Business First Magazine

BUSINESSFIRST for Business Leaders

June/July 2018

FROM TELSTRA TO THE WORLD 1300 Australia Makes a Globally Inspired Acquisition

LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM MARS WRIGLEY How MinterEllison Has Reached Record Revenues

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The NSW Police Legacy’s Line of Duty Creating Diversity in the Workplace

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CONTENTS

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REGULARS 4 Editor’s Desk 5 News

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BUSINESS FOCUS 30 Marketing: It’s not just for your clients By Ian Whitworth 38 Why franchising is the smarter form of entrepreneurship By Peter Thomas 42 Seven traits of great workplace leaders

By Andrew Joyce

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An Australian business making the big calls Jonathan Jackson speaks with 1300 Australia CEO Gavin Scholes and CIO Shashi Mathew about the acquisition of CallN and the company’s current growth phase.

66 How to dominate online shopping By Andy Howard 70 Careers in AI: New jobs created by bots (that you probably haven’t heard of)

By George Wilson 74 Three reasons your workplace recovery strategy needs a re-think

By Joe Sullivan

FEATURES 16 The current state of malware: it’s all about cryptocurrency By Jim Cook 18 Location Services: Five ways they’re going to make working better

By Anthony Smith 20 How to build a high performing team to take you business to the next level By Adam Flynn 22 Why business needs to take funny seriously By Marty Wilson 24 Gender diversity and inclusion is more than just a ‘pie chart’ By John Sullivan 29 Why we need more women in leadership By Anneke van den Broke

COVER STORY

INVESTMENT FOCUS

44 Consumers are searching, but will you be found?

By Andrew Lane 49 How to manage a remote team By Damian Lepore 50 Harnessing the ripple effect of coaching… to deliver powerful leadership lessons

By Richard Day 52 Are win-win negotiations really possible? By Daniel Fielding 59 Emotional intelligence keeps employees one step ahead of the robots

By Edwina Webb 60 Profound changes to the business of the legal profession By Dr Stephen Moss

36 Strong start to 2018 for VC market with Q1 tally of US$49.3bn invested worldwide

PROPERTY FOCUS 64 7 factors that contribute to a property’s value

By Greville Pabst

LIFESTYLE 72 How to better understand and enhance your motivation

By Danielle Lima 75 The Leader’s bookshelf 76 Understanding body type and its importance for workplace By Neerja Ahuja 78 Luxury resort Trisara 80 New Cayenne a plug-in hybrid www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

BUSINESS FIRST LOUNGE

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40 54 Transformation in the heart of Adelaide

Rundle Mall is South Australia’s premier shopping and tourist precinct, attracting more than 24 million visitors every year. It is currently being redeveloped into a precinct that could transform the heart of Adelaide.

32 26 Growing Through Change

Andrew Loader General Manager of Mars Wrigley talks to Business First about leadership lessons during the local integration of Mars Chocolate and the Wrigley Company.

32 Bringing equality and fairness to the accommodation industry

The Accommodation Association of Australia advocates for its members in the accommodation sector to ensure they receive a fair deal. Leading the charge is CEO Richard Munro.

40 The ABC of Taryn Williams: Agent, Boss, CEO

She may have started a successful modelling agency at age 21, but it hasn’t all been cover shoots and red carpets for Taryn Williams. Here’s how the former model taught the world to take her seriously. www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

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46 Leaving a legacy for those in the line of duty

Policing is a dangerous job, so when officers put their lives on the line they need to be assured that family and loved ones are well taken care of and supported should dire situations occur.

Organisations such as NSW Police Legacy (NSWPL) go a long way to instilling peace of mind.

56 Sales enablement dramatically increases ROI; What every CEO needs to know

The world of B2B sales is changing rapidly, particularly the area of sales enablement.

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62 How MinterEllison is breaking the industry mould

MinterEllison is a household name in law, but over the last few years this international legal firm has spread its wings to expand into non-legal consulting work.

68 A new movement in fitness

Adala Bolto is the female entrepreneur who is about to take training for women to a whole new level with boutique fitness concept ZADI Training.

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BF | EDITOR’S DESK

Teamwork is the key to success In all my years writing about businesses, the ‘number one step to success’ most top-line managers quote as being critical to their growth is nurturing and building strong teams.

That does not mean building a strong team of individuals, although it is important to hire people with exceptional individual skills. It means hiring people with exceptional skills who can work well together in an environment that fosters teamwork.

As Biggin & Scott’s Knox CEO says, “When you have a strong team of high performance individuals working to achieve the same goal, there’s no telling what your business can achieve.”

The benefits of teamwork are many and varied: increased efficiency, idea generation, better communication, shared workload, a strong support network and last but not least a learning experience.

A few years ago the Australian Institute of Business posted: Projects which involve teamwork serve as an opportunity for professional development and learning. This may be conscious learning during a meeting, or learning which occurs without you even realising whilst listening to others. It is quite possible that you can learn from someone else’s knowledge which allows your own skills and capabilities to grow.

Billie Nordmeyer adds that ‘Individual team members serve as educational resources to other employees in a team environment’. It is also important to note that as employees become more knowledgeable, their confidence increases. This can help improve their attitude as well as increase their job satisfaction which is a win-win situation for employers.

This issue’s Business First executive interviews are no different to those in the past, with teamwork being a top priority. You can imagine how important team is in an organisation such as NSW Police Legacy which supports police legatees: the widows, widowers, partners, and children of deceased NSW Police Officers. Teamwork and charity is the key to this organisation’s success.

Another organisation working for a specific team is the Accommodation Association of Australia. AAoA CEO Richard Munro has to deal with demand-drivers, employment issues, regulation and taxation in this very competitive industry As CEO, Munro engages with AAoA members to better understand the impact of these issues. It’s a collaborative effort with all members working towards the greater good of the industry.

Meanwhile MinterEllison through the guidance of Chief Client Officer Lawrence Owen, which is tracking towards its record revenue goal for 2020 of $600 million, has over the past few years changed its business model to incorporate a business development focus and in doing so is building a team that puts client empathy and understanding at the forefront of its business model. In other words company and client are working together to create best of practice outcomes.

To create better teamwork and collaboration 1300 Australia CEO Gavin Scholes and CIO Shashi Mathew have acquired CallN, an intuitive speech analytic tool that provides customers with a way to improve the performance of their employees and at the same time gain a really deep insight into the voice of the customer.

Looking at leadership and teamwork, we can’t go past Mars Wrigley and the completion of the local integration of Mars Chocolate with the Wrigley Company. General Manager of Mars Wrigley says, “I can’t be successful on my own – I will only get success through other people succeeding, not by over managing them.”

Rounding out the executive features are Adala Bolto who has created a unique series of fitness programs for women and former model turned CEO Taryn Williams who is fixing in the inefficiencies in the modelling industry.

Further in this issue, we look at gender diversity, cybersecurity, consumer trends, franchising and much more.

We also take the new Porsche Cayenne electric for a spin.

It’s a packed issue, so put your feet up and enjoy the read.

Jonathan Jackson

Jonathan Jackson Editor, Business First Magazine

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PUBLISHER Alan Hyman EDITOR Jonathan Jackson SUB-EDITOR Judy Hyman WRITER Leon Gettler DESIGN Gino Hawkins PRODUCTION Caitlin Lacy Contributors

Neerja Ahuja, Anneke van den Broek, Jim Cook, Richard Day, Daniel Fielding, Adam Flynn, Andy Howard, Andrew Joyce, Andrew Lane, Damian Lepore, Danielle Lima, Dr Stephen Moss, Greville Pabst, Anthony Smith, Joe Sullivan, John Sullivan, Peter Thomas, Edwina Webb, Ian Whitworth, George Wilson, Marty Wilson Head Office Level 1, 33-35 Atchison Street St Leonards NSW 2065 Advertising enquiries Phone: 02 9437 5155 Email: bfadvertising@amgroup.net.au Subscription enquiries Phone: 02 9437 5155 Email: bfsubscriptions@amgroup.net.au Associated Media Group Pty Ltd ABN 68 123 058 926 Copyright ©2018 Associated Media Group amgroup.net.au

www.businessfirstmagazine.com.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.

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BUSINESS SNAPSHOT | BFM

22% of property buyers blow the budget A new property survey by lender ME reveals 22% of homebuyers exceeded their spending limit when they purchased their most recent property.

