach our careers as if we were star athletes and find a good coach and trusted advisor that can help us reach our goals. BFM

“Careers are not just about what you want to do, why you want to do it, is what gets you to the top” Glenda May is a Psychologist and Certified Master Coach, with a focus on career development for career executives. She uses the concepts and practices of Positive Psychology and Emotional Intelligence to help career people fast track to the top within organisations. She has worked with leading organisations including General Electric, Gippsland Water, CGU, Motorola, Australia Post, NAB, McDonalds and Asia Business Forum. Much of her success is due to the psychology-based approach she takes to getting the best out her clients. “All my work is based on sound rigorous psychology practices because it adds a deep understanding of human behaviour and motivators, within the context of the quirks of corporate organisations.” Contact Glenda May for results-driven facilitation and coaching.

16/156 Beaconsfield Parade, Albert Park, Victoria 3206 Telephone: +61 3 9696 9060 Mobile: +61 418 580 457 BUSINESSFIRST g_may@bigpond.net.au www.glendamay.com.au MAGAZINE

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BRANDING| BFM

The logo so simple a child can draw it When setting up a company, a business owner and his team are inevitably faced with the task of naming the business and designing a logo. I believe that creating and choosing a company name and logo should be considered with care, as they will form the basis of the company’s brand writes Serguei Beloussov, CEO of Acronis.

he right name can play a useful role in its success. The wrong one can contribute much to its failure. Based on my own experience, I have formulated several principles that our team tries to adhere to. 1. In branding, the word you use has to be carefully selected, and in the modern world of science and technology, this word has to be in English. It is not a colour picture set against a background, but a set of sounds and letters. And wherever it is written – on sand or on paper, whatever the language and accent it is pronounced with, the speaker’s voice, pitch or speech tempo, its format will invariably remain digital and it works the same across any media. Your word will be used in Internet search and in social media; it will be heard on television, the radio or at the next table. To ensure that it can be easily remembered and spelled correctly, this word should be as short as possible and ideally consist of just a few letters.

This can be difficult to achieve and it is very important the name is not too long and easy to remember, pronounce and spell. Business names like Uber or Odin are good examples. It is better if the number of vowels in the name is kept to a minimum: this way the name is easier to remember, at least how to pronounce. 2. A common English word with an established meaning does not easily lend itself to branding. There are several reasons for this: a commonly used word may have several meanings, it may already have been taken, the domain may not be available, etc. In this case, the business owner may create a word of his own. That is why company names often have no meaning as such, as is the case with Google and Yandex, for example. Based on this principle, we have named our business Acronis. This word cannot be found in literature or colloquial speech, and it had no initial meaning. 3. A proprietary font is important The logo letters should be distinctive and based on a custom font rather than traditional typefaces. People take notice of this and it helps to differentiate a brand when it is presented in an unconventional way. A font can communicate nuances of meaning, for example the Acronis font has been deliberately simplified and targets a professional audience. 4. A logo should communicate a word. To be more precise, a company name. Otherwise, people will be less likely to remember this word, search for it or use it in search engines and social networks.

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There are, however, a number of reasons why a short and “square” logo is also necessary as the full company name will not fit into the user interface icon, or many other places. In this case, stylising the first letter in the logo and later using it as short logo will be a good solution; in fact, this is what we opted for at Acronis. The logo shall still be easily read and clearly associated with the full company name, and most of the time full name is written. Technology leaders like Google and Oracle have gone down this path. It’s important to ensure that it is so simple that even a child can draw the logo on a napkin. 5. Name and logo must tell a story. Our thinking process is based on associations and we find it difficult to remember new things without established references and analogies. For instance, the dual cross-bar in the letter ‘A’ of our Acronis logo may create a variety of associations and, as far as I am concerned, I always associate it with dual protection. The big question is whether it is worth creating a name and logo for individual products. I believe that until a company has hit a turnover of, let’s say, a billion US dollars, there should only be one logo and one business name. Ideally, one should strive to ensure that the brand becomes part of the common language, as happened with Google and the verb to google, for example. No business name or logo should be changed frequently, at any rate, not unless you are relaunching the business. The temptation may sometimes be hard to resist as a rapidly growing company always employs new people who are intent on making changes one way or the other. BFM

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BFM | PROFILE

Bryan de Caires, CEO, Australian Security Industry Association Limited (ASIAL)

SAFEGUARDING AUSTRALIA

– an industry up to the challenge We live in a time of heightened security. Changing threats have required more rigorous security responses to help create a safe and secure environment. Achieving this is no easy task. Thankfully, federal and state government security agencies along with a growing private security industry sector are working hard to protect us.

ne organisation that is forging closer collaboration between government and private security providers is the Australian Security Industry Association Limited (ASIAL). Established in 1969, ASIAL is the peak body for security professionals in Australia – members account for approximately 85% of the Australian security industry, comprising small and large organisations, along with major users of security across all sectors. The Association is run by Bryan de Caires, a former UK based editor who in previous lives worked in financial publishing, B2B events and Human Resources.

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Drawing on his strong communications expertise, Bryan has helped raise the industry’s professional standing and profile. “Security has grown significantly over the last two decades. It plays a vital but often unseen role in safeguarding the Australian community.” The security industry consists of three main sectors. One is manpower: guards, patrols, crowd control, event security, concierge, aviation screeners, maritime security, critical infrastructure, hospitals, cash management, loss prevention, defence sites; security officers perform an important role 24/7 across abroad range of areas.