Of those who went over budget, 46% exceeded it by $30,000 or more, 30% exceeded their budget by $50,000 or more, and 10% exceeded their budget by $150,000 or more The most common reasons for exceeding their self-imposed limit were: falling in love with the property (52%); underestimating the budget required (28%); impatience (20%); underquoting by an agent (15%); and getting caught up in a bidding war (12%).

Sixty four per cent of those who went over their budget admitted some kind of negative consequence as a result. For instance, 28% said their overspending impacted other financial goals, 27% said they had to make changes to current spending, and 24% said they experienced emotional stress as a consequence.

The survey also showed buyers are basing their personal limits on a variety of factors. The most common basis for spending limits was what people were comfortable spending to avoid too much debt (55%), other financial commitments (52%), the maximum they could borrow from their bank (46%), while 45% based their budget on what they thought was the market price.” BFM

China begins to challenge multinationals CITIC Agri Fund Management, backed by Chinese state-owned CITIC Group, has recently agreed to buy a 25.18% stake in Hong Kong-based Ausnutria Dairy, one of the leading local suppliers of infant formula in the Chinese market. This clearly marks a change in direction for the government, which has hitherto been focusing its efforts on regulation in this sector, says leading data and analytics company GlobalData.

Local suppliers in China are yet to recover from the melamine contamination scandal in 2008, with parents continuing to put their faith in foreign-made milks even after a decade.

Consequently, the government introduced stringent composition and labeling laws, strict controls on production technologies and plants,

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and most recently mandated all brands to register through a complex approval system.

While these measures have undoubtedly improved the safety and traceability of infant formulae, they have done little to address the dominance of the multinational suppliers, with the top four – Nestlé, Danone, Mead Johnson and Abbott – holding a combined 48.3% of the market in 2016, according to GlobalData’s report, ‘The Baby Food Sector in China, 2017’.

Valerie Lincoln-Stubbs, Research Director of Baby Food at GlobalData, comments: “The Chinese government has supported local infant formula companies in the form of investment in subsidies, such as that announced in 2013 for leading companies Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, China Mengniu

Dairy, Heilongjiang Wondersun Dairy, Feihe International and Treasure of Plateau Yak Dairy.

“However, this has done little to stem the tide towards imported brands.

Even the strongest of the subsidized companies, Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, ranks only fifth with just a 6.8% value share of China’s baby food market in 2016.”

Now, the investment by Citic in Ausnutria represents a ramping up of the State’s involvement in the baby food industry, giving it a direct interest in an up-and-coming player focused almost entirely on infant formula, to add to its existing 31.4% stake in China Mengniu Dairy via COFCO Corporation. Mengniu currently holds about 2.5% of the infant formula category via its Yashili subsidiary. BFM

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BEST YEAR IN A DECADE AHEAD FOR COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION Master Builders Australia says the vital contribution that the building and construction sector makes to a stronger economy in every city, town and region around the country has been confirmed by the release of the latest ABS building activity data yesterday.

“The data shows the nation’s second largest industry ended last year strongly, with the value of work done growing by 8 per cent in the last quarter of 2017 and contributing more than $28 billion to the national economy,” said CEO Denita Wawn.

“That’s $28 billion that is creating employment, providing young people with the skills they need to be job ready and build rewarding careers and it’s supporting more than 360,000 small

building businesses that build prosperity in every community,” she said.

“The value of work for new residential construction fell by 5.4 per cent in the quarter, supporting an outlook for a more moderate year for new residential construction in 2018,” Denita Wawn said.

“However, this fall was more than offset by a surge in the non-residential sector which saw new commercial construction activity grow by 14.8 per cent in the December quarter 2017,” she said.

“This very positive result for non-residential construction supports Master Builders’ outlook for a boom in non-residential building activity over the next 12 months,” Denita Wawn said.

“2018 is shaping up to be the best year

for commercial builders for more than a decade. Total commercial construction activity is expected to contribute $42 billion to the economy in 2017-18, with the sector expected to grow by 14.6%,” she said.

“The timing couldn’t be better with the expected moderation expected in the value of residential construction work and another year of consolidation in the engineering sector,” Denita Wawn said.

“Better yet, the new commercial construction projects driving the upswing create new jobs and opportunities for workers whose work on major high density residential projects may be finishing over the next 12 months or so,” Denita Wawn said.” BFM

AccorHotels completes acquisition of Mantra Group AccorHotels has completed its acquisition of Mantra Group for $1.2 billion.

The deal includes the Mantra, Peppers, BreakFree and Art Series brands, representing 138 hotels in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Bali.

Michael Issenberg, Chairman and CEO of AccorHotels Asia Pacific said, “The Mantra Group is the latest chapter in the strong growth story of AccorHo-

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tels in the region. Since our launch with the Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour in 1991, AccorHotels has become the largest hotel group in the Pacific, and Australia has always played a key role in that story.

“AccorHotels is a significant contributor to the Australian tourism industry, and this deal is a signal of our confidence in Australia both as an attractive

destination for global travellers but also as a feeder market for our Asia Pacific and wider network.”

At the close of the deal, AccorHotels will operate over 330 hotels and resorts across Australia and over 900 throughout Asia Pacific. AccorHotels will also be the largest employer on the Gold Coast, outside of government. BFM

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BUSINESS SNAPSHOT | BFM

Premium economy: now considered by one-third of corporate flyers The steady growth in the adoption of premium economy class by travellers is still to be felt in the corporate travel market as most companies are yet to incorporate it into their company travel policies according to a report into the seating class.

The report, which was produced by 4th Dimension, Flight Centre Travel Group’s (FCTG) business travel consulting division, found that despite the increased demand, product availability remains sporadic, potentially inhibiting its desired growth. This is especially evident in the corporate market, as business travel policies remain sceptical to propose premium economy.

Premium economy was pioneered by Taiwan’s EVA Air in the early 1990s and is being progressively rolled-out by airlines on medium- and long-haul aircraft

around the world.

FCM Travel Solutions’ general manager Australia Melissa Elf said: “Premium economy is perfectly placed between economy and business class with its enhanced legroom and service amenities.

“However, we’re seeing companies largely still choosing the more traditional options of economy class for flights under six hours and business class for overnight or over six-hour flights.”

A poll by FCM found that for onethird of clients surveyed premium economy was part of their travel policy and a further 5 per cent were considering it.

Between Sydney and Singapore premium economy seats were 7 per cent of supply with business class fares of $6,281, premium economy $4,187 and economy $3,996.

“Whilst containing travel program costs is important for many, an increasing number of corporate clients are becoming travel-centric in placing greater emphasis on traveller comfort for long-haul travel,” Melissa Elf said.

“Premium economy is a viable option where it is available and suitable for those going straight into meetings upon arrival.”

The report said that airlines globally are at various stages of either increasing the number of premium economy seats on new routes with more available fleet or introducing the product for the first time.

Emirates Airlines are looking at possible deployment of premium economy from mid-2018 and American Airlines are will fit up to 104 aircraft with the cabin by the end of 2018. BFM

Balancing digital innovation and security Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAMhas released data noting how companies are struggling with the tug-of-war between advancing digital innovation and ensuring secure digital experiences that maintain user trust and mitigate risk. As part of a commissioned study of more than 350 global information technology leaders conducted

by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Akamai, the results also show that the companies defined as being the most digitally mature – best balancing innovation and security – grow faster than their competitors.

Digital innovation sits at the helm of today’s complex enterprise environment. The Forrester study indicates that delivery of digital experiences is critical to competitive edge, customer satisfaction and even more importantly – achieving customer trust. For any given enterprise organisation, meeting unique customer needs is a challenge – addressing disparate regions, network connectivity and device usage has complicated the ability to deliver secure, personalised digital experiences. The study examines how digital businesses across the globe and various industries align overall user experience and security with strategic priorities.

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Findings from the survey research include: • Digital struggles are a reality: A high number of executives reported difficulty in achieving the proper balance between security and digital experiences. Most respondents feel as though their firm is strongest in security and trust, but weakest in digital experience maturity.

• Trust is at an all-time low: More than one third of surveyed executives feel they only have a moderate level of trust from their customers, due in

large part to suspicion around a company’s data use practices.

• Lack of trust attributed to lack of security, equates to lack of revenue: Customers are more comfortable sharing data with companies they actually trust; when firms fail to deliver on security, their brand reputation, customer trust and even revenue are negatively impacted. In fact, the study notes that even suspicion of a company’s data use practices can lead to a 25 percent reduction in revenues. BFM

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BFM | BUSINESS SNAPSHOT

Future2 calling cyclists and hikers to help raise funds for young Australians in need Future2, the philanthropic arm of the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA), is calling for cycling and hiking enthusiasts to join them on two different outdoor adventures exploring NSW from country to coast. The Future2 Wheel Classic and the Future2 Hiking Challenge will raise funds for Future2’s Make the Difference! Grant program that supports community initiatives for young disadvantaged Australians.

Now in its eighth year, the 2018 Future2 Wheel Classic is taking on a new 993km route, where riders will depart from Parliament House on November 14 and cross the finish line at ICC Sydney eight days later, just in time for the 2018

FPA Professionals Congress. Riders will venture through some of NSW’s most environmentally pristine places, including the Snowy Mountains, South Coast and Southern Highlands.

Riders will take on the challenge of raising $1,500, while the hikers will aim to raise $1,200 to support Future2’s Make the Difference! Grant program.

Each year Future2 provides several grants to key organisations which provide support to young people. Young Australians who benefit include those outside mainstream education, living with intellectual or physical disability, fighting an addiction, living in dysfunctional families, in juvenile justice, or

new migrants seeking a place in their adopted home.

The grants are open to not-for-profits around Australia that provide opportunities for under 25s to develop learning and leadership skills, receive mentoring, participate in remedial programs for drug and alcohol dependence, and take part in independent living projects that help address social exclusion and homelessness.

To register and find out more about the Future2 Wheel Classic and the Future2 Blue Mountains Hiking Challenge, visit http://www.future2foundation.org. au/events. BFM

The end of the traditional 9-5?

More than two-thirds of Australian employees work remotely every week, and almost 50% do so for at least half of the week, heralding a major reassessment of corporate real estate, according to a comprehensive new global study.

The emergence of the mobile workforce has been driven by technological change, globalisation and changes in employee expectations, according to IWG, the parent group of leading workspace companies including Regus and Spaces.

IWG has released a study based on the insights of over 18,000 business people across 96 companies. At a domestic level, it found that every week, almost 70% of Australian employees are working at least one day a week somewhere other than the office. Almost half (46%) of Australian employees work remotely for half of the week or more, and one in 10 people work outside of their company’s main office location five times a week.

Damien Sheehan, Head of IWG Australia & New Zealand said the results signify a dramatic shift in the workspace landscape in Australia and businesses are now looking closely at what this means for their corporate real estate portfolios.

“We are entering the era of the mobile workforce and it is hugely exciting. Not just for individual employees, but for businesses too.

“There is a workspace revolution un-

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derway in Australia and businesses are waking up to the strategic and financial benefits that flexible office space can provide.”

The survey results show 50% of Australian respondents believe that converting long term lease holds to flexible workspace could generate savings in excess of 10%, while nearly one in five respondents believed flexible workspace could generate savings in excess of 20%.

The study by IWG also found that Australian businesses recognised that offering flexible working strategies to their employees provided them with

significant benefits: • Business growth – 86% • Competitiveness – 85% • Profit maximisation – 80% • Productivity – 78% • Attracting and retaining top talent 75% Australian respondents also believed that the key factors driving companies to use remote working locations included the ability to; reduce commuting times for employees (84%) and help employees achieve a better work life balance (81%). BFM

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BUSINESS SNAPSHOT | BFM

Australia ‘piggy in the middle’ of trade war between US and China

According to business information analysts IBISWorld, Australia stands to be caught in the middle of a trade war between the United States and China, as the world’s two largest economies

launch increasingly retaliatory tariffs at each other. While some local industries may become more exposed to risk as a result, IBISWorld believes Australia will also have the rare opportunity

to seize export market share in both markets.

“Australia is one of the best-placed countries in the world to reap the gains of a trade war, due to our natural advantage of having ease of access to maritime trading with both major economies,” said Mr Jason Aravanis, Senior Analyst at IBISWorld. “In addition, Australia has beneficial bilateral free trade agreements with both China and the US, which provide more stability to international trade.

“While the trade war presents opportunities for some sectors, others will likely be at greater risk, as Australia is being caught between its largest trade partner and its largest investor; between the economy we rely on and the nation we look to for our security.” BFM

Trust in accountants built on that personal touch Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher has shown that small-to-medium business owners trust their accountants more when they meet them face-toface compared to meetings held over telephone or via email or other online communication.

Doctoral student Michael Cherry has found that while small-to-medium business owners continue to increase their use of online communications in their business, they still prefer to meet their accountants over a table.

“Public accountants advise clients on matters of statutory compliance such as taxation and on business improvement and growth,” said Mr Cherry.

“As part of my study, I defined trust as the confidence of a small business owner that a public accountant will act proactively in their interests and not exploit their vulnerabilities.

“Small business owners want more from their accountants than just tax returns. I found they placed more trust in accountants who provided advice on the financial performance of their business rather than just assist in completing the annual tax return.

“What makes this study different is that I looked at various aspects of trust in this business relationship, at both the professional and deeper, personal levels. I found clients are more trusting www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

of accountants who form these personal relationships. This was particularly important in Australia’s regional areas.”

In his doctoral studies with CSU, Mr Cherry investigated how Australia’s small accounting firms, which number over 30,000 nationally, service the needs of around 60 per cent of the accounting services market, which are mainly small-to-medium sized businesses. He surveyed and interviewed nearly 450 respondents from across metropolitan and regional Australia as part of the study.

“The research shows that public

accountants who take more time, effort and resources to meet face-to-face with clients gain more trust and have more personal relationships. These added services might not be available or possible through the large accounting firms. This indicates a niche for smaller accounting enterprises.

“The findings also provide food for thought for the manner in which public accountants manage their relationships with their small business clients and the services they choose to offer,” Mr Cherry concluded. BFM

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BFM | PROFILE

Gavin Scholes

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PROFILE| BFM

AN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS MAKING THE BIG CALLS In November 2017, founder and chief executive of Telstra PhoneWords Gavin Scholes led a consortium to acquire Telstra’s 85% stake in the business. Jonathan Jackson speaks with Scholes and CIO Shashi Mathew about life after Telstra, the acquisition of complementary business CallN and the company’s current growth phase.

W

hen a business breaks away from its largest shareholder and a crucial partner, it can often spell disaster.

For 1300 Australia, which readopted its original name following the cessation of Telstra’s majority ownership, the breakaway has enabled the company to accelerate its growth.

The Telstra partnership was formed in 2004; a long standing arrangement that set the trend for new age marketing and a way for businesses to increase sales, customer response and branding recognition. In fact, D&M Research statistics show PhoneWords such as 1300 FASHION for example are 5.5 times more memorable than regular numbers.

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BFM | PROFILE

The partnership between 1300 Australia and Telstra was, for many years, a win-win situation.

However, as Telstra look to other telecommunications solutions particularly with the advent of the NBN, Telstra PhoneWords as it was known under the partnership, was deemed a too small a business in the context of the much larger Telstra businesses and the areas that they were focusing on so an opportunity to buy it out emerged.

The good news for Scholes is 1300 Australia remains Telstra’s exclusive provider of PhoneWords, but importantly the breakaway enables the company to seek out other distribution partners as it looks to expand the business model.

Scholes said at the time: “This is a significant milestone for the business and we are excited

for what lies ahead. There is a significant runway of growth in the PhoneWords market as more businesses seek simplicity and cut through in their marketing campaigns.

“The business would not be where it is today without the support it has received from Telstra. Together we have invested over $50 million to create a product that is now seen as an increasingly important marketing and advertising tool for businesses of any size.”

The business strategy behind PhoneWords is to increase distribution through other telcos and link them with advertising agencies and businesses that have a considerable marketing and advertising focus, particularly the large number of small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

‘The business strategy behind PhoneWords is to increase distribution through other telcos and link them with advertising agencies and businesses that have a considerable marketing and advertising focus’

Shashi Mathew

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PROFILE| BFM

“The products are growing in the sense that we can now provide customers with telco services, which is something we couldn’t do in the past with Telstra,” Scholes says.

“Now, when we lease a customer a phone word, we can also provide the communications to go along with that phone word. Whether it is a 1300, 1800 or 13 number, we can bundle the whole thing up to clients now where we haven’t been able to do that in the past. So, rather than just provide them with a phone word and send them to get the Telco from somewhere else, we can do the whole thing.”

The company has also adopted an acquisition focus and this is where the blue sky outlook really gains relevance.

‘CALLN’ ALL BUSINESSES With its core foundations set and growing rapidly, the next phase of the business is to expand its offering.

The first step on the expansion trail was to acquire the CALLN. com platform, an AI-based speech analytics tool that uses business analytics to help companies understand what their customers are saying when they call. The platform can be used to analyse sales, debt collection and customer service.