Secondly there is the electronics sector: this includes access control, alarms (manufacture, installation and monitoring), biometrics and CCTV. “There are about 1.3 million monitored alarm systems around the country, which the industry is responsible for installing, monitoring and servicing,” Bryan says. “Then there are the access control systems providing entry and exit to offices, the growing range of biometric security solutions (including keyless entry through facial and fingerprint recognition) and CCTV cameras.” The third industry sector includes locks, barriers, bollards

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PROFILE| BFM

and fencing; security measures that provide a physical deterrent to someone trying to break into a home or building. In addition a recent and rapidly evolving area is cybersecurity. The cybersecurity threats we face are real and growing in severity and frequency. “The rapid nature of the move to digitisation has created cybersecurity challenges that need to be addressed. We live in a connected world where demand for solutions to protect networks and systems from internal and external hacking and data breaches is growing,” Bryan says. What these different industry sectors highlight is the diverse and evolving nature of the security industry. “Security is a $6 billion a year industry that employs over 130,000 licensed personnel. In addition to this, there are many more employed in administration, marketing and management roles. There are about 10,000 companies that provide security services; of these

a dozen or so larger players with turnovers in the hundreds of millions of dollars.” As the peak industry body, ASIAL is a passionate advocate of excellence in service provision. The Association’s 2600 members (the majority of which are corporate members) are committed to the highest professional standards. “Security is a heavily regulated industry. ASIAL has long advocated the need for a uniform and consistent national approach to security licensing and ensuring that regulation best serves the needs of the community and the industry as a whole,” says Bryan. “Our focus is on raising industry professionalism though the development of industry standards, guidelines, codes of practice and by providing practical advice and support on a broad range of areas such as industrial relations and compliance. “ASIAL is a federally registered employer organisation and a cabling registrar acting on behalf

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ITS SECURITY? Take ASIAL’s free SecureBiz Quiz today at www.securebiz.com.au

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The peak body for security professionals.

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of the Australian Communications and Media Authority. We manage complaints and conduct consumer awareness campaigns and develop resources to consumers in choosing a security provider. “All in all, we are committed to supporting members, promoting standards and safeguarding the interests of the public. “We are focused on raising awareness of the invaluable role the industry performs in keeping the community safe.” The reality is that the general public is much more likely to encounter private security officers than police in their day to day lives. Increasingly, they are reliant on the services the industry performs. “Whether it’s screening passengers before a flight or patrons before entering an event or licensed premises; protecting critical infrastructure facilities such as major utilities, defence sites, hospitals; monitoring home or business alarm systems; patrolling industrial estates or shopping

BFM | PROFILE centres; installing a CCTV system or transporting cash and valuables to name but a few, security is omnipresent,” says Bryan. “Day in and day out, there are the tens of thousands of security officers across Australia who are working to help keep our community safe. These security officers deserve to be acknowledged and respected for the role they perform.” The growth of the security industry is widely regarded as one of the most significant social developments since World War II. The ‘pluralisation of policing’, driven by outsourcing and a move to a user-pays society, has seen private security take on growing roles and responsibilities. “Without doubt we live in changing times, where the threats we face are evolving, not just from terrorism but from other dimensions such as cybercrime,” Bryan says. “Whilst there is a growing awareness of the threats faced, there is still some complacency and an ‘it won’t happen to us’ mentality which is perplexing. It is important that organisations understand the importance of conducting regular security risk assessments

to ensure that the measures they have in place are appropriate to the threats they face. Building a culture of resilience is important to maintain an organisation’s sustainability. Burying your head in the sand is not a solution.” The future looks busy for the industry. Events such as the 2018 Commonwealth Games will require a substantial private security involvement. So how do you approach security at something so large? Major events such as the Commonwealth Games, Formula 1 Grand Prix, Melbourne Cup and the recent G20 meeting all require the security industry to play a significant role. “Major events require a significant ramping up of personnel for a very short period of time. In the case of the Commonwealth Games, it will be a 2 to 3 week operational period where the industry will be expected to provide thousands of additional personnel to assist in safeguarding the Games. You need to plan well in advance to ensure there is the capacity to not only meet the Games requirements, but also service existing client needs.

The industry’s ability to meet the surge in demand for security personnel during the Games period will come down to forward planning and the ability to transfer personnel from other states to assist.” Looking to the future, the industry looks set for continued growth. The push towards contestability of service provision (whereby government tests the market to ensure it is providing the public with the best possible solution at the best possible price) will inevitably lead to further outsourcing of some government services. “With increasing demands being placed on finite police resources, we are already seeing police services reviewing the services they provide. As has happened around the world, we can expect to see increasing collaboration between security and police in the delivery of public safety services.” The challenge ahead for the industry will be meeting the growing demands and expectations being placed on it. “While it won’t be easy, the industry is maturing and professionalising. I am confident that it is up to the challenge,” Bryan says. BFM

NSW Security Industry Breakfast Briefing Former Deputy NSW Police Commissioner Nick Kaldas, Senior Australian of the Year 2016 Gordian Fulde and Bryan de Caires

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NEGOTIATION| BFM

HOW TO WIN AT NEGOTIATION

Real estate negotiation takes a combination of experience, intuition and a professional understanding of all the tricks of the trade writes Patrick Bright. TERMS AND CONDITIONS

eal estate negotiation is a practised skill. Get it wrong and your dream home could become your nightmare liability as you struggle to make mortgage repayments that are larger than you budgeted for. Get it right and it can lay the foundation for your next investment property. When buyers are negotiating the purchase price of a home or investment property, the selling agent usually has the upper hand. They are professional negotiators and they do it day in and day out with no emotional agenda other than to extract the highest price they can from the buyer. The average person is only ever likely to negotiate a property once or twice in a lifetime leaving them vulnerable to the refined negotiating techniques of a seasoned sales agent practised over hundreds of transactions and dozens of seminars. So how can a buyer even the playing field?

HOW MOTIVATED IS THE VENDOR? When negotiating, information is power. One of the most powerful pieces of information when buying a home or investment property is how motivated is the vendor to sell? If you want to buy a property for the lowest price it can really help to understand the vendor’s motivation for selling and develop your negotiation strategy accordingly. Relationship breakdown, difficult tenants, financial stress and relocation plans are some of the many reasons why people are motivated to sell quickly. A person’s motivation to sell is more often about personal reasons than just economic ones.