CallN is billed as the most intuitive speech analytic tool on the market, one that can create quick R.O.I and deep insight into the voice of the customer.

The acquisition came about following 1300 Australia’s inability to get call reporting for its Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system.

“We are big believers that call recording improves every part of the business,” Scholes said.

1300 Australia trialled the CallN product for 12 months before acquiring the company. If you’ve ever seen the old Victor Kiam ad where he says of his acquisition of Remington ‘I liked it so much I bought the company’, you’ll get the picture.

Scholes and 1300 CIO Shashi Mathew, who also happens to be COO of CallN, have since built the company into something much bigger.

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Mathew has held roles as CTO and Director of New Media Business Development for Global Traffic Network (GTN) a NASDAQ listed company with offices in Australia, UK, Canada, Brazil and the US and prior to joining GTN, worked in various technology positions including professional services manager for Australia and New Zealand for ATG based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has also been a senior consulting architect with ATG for various Fortune 500 companies in the US including Hewlett-Packard, General Electric, Telstra, SONY-Australia and Johnson & Johnson to name a few.

He is steering the CallN ship and building technology of the future.

“Since buying the company we’ve invested millions of dollars into expanding the CallN’s call recorded capabilities, so we are not just a call recording company.

The foundation is call recording, but what we’ve done is built a business now that delivers artificial intelligence and business analytics,” Mathew says.

That helps when you have 7000 calls a month that you can’t get any meaningful information from.

“What we can do now is mind blowingly powerful,” Mathew says.

“We have created the ability to actually analyse calls and treat all of those calls as big data.

“What we provide customers is a way to improve the performance of their employees and at the same time gain a really deep insight into the voice of the customer.

What is the customer thinking? Is the customer unhappy? Are they talking about competitors? All of this rich analysis can be done automatically without a lot of set up and a lot of effort.”

CallN allows customers to extract

key triggers, highlighting the key messages in a call and vital points of reference. It dives down into the detail of a call to find the important data which might only be 30 words.

1300 Australia trialled the product first.

“We took the key messages out and used those analytics to prove whether it was our debt collection, sales process, or our customer care process that required attention. All those parts of the business have different key words and different phrases. Once we got it to a point where it was a really good product, we launched commercially,” Scholes says.

The product now operates in 13 different countries and where PhoneWords remains a local domestic product, CallN has the potential to be truly global.

“We’ve now signed up 86 companies in Australia. We’ve got users in the United States, Canada and the UK.” Whilst the products are developed in Melbourne Australia, the company partners with the likes of IBM, VoiceBase and Amazon for storage.

It has also just finished a roadshow in the US where the reception from the likes of telco giants such as AT&T was promising.

One of the selling points for CallN is price.

“The price point we’re coming in at is very, very reasonable. So we’re getting a lot of attention in Australia just because if you wanted voice analytics previously, you’re talking about very expensive products. CallN is a game changer in that sense,” Mathew says.

How it works CallN is about to close out a deal with Transurban, a top 20 company on the Australian Stock Exchange that manages and develops urban toll road networks in Australia

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BFM | PROFILE

and North America. It is a huge promotional deal for CallN, with all 234 licenses that Transurban have undertaken working purely on CalIN’s enterprise product.

Shashi believes Transurban is using the product “to be able to get a deep understanding of how their agents are performing, but also to get insights in their customers.

“They’re just at the start of their journey. But the other thing we offer is a consulting package to really make sure customers are not left with a very valuable white elephant which they’re using only 5% of the features.”

It is all part of CallN’s customer care, which has been refined through its own business. The product has changed from someone sitting in an office and playing phone calls to go through customer complaints and sales strategies for instance. There could be a dozen people sitting in a meeting for two hours, which adds up to a total waste of productivity when trying to analyse the calls.

With CallN, calls coming in are pre-scripted. KPIs are then built in

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that sales people are expected to use when they’re talking to a customer.

These are defined by key customer words. At the end of the day, a report is generated so somebody looking after a call centre with 300 people can get a report on their desktop which can tell them in a couple of minutes what operators are following company guidelines and what operators aren’t.

As it is based around AI machine learning, businesses can pick up certain trends and put in key phrases and words that determine the nature of the complaint, who is at fault and whether team members are following correct protocols.

By implementing this system CallN improved Telstra PhoneWords debt collection by 22% and also its phone sales performance.

LOOKING FORWARD As discussed earlier, CallIN will now focus on larger scale global distribution. Through JV funding the company will look to expand the distribution through reseller

networks, which was the purpose of their recent trip to the US. A further goal is to increase sales presence and support in the US. “We already have sales support and sales people in Australia, but we want to mirror that in the US and then Asia and Europe,” Mathew says.

“The product has no boundaries and will work with any VoIP or signal tracking.”

Interestingly the take up has been a mix of targeted expansion and organic growth.

Of the 13 countries already involved, the US, Malaysia and the UK were targeted. The others have found CallN online, installed the software and done everything themselves.

CallN will soon undertake a capital raising, which will occur shortly after it spins out of 1300 Australia on June 30. The money will go towards the global roll out.

And as the product continues to evolve, as AI does, CallN will evolve with it and Scholes will no doubt have another business critical organisation on his hands. BFM

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BFM | FEATURE

The current state of malware: it’s all about cryptocurrency Investors and financial services companies are all looking at cryptocurrency as the next big thing, and where the money goes, the criminals follow. That’s why malicious cryptomining has taken over as the number one malware threat in 2018, leaving all other forms behind it.

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his cryptomining crosses all platforms and operating systems, from Mac and Windows to Linux and Android, as well as the browsers used on those computers. It also covers all sorts of cryptocurrency and not just the ones you’ve heard about. Yes, Bitcoin and Ethereum are mined, but the most popular currency for drive-by mining, which is when the system resources of an unsuspecting victim are used to mine cryptocurrency, is called Monero.

Monero’s popularity comes down to the fact that transactions are processed at high speed, even small amounts and there’s significant anonymity built into the Monero blockchain. Cryptomining also generally needs special processors, such as graphics chips, but Monero is happy being mined on general purpose machinery, such as is found in desktop and laptop

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machines, as well as smartphones and tablets.

Malicious miners have a number of techniques they use to get their mining software onto victim’s computers, including traditional malware vectors such as fraudulent download sites. But it’s also possible to mine cryptocurrency directly in the browser by going to a website hosting the software. Users won’t notice a thing until their CPU starts maxing out and the fans on their device are running at 100 per cent.

According to the recent 2017 State of Malware report

by Malwarebytes, our software blocked an average of 8 million drive-by mining attempts per day across all our users in 2017. This means that the actual size of the malicious cryptomining market is huge, which is why it’s the number one form of malware in use today, and it’s not going away.

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FEATURE| BFM

BUT IT’S NOT ALL CRYPTOCURRENCY Ransomware began its rise in popularity a number of years ago. When a user or a business is infected by it, their critical data is encrypted by a malicious application and the only way to unencrypt the data is by paying a ransom for the key. And yes, you guessed it, the most common form of payment is… cryptocurrency. In general, once the user is infected they’re directed to buy some Bitcoin, usually for a few hundred dollars and then pay the Bitcoin to the data kidnapper. Once that happens – but not always – their data is unlocked.

According to our most recent figures, which are based on empirical data from over half a million downloads of our software per day - ransomware detections were up a staggering 1000 per cent in Asia Pacific in 2017, with several Splashy (a form or Ransomware) outbreaks accounting for the increase in rates. However, the development of new forms of ransomware has declined, especially in the last quarter of last year indicating that defences have improved and also demonstrating that attackers are shifting their attention elsewhere (there’s that cryptomining again!)

Despite the popularity of ransomware, predictions show a trend of infections slowing down, and many of the mechanisms for distributing malware have gone back to the old favourites, such as banking Trojans and spyware, or moved onto newer things.

These types of malware are used to steal data

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from corporate networks, as well as credentials such as log-ins and passwords, credit card numbers and other personal details. They’re also used to spy on businesses and find ways into corporate infrastructure, where sensitive data is kept. If attackers find a way in, they can get control of the data and either use it for further access, to commit fraud or sell it on the darknet for other unscrupulous operators to take advantage of.

Our data found that there was an increase of 522 per cent in terms of hijacking malware, and a 200 per cent increase in spyware detections over the past year in Asia Pacific.

On the business front, adware jumped to the top of the list of threats, accounting for the most business malware detections. But where the impact of cryptomining is again telling is that there are fewer families of adware in existence and less of it is being developed in favour of new forms of threats.

A further factor in the reduction of adware is that the tech industry has become much more vigilant about fixing the problem, with companies including Google, Microsoft and Mozilla (developer of Firefox) all incorporating powerful ad-blocking tools into their browsers. In addition to that, ad-blocking plug-ins have also become more popular among consumers.

That’s not to say that adware is going away, just that attackers have had to become more sophisticated in how they go about it.

So, with the threat landscape rapidly changing, what’s the best way to protect against malware threats? The best strategy is to use endpoint protection, which provides a layered approach to defending against malware. Using endpoint protection threats coming from any direction including devices such as smartphones and tablets, as well as conventional computers, can be dealt with either by running the protection software in-house, or using a cloud-based solution which routes all traffic through a third-party vendor’s software protection suite.

Putting cyber security at the top of the board agenda is critical in this dynamic and fast paced business world, where new threats are emerging daily.

Malware remains a significant threat for businesses and consumers alike. However, the rise of cryptocurrency mining malware has overshadowed just about every other form and will continue to do so.

This poses a real problem, especially for businesses because the computing power required to mine these currencies can bring an organisation’s infrastructure to its knees, crippling the company and resulting in a significant disruption to normal activities. . BFM Jim Cook is regional director of Australia and New Zealand for Malwarebytes

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BFM | FEATURE

Location Services: Five Ways They’re Going to Make Working Better When thinking of a traditional office space, the mind automatically pictures endless rows of grey cubicle desks that separate employees from each other and reduce distractions.

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FEATURE| BFM

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ompanies have long moved on from building cubicle farms, and these rigid and constricting spaces have now given way to smart, open and flexible work spaces that empower employees to collaborate, work independently if needed, and to communicate in new and innovative ways using the latest technologies.

In addition to enabling collaboration, smart workplaces are also providing managers insights into how workspaces are being used in real time, as well as gain control over elements such as lighting, heating and ventilation. Location-based services that leverage low energy Bluetooth beacons, as well as other smart technologies, are also enabling a greater level of understanding about how employees use space, as well as the way that the older and younger workforces want to work.

According to Aruba’s latest research into IoT, ‘The Internet of Things: Today and Tomorrow’, by 2019, 93 per cent of enterprises will have adopted IoT connected technology, and 77 per cent of people surveyed believe that it will transform offices into smart workplaces. At the moment, 55 per cent of those surveyed report that IoT is being used for locationbased services to fuel innovation.

Here are some ways that I believe location-based services will transform the workplace.

1) Smart rooms = smart meetings. From a resource perspective, one of the greatest annoyances is space that is being wasted and under-used. Ghost meetings, where attendees do not show up to the meeting room they have booked, or zombie meetings, recurring meetings that are never attended, are two examples of poor resource utilisation. Both of these negatively impact on room allocation, forcing other staff members to find alternative rooms when space is freely available By using location services and an app on staff smartphones, building resource management software can determine when no one has shown up for a meeting, and then reallocate the resources on the fly. Staff can also find a meeting room on an ad-hoc basis, book it and use it. When they leave, the facilities services unblocks the room, allowing others to use it.

2) Find your way, every time. Have you ever wandered around a building looking for the right room, whether you are a staff member or guest to a new location?

Using Bluetooth low-energy beacons, waypoints can be installed around organisations to provide mapping and way-finding services to anyone with a smartphone and the requisite app.

With these beacons, staff and visitors can find their way in a timely fashion, and reduce the chances of getting lost. Large campuses, in particular universities and hospitals, are ripe for way-finding, as is any other large corporate organisation with spread-out facilities and no easy way for people to find their way around.

3) Get a handle on traffic flows. Within any organisation there are times when the traffic of people and goods build up. Building managers need to understand when people are trying to access certain resources, and how many people are involved to efficiently allocate resources and inform the structure

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of a space. They also need to understand the peak times for goods deliveries, or when the majority of people are trying to park their cars.

By employing location services and smartphone apps, as well as RFID, management can get a handle on when people are trying to access the kitchen, bathrooms, or building. They can then add resources to those peak times, and reallocate those same resources when usage is minimal.

4) Intuitive furniture. Chairs, tables, meeting rooms.

They’re all ripe for the use of location services.

By deploying smart furniture that uses beacons, workplace managers can get a sense of how people are working when they are using fixed resources.

The occupancy rate of chairs and desks can highlight how long people are spending in a fixed location, compared to moving around and working on the go. These insights, using a building management system, can supply both facilities managers and HR with insights into their workforces, as well as an understanding of how work flows through the building at different times of day.

‘BY USING LOCATION SERVICES AND AN APP ON STAFF SMARTPHONES, BUILDING RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE CAN DETERMINE WHEN NO ONE HAS SHOWN UP FOR A MEETING, AND THEN REALLOCATE THE RESOURCES ON THE FLY’ 5) Smart collaboration. We’ve all been there.

Everyone’s sitting at a conference table, and someone gets up to use the whiteboard. Suddenly the conversation shifts and the focus of the meeting changes. By using collaboration tools and location services including smart whiteboards and digital displays, meetings can become more efficient, with people contributing from around the table, rather than having to get up and steal the focus.

Today’s workforce has changed. People expect the same (and even greater) smarts in the workplace as they do at home. By using location services, smart facilities management and collaborative tools, employees are empowered to work in the way that suits them, be it alone, in meetings or in stand-up collaborations in the corridor. Building managers can also understand how their facilities are being used, and better allocate resources for the benefit of all staff. It’s a win-win for everyone. BFM Anthony Smith, General Manager, South Pacific Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company

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BFM | FEATURE

How to build a high performing team to take your business to the next level Building a high performing team isn’t something that happens overnight. It requires precision planning and careful consideration – and can actually take years before you find the right fit for your business. By Adam Flynn

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he benefits of building a strong team are well documented. In fact, I would argue that a great team could either make or break your business. There are many things that can stand in the way of a team operating like a well-oiled machine, whether it be due to insufficient skill sets, poorly defined roles, unclear communication or cultural issues, and when left to fend for themselves, it’s easy for teams to fall off track and lose sight of the overall business goals.

As business leaders, it’s ultimately up to us to ensure our team members are on top of their game, and if we want to achieve the best results, we need to take action. Within my own business at Biggin & Scott Knox, we’ve recently opened up our fifth office in three years. That’s quite an achievement given the supposedly uncertain future of the Melbourne property market, but there’s no way we’d have been able to achieve so much success if we didn’t have such a strong team.

Here’s are the steps I followed to build a high performing team who have enabled me to grow my business from one to five offices in just three years.

RECRUIT THE RIGHT PEOPLE If you want to build a high performing team, it’s absolutely crucial that you recruit the right people with the right attitudes. When recruiting, I always hire for attitude over experience. New employees can always be trained up, but a bad attitude can be impossible to correct and you can almost guarantee they’re going to cause conflict within the team.

My advice is to take your time throughout the recruitment process. Wait until you find the right candidate and try to avoid hiring simply to fill a position fast. While the rest of your team may have to up their workload for a few extra weeks, the damage a bad fit can do to a business can undo years of hard work.

FOCUS ON TRAINING Once we bring on new staff, we put them through a customised training program to teach them the ‘Biggin & Scott Knox’ way. This isn’t just for those

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who are new to the industry – even if they’re an experienced agent, we believe they still need to be trained in a way that’s consistent with the rest of the team. It’s an integral part of our process as it allows us all to be on the same page.

Essentially, our training goal is to ensure that each of our team members is confident and competent in what they are doing so that once they actually get out there, they’re given the very best start to their career within the business. We want to empower them to a point where they feel like they can take on the world. Then, we unleash the floodgates and let them go for it!

HAVE A CLEAR VISION Another key aspect of building a winning team is ensuring everybody understands the ultimate goals of the organisation. For your employees to perform at their best, they need to know what they’re working for and it’s critical that they have a clear lay of the land – not just in terms of the organisation as a whole, but what their own obligations and responsibilities are as well.

Over the course of my career, I’ve encountered plenty of people with loads of ability whose success has been stunted because they haven’t received the right mentorship and their expectations have been unclear. There can be no weak links in a high performing team, so if you’re going to keep them around you need to find a way to tap into that potential and make sure they match up with your vision.

CULTIVATE A CULTURE OF SUCCESS In my view, the workplace culture is the fabric of the business and if you want to grow a high performance team it’s important cultivate a culture of success.

Within the sales division of my own business I have found that implementing competitive aspects has helped our agents to achieve the outstanding results for which our business has become known.