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The timing and settlement terms of the sale can be just as important as the offer price and so it’s best to structure your offer to try and meet the timing needs of the vendor. Often an offer with more attractive settlement conditions will be accepted over an offer of a higher dollar figure as it better meets the needs of the vendor.

ALWAYS SET A DEADLINE Whenever you submit an offer always set a deadline. Agents like it as they would rather have a deadline when dealing with the vendor anyway. It also allows you to keep in control and stops you contacting the agent repeatedly asking if the offer has been accepted – making you appear desperate. It also says that you’re serious and implies you have other properties that you’re considering (even if you don’t).

PRIVATE TREATY OFFERS There are a number of ways to handle private treaty sales. The least complicated one is to start low and work your way in very small increments. I call this technique ‘sandwiching’. Let’s say you’re interested in a home with an asking price of $700,000 and after your comparable market analysis you’re prepared to pay $665,000. Your goals is to get the vendor to agree to $665,000 or less. If you offer them your desired price straight off they’re probably not going to come down to that. So you open the negotiations below $665,000 and your subsequent offers move up to your limit as the vendor’s counter offers come down. Sometimes you’ll go in with an offer and they won’t even counter it because it’s so far away from what the vendor wants. In the case, if I had offered $640,000 and didn’t receive a counter offer I would just walk away. Often the purpose of getting the vendor to accept an offer is to get them committed to thinking you’re the buyer. It’s a psychological tactic to get them to reduce their efforts in trying to sell the prop-

erty to anyone else. The sooner the vendor and the agent become attached to you and have it in their minds that you’re going to be the purchaser, the better it is for you.

BIDDING AT AUCTION Auctions are a ‘pressure cooker’ of emotions and buyers need to be prepared, particularly if they want to stay in control. This is a situation where you have a group of people all wanting the same thing and in order to get it they need to psyche out, outsmart or outbid each other. They’re very much about competition. You want to be a winner whilst trying to spend as little as possible - two things that are in conflict with each other. Unless you’re experienced at an auction, I strongly recommend that you have an experienced professional do it for you. You wouldn’t represent yourself in court so why would you represent yourself when it comes one of the biggest purchases you’re ever likely to make? However, if you are DIY property buyer and confident you can go it alone remember no two auctions are the same. Maintain good eye and body language with the crowd and the auctioneer and make consistent, firm, unemotional bids whatever the figure you call out each time. Know your maximum bid and don’t go above it. Too often I’ve seen people go above their limit at auction. Once you’ve gone $1,000 over your limit it’s hard to stop and before you know it you’ve bid way over your finance approval. Sometimes the price is right You don’t always have to negotiate on the asking price to get a great deal. If you’ve done your research and you’re confident the vendor is asking less than fair market value, don’t wait around to snap up a bargain. I’ve bought a number of properties at or within a few thousand of the asking price because I know value when I see it. Great deals are out there, and the more you look, the more you’ll find them. BFM

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BFM | PROFILE

BRINGING FIXED INCOME TO THE MARKET

In a world of economic turmoil, ceaseless volatility and low investment returns, FIIG Securities’ chief executive officer Mark Paton has emerged as the chief evangelist for one of the country’s most underutilised asset classes.

stablished 17 years ago, FIIG is now Australia’s largest fixed income specialist with over $11 billion under investment. The company provides its broad range of professional and personal clients with direct access to corporate and government bond markets, as well as a range of term deposits and other cash manage-

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ment solutions. Since 2012 FIIG has been headed up by Columbia University alumnus Mark Paton, a 30-year veteran of Australia’s financial services industry having previously held key leadership roles in major financial institutions including ANZ and Westpac. “The founders of FIIG created

something that was quite unique and special in Australia,” Mark says. He is referring to FIIG’s ability to bring fixed income investment to everyone – which has his entire staff excited about the way they create wealth for others. “As we’ve continued to develop, it is the ability to give our clients

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PROFILE| BFM

the benefits of direct investment in fixed income that motivates our people. It’s been inspiring to be involved in that. “The people that we have working in the business are incredibly dedicated to FIIG and what we stand for and thus many of the customers we deal with have been with us from the beginning.” Indeed, FIIG make their clients feel like they’ve been part of the journey and their feedback is encouraged. From big banks to a people focused business After a long career in much larger organisations, part of the reason Mark joined FIIG was to take on the challenge of using his experience to grow the business further. “From the outset, the things that appealed to me were the fact that

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FIIG was an established, specialist business with the potential to get much bigger. What also appealed to me was the opportunity to continue to innovate with the range of services that could be introduced to the market.” The greatest challenge, and one Mark has relished and embraced, is educating a wider segment of the community about the value and opportunities available from fixed income, particularly its role in combating volatility and preserving capital. Mark says investors now have a much greater focus on capital preservation. “Growth is far more difficult to find across the market and we are in a much longer cycle of low growth, low inflation and low interest rates. There’s a lot of capital in the world looking for a safe harbour, and fixed income is the natural point between low yielding cash and high volatility equities,” he says. He believes investors need to operate on the assumption that interest rates will be lower, for longer, than anybody had previously anticipated. “This is an extraordinary period and creates a few interesting dynamics. For example in Europe there are over fourteen trillion dollars of capital invested at negative returns, just to preserve the assets.” “You see things like quantitative easing (printing money) and capital being invested by sovereigns to try and stimulate economic growth, but the fundamentals haven’t been improving,” he says. “Next year it will be ten years since the GFC. We haven’t really emerged from the shadow of that in terms of growth and the world’s economies are still restrained. I think we are seeing a new normal develop. “China has risen as a major industrial economic powerhouse, however it doesn’t have the growth dynamics it once had and as it adjusts to a consumer driven economy it will continue to be more volatile. The US is weaker and