After much deliberation, we made the choice to keep our agents results public so that all members of the team can see them – and the results have been phenomenal. Those falling behind get the support

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FEATURE| BFM

they need to catch up to their colleagues, and those who are going the extra mile and knocking it out of the park get the recognition they deserve.

Finding the right team is by no means easy, but it will be infinitely worthwhile. When you have a strong team of high performance individuals working to achieve the same goal, there’s no telling what your business can achieve. BFM

www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

Adam Flynn is the CEO and Director of Biggin & Scott Knox, an Award winning Sales Agent, Auctioneer and Property Investor. Adam is recognised as one of Melbourne’s most successful Agents, having grown his franchise from one office to four in just 5 years after developing the $1M Agent System, an innovative methodology designed to take an Agent with limited experience to writing approximately $1M within 12 months by providing a system which helps them achieve a 90% listing conversion rate. http://bigginscott.com.au

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BFM | FEATURE

WHY BUSINESS NEEDS TO TAKE FUNNY SERIOUSLY TED Speaker and Australian Comic of the Year, Marty Wilson explains why Business people who communicate with humour get more influence, more engagement and more sales.

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hen you’re in a sales meeting do your prospects’ eyes sparkle or gently glaze over?

If you’re giving a speech, are they nodding in agreement or just nodding off?

At the end of your new business pitch do people write you a cheque, or check their pulse?

STAND UP, STAND OUT In the age of the internet and social media, successful businesses need leaders with a strong personal brand, so you can’t afford to be forgettable. And funny makes ideas stick.

What are the ads you remember off the TV? The funny ones. How many conversations with childhood friends can you remember word for word? Probably none, but how many jokes can you remember? Plenty.

Funny implants in our brains far more easily and securely than facts.

So, when you are communicating, if you can wrap your ideas up in some funny, it’s like coating your message, your brand, and your business with supaglue for the brain.

When I’m doing private coaching with businesspeople, I’m always staggered at how many of them believe that using some humour will damage their credibility. In fact, there is an overwhelming body of evidence that humour actually increases perceived leadership skills. The key is to take what you do seriously without taking yourself seriously.

LIGHTEN UP AND LEAD Two separate studies, reported in the Harvard Business Review showed that the ability to laugh, particularly at yourself, was perceived as indicating strength and deep psychological wellbeing. Especially if your business is going through a restructure, change or other time of high stress, if you can keep your sense of humour everyone will see you as strong, thoughtful and in charge of your emotions, which indicates you are more capable as a leader.

Our brains have tens of thousands of years of tribal life buried in them, so they separate everyone we meet into ‘them’ and ‘us’. This is partly why influencing or selling to a complete stranger is so hard: their brain sees you as a ‘them’ and instantly distrusts you.

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FEATURE| BFM

However, if you can get someone laughing their brain relaxes, makes an emotional connection with you, and begins to see you as an ‘us’. Then they are far more open to engaging with you, and therefore being influenced by you.

As Victor Borge said: “The shortest distance between two people is laughter.” And I see this all the time when I’m speaking at conferences and corporate events. My ‘day job’ is speaking about being more resilient through times of change and disruption, so often when I walk out on stage I’m faced with 200, 500, even 3,000 people who are stressed, defensive, and even a bit fearful. But as soon as I get them to laugh at their stress you can feel all the tension drain away and they open up to what I’m trying to teach them.

WHAT IS SAFE TO LAUGH AT, AND WHAT YOU MUST AVOID The key to successfully communicating with humour in the workplace is to be mindful of your target.

Do NOT be ‘that guy’ we’ve all worked with who trawls through YouTube clips comedians, rips off inappropriate jokes and obnoxious put downs, then throws them around in work meetings, thinking he’s being hilarious. You’re not. (NB. I’m not using the male pronoun as a lazy way of referring to a person, we all know that the idiots who do this are ALWAYS men.)

There are three things you can laugh at in the workplace and stay safe.

1. Shared Frustrations: for example, every sector these days has some type of technological disruption you can poke fun at.

2. Common Enemies: most businesses are regulated in some way – so take the mickey out of the ‘powers that be’.

3. Yourself: This is the easiest, and safest, target of all. No one ever got in trouble for laughing at themself. There is one caveat though: Make fun of your humanity, not your ability to do your job. So have a giggle at something your kids did to you on the weekend, make fun of a head cold people might notice you have, just don’t denigrate your ability to do your job.

MORE FUNNY, MORE MONEY Business guru Brian Tracy says, ‘Your ability to communicate with others will account for fully 85 per cent of your success in your business and in your life’.

This is because we buy from people we know, like and trust. And humour is the most socially acceptable and scientifically proven way to build rapport in seconds.

Psychologists say that shared laughter creates a bond that which transcends the intellect and occurs on a subliminal, emotional level. And who doesn’t want a deeper connection – and the persuasiveness it brings – with people we are trying to influence in business? BFM Marty Wilson is a former Australian Comic of the Year, now TED Speaker on Resilience and Growth Mindset for Business. His new book, More Funny, More Money, is out now.

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BFM | DIVERSITY

Gender diversity and inclusion is more than just a ‘pie chart’ Australian companies are responding to overwhelming evidence that gender diversity and inclusion are better for business, by designing programs to recruit more women. As a result, the female to male diversity pie chart has become an expected element in the recruitment and reporting process. By John Sullivan

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ender diversity is more than a pie chart; a lag indicator of the female to male ratio at a defined moment in time. Research firm Gallup found this when they surveyed the financial performance of 800 US companies, which showed that gender-diverse business units were more engaged and performed better financially than less diverse business units.

However, employing more women doesn’t guarantee business success. In addition to increasing gender diversity, focus on other areas like inclusion, equity and equality within the workplace must be maintained. There is no point actively recruiting for diversity if the environment and internal structure

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to support workplace inclusion and a sense of belonging are missing. Inclusive environments shouldn’t only be about recruiting women – but also retaining them.

Often overlooked in the corporate push for gender diversity are the structural changes required to create an inclusive work environment. While the foundations for gender diversity and inclusion are built upon formal documentation and workplace policies such as flexible working practices, sponsorship, unconscious bias training, mentorship, and genderblind recruitment, there is no playbook; we’re all on uncharted territory.

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DIVERSITY| BFM

WHAT DOES A SUPPORTIVE STRUCTURE LOOK LIKE? Gender equality is about equal representation within the pie chart, while gender equity is about acknowledging that the needs of men and women are different. However, women have not been afforded the same opportunities as men. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency estimates that Australian women earn on average 15.3% less than men.

It’s time to acknowledge that to achieve equality, we need to start talking about equity.

Equity is the most important word missing from the current conversation about diversity and inclusion.

Businesses must acknowledge the need to increase their investment in programs that give women access to the same opportunities as men. Only when equity is achieved can the focus and investment in diversity and inclusion be normalised.

Recode founder Kara Swisher uses the term ‘mirrortocracy’ to describe the natural human behaviour that makes people want to work with, hire, promote and reward people who look and sound like them.

Homogenous teams may be cohesive and rate highly on engagement, but they also run the risk of groupthink – that is, furiously agreeing on the same expensive mistake. Unconscious bias training and clearly defined values that are outcome rather than relationship oriented need to become the norm to ensure that talent recognition is free from implicit bias.

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Rarely discussed is how diversity disrupts the status quo and the impact it has on managers.

Managers need to be observant of and responsive to the natural agitation that occurs when homogenous teams become more diverse. Research from a Stanford University psychologist shows a sense of belonging can significantly help reduce stress levels, consequently improving physical health, emotional wellbeing and therefore overall performance. The ability to create a sense of belonging and psychological safety for all team members is not an innate skill; it needs to be developed and companies should be investing in this.

To be truly successful, diversity and inclusion needs to also be visible and pervasive throughout the organisation. It isn’t currently seen as a whole-ofbusiness approach; rather an agenda driven by HR. While HR can indeed help start the conversation, gender diversity must be seen as a strategic business goal that will underpin a company’s ability to succeed.

As workplace traits, diversity and inclusion need to be palpable.

A ‘set and forget’ mentality at the senior leadership level won’t deliver the desired results. Diversity and inclusion deserve to be treated as strategic business goals that receive sponsorship, investment, focus and metrics to ensure they permeate throughout the organisation. Only then will it set the collective values people should ascribe to at work, creating permission and rewarding progress.

Using the pie chart, a lag measure of diversity that only tracks metrics at a moment in time, is onedimensional and constrains our thinking – and will not help us make better decisions. Businesses not only need a new set of comprehensive metrics that measure diversity and inclusion, they also need to start tracking trend through metrics including: • percentage of women being promoted by level and function; • percentage of women being selected to lead the high-profile projects that get them promotions; • budget spent on conferences for female speakers and sponsorship of females by senior leaders; • percentage of operational budget spent on diversity and inclusion programs; • trust in leadership team; • the development of an inclusive culture; • trust in the organisation to handle complaints fairly; • witnessed, experienced or overhead harassment; and • feeling of belonging.

These are just some of the measures that will evaluate if the right environment has been created.

While the numbers aren’t as critical as the focus, it’s important to track the trends across all levels of the organisation.

Only when we collectively take these first steps to rethink diversity as more than just a ‘pie chart’ will female executives become more prominent and visible in the workplace and the next generation of females be able to be what they can see. BFM John Sullivan is CEO, Elabor8.

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BFM | PROFILE

Andrew Loader

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PROFILE| BFM

Growing Through Change An interview with Andrew Loader, General Manager, Mars Wrigley Confectionery Australia

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reating a strong sense of belonging, giving people the power to lead change and taking time out to celebrate success.

A smiling Andrew Loader feels like he’s done “three or four MBAs in one year” as General Manager of Mars Wrigley Confectionery Australia. On reflection, these have been key leadership lessons over the last twelve months while he and his team have worked through the local integration of Mars Chocolate and The Wrigley Company.

Part of a worldwide program by parent company, Mars, Incorporated to bring two of its confectionery powerhouses together, it’s been a mammoth task. Two businesses; each with long histories in Australia, megabrands like M&M’S® and EXTRA® to manage, complicated supply networks and different headquarter locations all to consider.

While M&A activity has grown 18 per cent in Australia in 2017, it’s still a decision most organisations don’t take lightly. A 2010 McKinsey study corroborates this, reporting that executives found maintaining employee engagement the most challenging aspect of any organisational redesign. The fact that in the midst of the merger, Mars Australia won best large company to work for in the Great Place to Work rankings, makes for a rare case.

Loader describes this as a seminal career moment, but nothing to be complacent over. Leadership has been complex over the past eighteen months, with two key challenges facing the team. Firstly, how to manage the integration of the two units and continue to run the existing businesses.

“Perform as we transform,” Loader, an eighteen-year Mars veteran explains. “In spite of what is happening, we still need to make

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sure our consumers can take a break and enjoy a moment for a treat.”

Secondly, how to find the right pace of change. “It was hard to know the right speed and what the business was ready to do.

We could have overwhelmed our people if we went too far, too fast.

And ultimately, it’s all about the people, so you have to slow down and make sure you take everyone with you,” he says.

and factory in the world. It’s no surprise that with such cult status, Loader says he leaned on them during the merger and that with so much change the company needed to “magnify mutuality”.

“You have to treat people with dignity. Of course, people left the organisation, but we wanted them to be able to leave with the utmost respect,” he says.

“And in many cases, we helped

“I CAN’T BE SUCCESSFUL ON MY OWN – I WILL ONLY GET SUCCESS THROUGH OTHER PEOPLE SUCCEEDING, NOT BY OVERMANAGING THEM.” The two Australian units effectively became one from the beginning of 2018, bringing together over 800 staff. Now the second largest confectionery business in the country, Mars Wrigley has been growing ahead of the confectionery category, known to be worth over $2.8 billion. At an earlier stage of his career, Loader says he could have raced past the milestone of the merger, eager to get on with the jobs still to be done. “I’ve got a great coach,” he concedes. “She’s helped me slow down and look at all the things that have happened, and how through it all we have stayed true to our values.”

The privately-owned US$35 billion Mars, Incorporated is famously emphatic about its corporate values, ‘The Five Principles’. Focused on Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom, they are widely cited by staff and appear in every office

them train for or identify other roles.” For employees staying on, managing ambiguity was a major factor. People had a job to do, but many were concerned about what roles they would be offered after the restructure. Mars Wrigley headquarters has now moved to Melbourne’s CBD, supported by a Technical Hub and factory in Ballarat, and a further factory in Sydney’s northern suburbs. For some employees this has brought “significant change, but great career opportunities”.

Critical in supporting the business on this change journey was the dedicated Integration and Transformation Office team.

Focused on business priorities, including placement, location, processes and systems, and communications, it was made up by staff from both businesses.

This was an important component to get right, emphasises Loader. The team was

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BFM | PROFILE

asked to guide both units through integration and find the best way to do things, not just directly lift from one business. It also ensured good governance, a factor Loader really values given his background as a chartered accountant.

Loader credits his upbringing as one of six kids on a farm in regional Victoria, for informing many of his personal core values, and these extend to his approach to business.

“Life on a farm demands that you work together as a team. You have to trust that people will pull their weight as you all work towards one goal. This has become even clearer to me over the last year.”

His philosophy of holding people “large” – meaning to look at people being the best that they can be – creates a good environment for people to be themselves. “I can’t be successful on my own – I will only get success through other people succeeding, not by overmanaging them.”

Looking back at the last year, and thinking about business leaders who find themselves in a similar situation, he says it’s important to remember that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to a merger.

“I took on a start-up mindset at the beginning because it was a new business,” he says. “Now my motto is ‘finding new ways to

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“ULTIMATELY, IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE, SO YOU HAVE TO SLOW DOWN AND MAKE SURE YOU TAKE EVERYONE WITH YOU”

succeed’ because the market has shifted even in 18 months.”

However clearly succeeding in the merger, have been female leaders across the business, with Loader’s direct reports now 70% female.

A trend he hopes will continue.

“Whoever is best at the job, does the job in my opinion. I am happy we can offer the flexibility to really open up the candidate pool. My experience is that people who have flexibility pay it back in spades.”

With the change in dynamics and over 80 new hires joining the organisation, he believes this will help the new business reset. The 2018 plan is focused on finalising the integration, but after that it’s all about how to establish the next 50 years. Loader says he told staff at their business conference earlier this year, “we need to honour our incredible past, own the present, but never forget we have this amazing opportunity to create our future. Let’s reimagine the business we want to be.”

Nothing brings that home more than his recent tour around the Australian manufacturing sites with John Mars, whose grandfather Frank founded the candy company in Tacoma, Washington in 1911.

“He’s a down-to-earth guy who treats everyone with respect and keeps the approach to business simple,” he says. “We make and sell confectionery. If everything we do is in the spirit of making great products that make people smile, we can’t go wrong.” BFM www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

FEATURE| BFM

Why we need more women in leadership

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to make an impact in this world, and like many of my generation, wanted to create a life and family roles different from my parents.

S

tarting a business was the very last thing that was expected of me. My parents questioned the need for an MBA when I would surely be having babies in a few short years.

But my entrepreneurial spirit was strong. At just six years old, I was earning money from selling mice to my local pet shop for 40c each. Later, as my marketing career progressed, I came across so many entrepreneurs who didn’t seem to have any greater passion than I, and I began asking why a young woman like myself couldn’t be just as successful?

I wasn’t alone. According to Forbes magazine, women are starting businesses at twice the rate men are, creating jobs and driving local economies.

So, in 2008, Rufus & Coco was born.

I started the pet care business while pregnant with my first child, quickly followed by my second.

Something that women are not well supported culturally to do. I’m proud to say that within three years I had taken the brand from startup to a national grocery brand, while juggling motherhood.

Too often, I see women leave the workforce with the birth of their first child, never to return with the same thrust to their career. I believe that with careful planning and management, it is possible to have the best of both worlds. Running my own business has given me that chance to structure my time, and my workplace to achieve that.

In addition to running a business and raising a family, I run a ‘Women of EO (Entrepreneur’s Organisation) Forum’ in Sydney, connecting female leaders, and personally mentor four young business owners.

With women at the helm, we’re more likely to achieve equality. Often, with women in leadership positions, greater consideration is afforded to workplace flexibility, allowing women to work around other commitments. As a mother and CEO, I love that I can offer a more flexible, supportive workplace to other great mothers, and enable them to maximise their potential.

At Rufus & Coco I am proud to say that we have an all women leadership team.

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Here are just a few reasons women make great leaders: 1. Women have great empathy Most women are great listeners and are naturally empathetic. We take time to empathize understand the whole person, not just the issue right in front of us, this emotional intelligence helps tailor plans for performance.

2. Women are very collaborative Women are natural connectors and tend to work more collaboratively to achieve results, engaging team members rather than working in competition with each other. As natural connectors, women are also great at networking, which is essential as a leader. Often with greater responsibilities however, women are afforded less time and opportunities to network as men.