seems to continue to struggle with how to get out of its low business investment confidence cycle.” How to protect your capital The question arising from this is how do investors protect their capital; how do they protect their income, assets and for those facing retirement ultimately their lifestyle? FIIG’s approach to solving this is to focus on creating direct access to Fixed Income investments and to educate investors. FIIG works hard to educate its clients; to help them understand the macro of where they are at in life and what investment strategy is particularly relevant to them. Essentially any investment is about balanced allocation and diversity across asset classes that are relevant to the investor and their investment mandate or their particular stage of life. “Whether you’re in equities, bonds or property, make sure you have diversity across the asset classes and then within each asset class,” Mark says. FIIG believes fixed income has an important role to play in portfolio diversification. Mark continues to advance his goal of making the asset class available to all who want direct access to fixed income and to make it more broadly available by reducing the barriers to investing. “At FIIG we want to ensure fixed income is a core asset class in Australian financial markets,” he says. “If you go to the US markets, the talk is about stocks and bonds. If you come to Australia, the talk is about property and equity. Getting Fixed Income as an asset class on the map in this country is a big part of our agenda. Creating access to it, making it more available to those investors that want to be able to directly participate in, it is our key underlying purpose.” Expanding into new markets Another key driver of Mark’s decision to join FIIG was the opportunity to expand the company into new markets, principally the corporate bond issuance market. “A lot of my experience had been in corporate finance and

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BFM | PROFILE corporate banking: solving the capital markets challenges of how to give companies an alternate source of capital to bank debt or equity,” he said. “I’ve had three decades of dealing with corporates looking to borrow money from a bank or raise it from capital markets. I’ve taken a number of them to bond markets overseas. Expanding the corporate bond market in Australia is a great opportunity for those companies looking for alternative sources of capital to fund growth and also for investors who haven’t previously been able to participate in this segment of the debt market.” This part of the business has been extremely successful and FIIG has now issued nearly 30 separate corporate bonds totalling over $1.3 billion for a range of companies, including a number of high profile ASX-listed entities. Mark discovered further motivation once entrenched in the business. He wanted make corporate bonds available to a broader range of investors, not just the institutional end of the market.

“Australia has a big corporate bond market, but the vast majority, more than 99%, is owned by large professional investors; institutions, banks and investment funds,” he says. The level of direct participation in the Australian bond market is very low compared to other countries. In most OECD nations, it’s over 30%, but Australians tend to focus heavily on equities and property. “I found a very strong raison d’etre to provide more investors with access to a conservative asset class that provides capital preservation and income certainty in a time of great volatility and economic uncertainty.” Creating access for investors to be able to own fixed income assets directly is a compelling proposition. FIIG does this in several ways. Firstly, FIIG has built its business model around connecting investors directly with fixed income investments; including bonds, term deposits and cash accounts. In traditional models, organisations like banks act as an intermediary between the borrower and

the depositor. They take money from depositors and lend direct to borrowers on their own account. In pure investment markets, companies like FIIG take the investment asset, the bond or the loan or the deposit, straight to the investor and they invest directly in that asset. “They’re trusting your assessment of the asset,” Mark says. “They’re trusting your research, your advice and your facilitation. It’s much more rewarding. In pure investment markets, you look the depositors in the eye and tell them what your view is about the risk and they rely on your advice. I’ve found that a very compelling difference between pure investments and banking. “Coming out of the world of banking where banks aggregate funds and then utilise them to provide credit has been a great foundation. However there’s a significantly greater source of capital available in the world going directly into debt markets than you would see in the banking community, and FIIG is well placed to facilitate that.” BFM

SALES| BFM

THE YEAR OF THE SALES LEADER

No matter the product or service your company is offering, nothing much happens until someone starts selling it. Ultimately this is why the sales department is a vital component of any business writes Michael Lang.

t the head of the table sits the sales leader, who is tasked to not only achieve results from his/her team, but also lead a team in a way that they want to follow, not just because they are told to. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because HE wants to do it.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower. It is for this reason that sales leaders are a breed of their own: they possess unique knowledge, skills, responsibilities and attitudes. These attributes are all strung together to focus on leading their team to success. As I hit the eight-year anniversary of founding SG Partners, I have found time to reflect on all I have seen and done. I can say with certainty that, unfortunately, there is an enormous discrepancy between those that understand the theory of sales leadership and those who can undertake the practice and vice versa. SG Partners reason to exist comes down to helping those who want to unlock their hidden value and become an even better sales leader. My goal is to provide

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‘ah-ha’ moments to all who wish to grow and become even more successful in their business. If you’re a sales leader, who wants to excel, have a look at these five areas a sales leader must focus on: 1. Skills & Knowledge • Leaders have the skills of a salesperson and the can recognise the inherent traits of each of their salespeople, understanding how to leverage their talents and drive the department. • They have the responsibility to set sales process and objectives, keeping their team aligned and accountable for the results. • Leaders should continually seek out opportunities to train their team. They should stay well-read and informed on new training techniques. 2. Consequences & Incentives • Accountability is an on-going function, so it’s important that clearly articulated consequences are enforced. • Remember to reward your team

and constantly reiterate incentives related to desired performance. 3. Expectations & Feedback • Learn to respond rather than react. Try not to let emotions get in the way. • Set your expectations for your team to abide by and act accordingly if they not reached. 4. Inspiring & Motivating • A team has a shared vision; a leader’s job is to create and manage it. • Criticism drives negativity, instead pinpoint why the salesperson is struggling and offer training to solve the issue. 5. Tracking & Visibility • Your team needs to be aware if they are performing above or below the success metrics. This helps keep a team accountable and focused. • Continually publish these metrics to see weaknesses and track movements over time. BFM

Skills & Knowledge

Tracking & Visibility

Accountability & Incentives Sales Leader

Inspiring & Motivating

Coaching & Mentoring

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BFM | PROFILE

Scanning the business landscape The concept of ‘outsourcing’ has taken on a bad name in recent years; often conjuring up images of call centres in foreign lands and that inevitable two-second delay when you answer a call from an unknown number.

or Eric Rollett, general manager at ADEC Preview Solutions, communicating this benefit, then working with the client to meet their individual needs, has been fundamental to its growth in Australia and the UK. ADEC Preview Solutions is one of Australia’s leading document scanning and document archiving companies that also provides a vast range of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services for companies seeking new ways to achieve high performance by reducing costs. “I think the biggest benefit is

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allowing people to get on with their core business,” explains Eric. “At the end of the day, document scanning is a small part of any business – or, at the very least, it’s not their main business activity. However, it is a serious requirement, particularly with some industries, so they need to get it right and do it properly. “However, putting together a dedicated scanning team internally rarely works out. They’ll often get a PA and say to them, ‘In your spare time, can you do the scanning?’, but they never seem to keep up with it. I think the biggest advan-

tage we bring is they can outsource with us and get on with their core business, rather than having this detract them.” Eric started at ADEC Preview back in his native UK almost 15 years ago, before moving to Australia in 2009 and overseeing massive growth across the business. With a background in software sales, Eric says it was a “natural migration” to move into document scanning; while ADEC itself moved into the scanning sphere after its initial core business of processing airline tickets fell away due to the introduction of electronic ticketing. Since its move into the Australian market, ADEC Preview has quickly gained a reputation as an industry leader, providing unique scanning technology and personalised service that sets it apart from competitors. “We’re a personalised company at a local level,” says Eric. “We have a very flat management structure so customers will deal directly with someone who will be making the final decision, rather than having to work through forms of hierarchy. That’s enabled us to develop several partnerships with very large blue-chip organisations.” While a simplified management structure clearly has benefits, Eric believes that the real key to their growth in Australia is their ability to work with clients and address specific individual needs. Sometimes that involves developing new technologies, while other times it is helping the client understand their real needs and working through what existing systems will enhance business flow. “Most of our development as a company is client-driven,” he says. “We’re very lucky that every single client that comes to us has their own unique set of challenges that they need to address. That facili-

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PROFILE| BFM

tates us to find technology to meet that challenge if we already don’t have it in place – which naturally drives us forward.” While ADEC Preview is quick to embrace new systems, Eric says they don’t need to jump into new technology for the sake of it. There are many situations where a client believes they need something that would involve a genuine technological development, however it may really require a shift in how the client thinks about their storage or security needs. With this in mind, Eric lists ADEC Preview’s work as a Defence contractor as one of the company’s biggest achievements. “There were numerous difficulties in the early stages because the equipment we were using had never been cleared before. The standard operating procedure of Defence was to process one box and then lock it away in a safe overnight. This procedure was impractical when we were going to be processing hundreds of boxes. The Department of Defence had to

change their entire mental shift as to how we would set up the bureau to be able to handle it in bulk. It was a challenge, but also one of our biggest key achievements.” Having been at ADEC Preview from the early days of scanning, Eric is well placed to consider the growth of the industry, particularly in Australia. Although he believes the local market is perhaps “two to three years behind” what is being done in the UK, he puts that down to legislation and the requirements on holding documents. “Those legal requirements are big drivers for the industry, and the changes are coming through – so the growth is significant,” he explains. “We can see it purely in the amount of work we’re doing. When I first came across here, we had a very active sales team that was probably winning a lot of the business. At that time we were scanning upwards of a million images a month. We’re now scanning more than 2 million images a week.” Legislation changes – such as those seen in the NSW healthcare

sector in recent years – will drive growth even further. Indeed, Eric says that ADEC Preview increased staff from 23 to 80 in only three weeks to meet the needs of those healthcare regulations. It also led to the development of new technologies and will undoubtedly hold the future for immediate growth and potentially a push into new territories. “We are gearing ourselves up to be the one-stop company for any medical or patient record scanning. In addition to that, because of the solutions we’ve now put together, we’re noticing that we’re getting more of a global request on this. We’ve got a lot of inquiries at the moment coming out of Saudi Arabia. There are several hospitals over there that want to utilise our advancements and we’ll certainly be evolving this into a solution that we can now take globally.” It’s a delicate balance to grow quickly yet remain personal in service and listen to the needs of your customers, but as ADEC Preview is showing – it pays off in the end. BFM

Secure Document Scanning Collaborative access to digitised documents

ADEC will pack and transport your documents to our secure facility

ADEC will digitise and index your documents

ADEC will provide the scanned images back on secure media

T: 02 8397 6900 | 02 9418 7822 F: 02 9418 7833 E: info@adecpreview.com.au ADEC Preview Unit 1, 1 Skyline Place, Frenchs Forest NSW 2086

ADEC can securely shred the processed documents

BFM | INVESTMENT

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INVESTMENT| BFM

Imputation bonds and superannuation Insurance Bonds are the next best-sheltered tax vehicle to super and can deliver personal tax arbitrage benefits for higher taxed investors. They also open a multitude of financial planning strategies and solutions.

oss Higgins from AUSTOCK Life is seeing more clients and their advisers using Imputation Bonds in ‘strategy-based’ and/or ‘alternative structuring’ applications that work beside or in instead of superannuation. While there is a considerable “after-tax” performance trade-off favouring superannuation’s lowtaxed environment, there are many restrictions. Insurance Bonds do not have superannuation’s restrictions, such as: • Preservation Age restrictions: Bond owners do not have to wait until age 55 to 60 to make withdrawals from their Bond; • Contribution caps limits: Imputation Bonds do not have set limits when setting up a bond nor are there age-based/worktest restrictions; or • Generally prohibitions that apply to using superannuation as loan security or in gearing strategies do not apply to Bonds.

BONDS: ALTERNATIVE (AND COMPLEMENTARY STRATEGIES) TO SUPERANNUATION INCLUDE: • Creating tax-effective “annuity-like” withdrawal streams • New tax management strategies for family, discretionary & testamentary trusts • Tax-effective “in specie” transfers from family wealth structures • New dimensions to estate planning and Wills (for fixing family feuds and catering for blended families) • Achieving confidential, targeted and protected bequests, including for philanthropic purposes • Achieving inheritances and intergenerational wealth transfers for children and grandchildren • Alternative to “off-the-shelf” testamentary trusts • Aged care and Centrelink strategies • Foreign Investor tax advantages (including for SIV applications)

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CONTRIBUTION LIMITS STRATEGY For investors who are unable to contribute to superannuation, or perhaps face contribution caps, Imputation Bonds can represent a valuable alternative and flexible, tax-effective investment structure. For example, investors in this situation could invest in an Imputation Bond over, say, their last five or 10 working years. Then during their pre-age 65 retirement period they could make structured draw-downs against their Bond, while leaving their superannuation intact. By doing this, any deferred tax assessability on the Bond’s pre 10-year growth can be structured over a succession of the early years of retirement, where they might be able to best utilise its imputed tax benefits in the form of 30 per cent tax offset claims. Better still, if they hold the Bond beyond 10 years, then any drawdowns in their hands would be free of any personal income tax or CGT.

REDUNDANCIES AND GOLDEN HANDSHAKES One of superannuation’s lost advantages has been the ending of the former long-standing benefits of rolling over employment termination payment (ETP) monies into superannuation. These are now treated as taxable outside superannuation as ordinary investment monies. These changes have opened scope to use Insurance Bonds as a type of post “roll-over” vehicle. For instance, someone receiving a redundancy in early or mid-working life may be advantaged by investing their ETP monies into an Imputation Bond, and then, over a period, drip feed

these into the superannuation system.

FUNDS EXITING SUPERANNUATION PENSIONS Monies coming out of the superannuation system via annuities and pensions often cannot be re-contributed back into superannuation. Investors aged 65 to 74 must satisfy the worktest, and generally those over age 75 cannot make voluntary superannuation contributions. These ‘exited’ monies often can accumulate in bank accounts and might cause annual income tax problems, or perhaps even have an unfavourable impact on qualification thresholds for, say, the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. For many higher tax investors, Insurance Bonds are the next best comprehensive tax/product structure after superannuation, and can represent an attractive repository investment vehicle for exiting superannuation pension mode monies. Additionally, Insurance Bonds have flexible estate planning advantages as against superannuation.

OVERCOMING SUPERANNUATION’S ESTATE PLANNING LIMITATIONS Superannuation is favoured by a low 15 per cent ongoing fund tax. However, as against an Imputation Bond, it can suffer an additional 16.5 per cent exit tax if “death” distributions are made to non-dependants which typically are non-dependent adult children. By contrast, Imputation Bond distributions due to death are simply tax-free to all recipients regardless of who they are or the state of their age or dependency. BFM

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BFM | PROFILE

Looking out to grow within Murrumbidgee Irrigation is one of the largest private irrigation companies in Australia and, having been established in 1912 following the commissioning of Burrinjuck Dam in the Snowy Mountains, it is also one of the oldest.

Brett Jones, CEO Murrumbidgee Irrigation

roviding irrigation water and drainage services to the area known as the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA), Murrumbidgee Irrigation manages some $500 million of infrastructure assets, has an annual turnover of $40 million, and services more than $2.5 billion in water entitlements. The MIA, which forms part of the Murray-Darling Basin, covers an area of 660,000 ha of which an average of 170,000 ha is irrigated. It is estimated to contribute more than $5 billion to the Australian economy, largely through food production. However, over the last decade, consecutive years of drought and a growing population has put heavy pressure on the MIA, with demands to increase food production with less water consumption causing ongoing angst. While Murrumbidgee Irrigation as an entity was owned and operated by the NSW Government for its first 84 years, the irrigation network was privatised in 1999 and now operates as

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an unlisted public company, owned by most of the local landowners. As such, Murrumbidgee Limited plays an incredibly important role in a challenging environment, with shareholders who are heavily invested in the workings. It’s a unique and, perhaps daunting, situation. Brett Jones joined Murrumbidgee Irrigation in October 2015 as the chief executive officer, looking to provide a clear pathway and positive image through a difficult time. His career pathway is littered with impressive projects and learnings from 18 years at BHP, as the chief executive officer of a private renewable energy business and as an executive manager at Snowy Hydro. It’s a progression that has provided practical experience in energy and technical development, along with training, people management and cultural change – all of which has been incredibly important in his current role. “Ultimately, I’d like to have every farm growing,” says Brett. “I want to help the productive crops which make the customers successful and create money for the economy in the small towns and businesses in the area.” Naturally, an objective such as this takes time and Brett has been in role barely six months, so at this stage it’s about getting the systems and structures in place in which to grow. “The irrigation framework has got a very long rich history, and it’s the lifeblood of this area. My role is to drive a more positive future about the business and the agriculture in the areas that we live. At this stage, that involves a lot of corporate planning. We’ve re-set out our vision, our mission, and even redone our logo just to show that we’re different and moving forward.” The first step of that planning was a review of the operations and shift from improving projects such

as replacing channels and water delivery systems, to a more proactive strategy of increasing capacity. “Just recently we just released expressions of interest for a group of customers on one channel which would deliver 390 megalitres a day, and now we’re looking at delivering 690 megalitres a day,” Brett explains. “It opens up opportunity for people to grow more in those areas, plant more and have more irrigation, which means the farmers make more money, which means there’s more money in the towns. As such, it’s good for the farmers, it’s good for the community, and it’s positive in the area.” Much of this innovative growth is achieved through partnerships, forming alliances with design consultants and major contractors to help deliver projects. Working with local contractors and local suppliers is obviously beneficial to the area as a whole and helps build a long-term future by providing value to all parties. While such a statement may seem painfully obvious, it is a shift in thinking for Murrumbidgee Irrigation which had been accused in the past of focusing on its own operations at the expense of those it worked with. “It’s removing a lot of the complexity and making processes simple to make it easier for customers to do business with us,” says Brett. “In doing so, we become an enabler. We become someone who can open up opportunities for customers and farmers to grow more and do more.” Partnering with consultants and contractors also opens up new systems and technologies. “A project like the Hanwood System required putting in a lot of new infrastructure, a lot of pipeline systems, and a lot of automated systems connecting the farms and different outlets. It’s electronic

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PROFILE| BFM and automatic, which makes it a lot easier for the farmer and their ability to manage watering patterns. It enables the farmer to do their efficiency measures as well.” While Brett clearly has his eye on the future, he is also mindful to deal with the present and ensure that changes are seen across all facets of the business in the here and now. As such, he has turned an immediate focus to safety. “I’m a big safety-first person, so I’ve been implementing the processes and putting it front and centre,” he explains. “We always talk safety first in presentations and meetings, and push it as being part of a ‘learning organisation’ so that incidents or accidents are shared and learned from. I’m big on doing safety alerts and safety messages, and safety training.” This message extends to the community, where safety is included as an important part of any communication. The aim is to build confidence and pride in Murrumbidgee Irrigation as an organisation. “With all the articles that we put out into the local papers and all our media releases, we always

try to ensure that we’re building a reference to safety or safety performance to maintain that message. We put importance on safety within the workplace and within home life.” It may have only been six months, yet Brett has clearly set a structure around partnering and clear communication with customers, contractors and the local community – which leaves one group to complete the set… the Government and industry bodies. In this area, Brett says that Murrumbidgee Irrigation is working hard to regain some certainty in the area to help alleviate the angst that has underwritten much of the last decade. “We’ve got a clear and consistent message to the policy makers about where we believe the good elements lie, and where things could be done better – and much of that revolves around bringing things back to basics.” Ultimately, in the game of politics, power and pressure, it’s very easy for all groups to look internally and focus on personal needs. Whether it be Murrumbidg-

“We’ve completed several projects with Murrumbidgee Irrigation as part of the MI Renewal Alliance. We’re proud of the collaborative relationship we have fostered, built on trust and high performance in the areas of technical excellence, improved operations and stakeholder management. The combined capabilities and experience of the Alliance positions us well to deliver this ambitious modernisation program under a tight schedule. Renewing this water delivery infrastructure not only provides surety for the local community, but also generates water savings to reduce the impacts on the Murray-Darling Basin.” - Regional General Manager, Scott Olsen, John Holland

ee Irrigation as an entity, through to the contractors, community and policy makers, Brett is imploring all groups to remember that if everyone works together, the real priorities will be met. “If you get everyone planning and working together, then you’re ensuring that a lot of farmers will stay in business. They can remain viable within the agricultural industry as well. I think it flows right through in terms of benefits for the company, create benefits for the customers, create benefits for the community.” BFM

John Holland is proud to be partnering with Murrumbidgee Irrigation to play a part in the modernisation and rationalisation of a vital irrigation district that is generating water savings in the Murray-Darling Basin. John Holland is at the forefront of Australia’s infrastructure, building and rail markets. Operating across Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia, we have been transforming cities, connecting regional centres and providing vital infrastructure for more than 60 years. We constantly strive to exceed the expectations of our customers, in delivering our projects to the highest safety and quality standards, enriching the communities in which we work and inspiring our people to create a brighter future.

johnholland.com.au

BFM | DESTINATION

SIP AND SWIRL YOUR WAY THROUGH THIS AGRICULTURAL WONDERLAND

Sonoma Wine Country isn’t the kind of place to show off its luxury and wealth, nor is it the place to be seen. Rather it is the place to be. Located just north of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Sonoma County offers a genuine and adventurous wine country experience featuring more than 425 wineries, 100-plus organic farms, and over 80 kilometres of stunning Pacific coast.

ith an abundance of wineries, restaurants, hotels, B&B’s and landscape to explore, it can be tough to know where to begin. Here are a few insider tips to one of California’s luxurious foodie destinations.

WHERE TO STAY? The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa is the ultimate oasis, blessed by natural mineral hot springs in the Sonoma Valley and located in an idyllic, world-famous wine growing region. With complimentary wine tasting in the lobby daily, premier dining room Santé Restaurant offering innovative local California cuisine, as well as

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DESTINATION| BFM being one of the only luxury spa resorts in the country with its own source of thermal mineral water, guests will find everything they desire here. Guests seeking the warmth and hospitality of a family style accommodation will find this at the Farmhouse Inn. This family-owned bed and breakfast inn is coupled with all of the services and amenities of a luxury boutique hotel in a more laid back lodging environment. Located in Forestville, the international acclaimed Inn houses a Michelin-starred restaurant as well as a perfect luxury spa that uses a farm-to-table inspired treatment menu incorporating ingredients grown in Farmhouse’s kitchen garden.

WHAT TO DO? Aside from being a wine lover’s paradise, Sonoma County offers something for everyone; from families to couples on a romantic getaway. Take a walk along Gualala Point Regional Park at the junction of the Gualala River and Pacific Ocean and immerse yourself in white beach dunes while you appreciate stunning ocean views. Experience

a bird’s –eye view of the stunning landscape from the basket of a hot-air balloon – be prepared to rise early though as most balloons launch in the early hours of the morning when the air is cool and the wind is light. For breathtaking views spiced with a dash of literary history, go on an 11 kilometre hike from Jack London State Historic Park to the Sonoma Ridge Trail. Don’t miss the opportunity to savour justoff-the-farm veggies and fruits along with locally-made products at Sonoma Valley Certified Farmers Markets, or take a delicious tasting excursion along the Sonoma Marin Cheese Trail – distinctive hand-crafted cheeses on a trail that winds through over 150 kilometres of canyons, pastures and oak-covered hills, linking close to 30 farms and creameries. Those making the pilgrimage just for the wine, you will have no problem fulfilling this. Home to almost 25,000 hectares of vineyards plus more than 400 wineries, there are plenty of ways to taste wine from guided tours to self-exploring. If you’re all about the pampered get-around, jump on board the Sonoma Valley Wine Trolley – a chauffeured tour in a vintage 1890s San Francisco cable car that takes passengers on a six hour field trip to some of the top wineries.

WHERE TO EAT? Farm-to-table, field-to-fork, or plant-to-plate: call it what you want. Sonoma County eateries invite food lovers who dream of eating their way through great

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restaurants to make a valiant effort. Dustin Valette is rocking the food world at Healdsburg’s Valette, bringing in crowds for his contemporary Cal-global cooking and reclaimed wood-trimmed, open kitchen ambience. Reservations are recommended to score a table laden with seasonally (and often weekly) changing dishes like slow cooked celeriac soup with toasted pistachios, yellow beet tartare and goat cheese meringue, or crispy skin local sable fish with garden bok choy, roasted ginger dashi, toasted soba noodles and spicy kimchee purée. Matzoh ball soup, prepared ramen style. Cheesy grits topped in pickled shiitakes, grilled chicken, cured egg and spicy schmaltz. They seem like odd recipes, but restaurateurs Mark and Terri Stark of Santa Rosa’s Bird & The Bottle are professionals, so their modern tavern melting pot works well. Try grilled and chilled shellfish accompanied by Southern Saltines and Korean chile buerre; clam chowder studded with kielbasa; kimchee latkes with sour cream and garlic chives; chicken fried oysters with shiso leaf and spicy mayo. So whether you’re exploring the historic charms of the town of Sonoma, or the amazing wineries situated in the Sonoma Valley, or even the amazing diversity of agriculture, ocean coastline and, yes, wineries of Sonoma County, as long as you see the “Sonoma” name, you’ll be in for an authentic California wine country experience. For more information: visit sonomacounty.com. BFM

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BFM | FASTLANE

RANGE ROVER EVOQUE

Range Rover Evoques, Land Rover has introduced enhanced technology, increased customer choice and a distinctive Limited Edition.

vailable in Coupe, Five-door and Convertible bodystyles, the Evoque is built at Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood plant in the UK, where a new vehicle is built every 80 seconds. Having won over 182 international awards since its launch in 2011, the Evoque is widely regarded as the world’s most desirable luxury compact SUV. To further enhance the global appeal of the sector defining vehicle, Land Rover is introducing the striking ‘Ember’ edition complete with a bold red and black theme adding an individual touch for customers wanting an even more distinctive design. Responding to consumer demand for ever greater connectivity, the latest Range Rover Evoque now offers next-generation InControl Touch Pro infotainment. Market leading technology provides a 10.2-inch tablet-style pinch ‘n’ zoom touchscreen complete with streetview map options and a customisable home screen.

EMBER LIMITED EDITION The red and black themed ‘Ember’ Limited Edition builds on the attributes of the Range Rover Evoque HSE Dynamic with striking exterior and interior details. A distinctive Firenze Red roof contrasts with the Santorini Black body colour and is

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complemented by matching exterior design elements, including the front and rear tow eye covers. Phil Simmons, Land Rover’s Studio Director for Exterior Design Realisation said: “We wanted to give the Range Rover Evoque Ember Limited Edition a sporty feel; contrasting the intensity of the Firenze Red with Santorini Black really shows off the Evoque’s stand-out proportions.” The addition of unique ‘EVOQUE’ tailgate badging in black, with a silver surround, and Narvik Black ‘RANGE ROVER’ lettering on the bonnet gives the limited edition further definition. Black Pack elements including Satin Black 20-inch alloy wheels, Dynamic black exhaust finishers, Dynamic Narvik Black grille and darkened front and rear lights give the Ember a more purposeful appearance. The ‘Ember’ theme continues inside, with Ebony Black seats sporting a contrasting Pimento Red stitch, complemented by black and red premium carpet mats and Gloss Black trim finishes. The Range Rover Evoque ‘Ember’ will be available to order for a three-month period this summer.

INTUITIVE TECHNOLOGY The new InControl Touch Pro info-

tainment system optimises in-car connectivity by providing faster responses and more intuitive operation. Introduced from launch on the Range Rover Evoque Convertible, this now becomes available as an option from 2017 model year on the Range Rover Evoque Coupe and Five-door. The enhanced set-up includes a 10.2-inch touchscreen with a customisable home screen to ensure customers’ favourite apps are always at their fingertips. The touchscreen behaves like a smartphone or tablet with swipe, pan and pinch to zoom controls and provides a clearer 21:9 super-wide format with 1280x542 pixel resolution – an 80 per cent increase over the Evoque’s standard eight-inch touchscreen.

GRAPHITE DESIGN PACK A new Graphite Design Pack also enhances the exterior of Range Rover Evoque HSE Dynamic and Autobiography derivatives with a host of subtle design changes. Unique 20-inch alloy wheels in Satin Technical Grey are complemented by the Dynamic grille in Narvik Black with a Satin Dorchester Grey Surround, while the tow eye outer covers front and rear sport the same grey tone. A black contrast roof, bonnet and tailgate lettering, darkened front and rear lights and Dynamic black exhaust finishers complete the look on HSE Dynamic models. In addition, the flagship Autobiography model benefits from black detailing on the door mirror caps, bonnet louvres, foglight surrounds, fender vents and tailgate finisher to highlight Evoque’s exterior design trademarks. Customers will also be able to choose from a wider palette of exterior body colours than before. The addition of Aruba, Farallon Black, Carpathian Grey and Silicon Silver premium metallic paint finishes takes the total number of colour options to 18. BFM

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FASTLANE| BFM

‘The red and black themed ‘Ember’ Limited Edition builds on the attributes of the Range Rover Evoque HSE Dynamic with striking exterior and interior details’

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