3. Women are great at multi-tasking Juggling many responsibilities, women are adept at multitasking! The other day I had my office phone, iPhone and skype ringing whilst receiving What’s App, We Chat, Facebook and Messenger pings and people at my office door. It takes very careful planning of my business and family life to keep all balls in the air!

4. Women keep ego’s in check Women tend to take the ego out of the workplace that men can sometimes bring to the table. Humility is a core quality of great leadership, allowing one to step back and see the big picture and make the hard decisions that will ultimately benefit the business.

When egos take over, poor decisions are made that serve the individual, not the greater good and in today’s environment flexibility is essential to ensure the business stays on the right track.

5. Women know what Women want Given a high proportion of household spending is done by women, every brand or product would benefit from having female energy behind the marketing strategy.

Women make fantastic leaders for all of the above reasons and more; the challenge lies in creating a business environment that allows more women to step up to these roles and encourages women to show up as they are.

One of my greatest lessons has been to be myself and prioritise myself. It’s not about fitting in to what you think a ‘leader’ should look, act and behave like, based on traditional views of these roles. The best leaders are authentic, honest and humble and like everyone, have multiple commitments to manage.

I truly believe women can achieve anything if we are just willing to try! It may not be that we achieve all our goals on the first try, but if we’re willing to keep backing ourselves and putting ourselves out there, we can succeed!. BFM Anneke van den Broek – Pet Expert and Founder and CEO of Rufus and Coco

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BFM | MARKETING

MARKETING: IT’S NOT JUST FOR YOUR CLIENTS

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MARKETING| BFM

Conventional wisdom says marketing is to win new clients. And reassure existing clients that they’ve made the right choice. Yet many businesses ignore marketing’s major hidden benefit, one that delivers major bottom-line benefits in lowered costs and sustained higher margins. Those things come from how your own staff feel about your marketing. By Ian Whitworth

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ur business has done some out-there antics that received plenty of coverage and generated epic word of mouth.

We co-owned a private jet that we only flew in once ourselves. We started a spinoff beer and cider brand purely as a PR exercise. Over a decade, these tactics gave us compound growth of over 30% p/a.

But we’d still do it all again even if it didn’t generate a single new customer, because our staff love it, and that drives our proudest KPI: 1% annual staff turnover.

How does it work? Getting those bottom-line benefits is a leap of faith for the ‘can’t measure it, can’t manage it’ brigade. It’s a long game that needs consistency and strong storytelling skills.

MARKETING SHOULDN’T BE JUST A DEPARTMENT Long-term, the single most important factor in your brand is how your staff deal with your customers. It doesn’t matter how good your ad campaign is, if enquiring customers get indifferent service, undelivered promises or tobacco breath from your staff, it’s no sale for you.

It’s all about trust. Global PR firm Edelman does an annual Trust Barometer research project. It found “Employees rank higher in public trust than a firm’s PR department, CEO, or Founder. 41% of us believe that employees are the most credible source of information regarding their business.” This from a business that obviously believes in the persuasive power of PR. In most companies, if you ask anyone outside the marketing department what sets their business apart, they always say: “Oh, that’s easy! It’s our quality and our service!”. Just like every other company in the world. If all your staff actually get your brand, and can say why it’s good in simple words at a barbecue, that’s a very powerful force.

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BRAND IDENTITY IS PERSONAL IDENTITY Our business was founded with six original staff who left their previous employer because they were embarrassed by their rebrand. It used words and colours that made them feel weird and ashamed. We offered them a better logo and the chance to drive around in black badass vans like the A-Team. They abandoned ship and signed up with us without even asking about salaries or conditions.

Staff want to be a part of something that’s successful, and interesting. It makes them feel good when they tell people where they work. It becomes a virtuous cycle that attracts more clients and better staff.

Visit a Nespresso store and it’s a retail temple of shining beauty, pods and machines lit up like precious jewels and perfectlydressed, super-helpful staff. I have a rather frail 90-year-old relative who loves her Nespresso machine, and phone-orders her pods to be mailed from the store 10 kilometres away. One time they were out of stock of her favourite variety. Two days later, her doorbell rings at 8am. It’s a black-clad young guy from the store, who decided to personally drop off her pods on his way to work.

There is no procedures manual that could have made him do that. He did it because that’s what George Clooney would have done.

To do less would let down the whole magic brand.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE STORIES Marketing is increasingly all about data. It’s great to have numbers to justify your moves, but nobody was ever inspired by an upturn in click rates, or swapped lists of awesome SEM keywords at after-work drinks.

Just as clients respond to great stories about your brand, so do your staff. Whatever you read about how

everything’s changed, people have remembered and retold stories since we all sat around cave fires.

That Nespresso story encapsulates the whole brand experience in one paragraph. I’ve told it to a lot of people, and I’m sure many others have similar stories. You could re-tell that story now, after only reading it once.

This is not an excuse for dropping your digital game, and you can’t neglect the data either.

Our experience has been that the big leaps in digital numbers have been driven by a great story, which gets digitally passed along the way stories do. Bigger numbers make your analysis much more productive.

Ignore The MBAs The MBA approach to business is finance first, customers second and staff a distant third. Our view is the reverse. Look after your staff, they’ll do a great job making your customers happy, and the profits come from that. Along the way you will attract quality people escaping from other businesses run by the MBAs. Staff longevity becomes a self-governing system. Our 1% turnover figure covers departing staff who we didn’t want to leave. There are ways of encouraging underperforming staff to voluntarily seek other opportunities that better suit their style. It’s an insult to highquality staff to make them work alongside people who haven’t got their back.

Manage it right, and you don’t need margin-sapping HR departments. Your staff lead happier lives, and your bottom line reflects that. BFM Ian Whitworth is the co-founder of Scene Change, a national Audio Visual company. He shares insights about running your own business at http:// ianwhitworth.net

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BFM | PROFILE

BRINGING EQUALITY AND FAIRNESS TO THE ACCOMMODATION INDUSTRY The accommodation sector of the hospitality industry is growing at a rapid rate. Yet through positive growth come issues that effect business health. The Accommodation Association of Australia advocates for its members in the accommodation sector to ensure they receive a fair deal. Leading the charge is CEO Richard Munro.

A

ccording to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the hotel and accommodation industry includes circa 4300 properties generating over $10 billion per annum. Those figures would be impressive in and of themselves, however the Accommodation Association of Australia indicates the industry has closer to 8000 properties with a turnover of close to $20 billion.

No mater what numbers you take into account, it is clear the accommodation industry is a boom.

Part of that is due to tourism: Austrade’s Benchmark Report of 2017 highlights tourism as performing 20% above the global average.

Of course, tourists, and indeed any traveller seeking accommodation, don’t think about the numbers. For travellers good accommodation equates to comfortability; how well they sleep, the service provided, quality of amenities and customer service.

Yet the reason the numbers are so good is because the tens of thousands of people who work behind the scenes are dedicated to making others comfortable.

In essence, behind the luxurious façade, there’s blood, sweat and tears and difficult issues to face.

The Accommodation Association of Australia (AAoA) is the representative body for the accommodation industry and is dedicated to ironing out the many and varied internal industry issues.

“We have a number of pressing issues in our industry, says AAoA CEO Richard Munro. “I segment them into four categories: demand-drivers, employment issues, regulation and taxation.”

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Richard Munro As CEO, Munro plans to refine the key issues by engaging with AAoA members to better understand the impact of issues such as: • non-productive taxes, such as payroll tax, and its effect on actually employing more Australians • how the market power of online travel agents has squeezed margins on regional members to the point that many are really struggling.

“The key to a lot of the answers is how well we engage with government and the media, and I have to say we have positioned our Association to capitalise on many issues affecting our industry,” Munro says.

After 30 years in the industry, Munro has time and experience

on his side to tackle these issues.

In fact, Munro has seen most of what the hospitality industry has had to endure including Japanese investment into the tourism sector in the 1980s, in particular, resort properties, the pilots strike, 9/11 and the Asian financial crisis.

“All of these events had an acute impact on our industry and how we dealt with those issues. My background is in operations and sales, with a keen focus on growth.

I focus on improving business conditions from revenue (through demand-drivers) to reduction of expenses, through our benefits. My ultimate goal is to make business easier for our members.”

Munro joined the AAoA in July 2011 after roles as General Manager of the Hotels and Food and Beverage facilities at the

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PROFILE| BFM

former Star City Casino in Sydney, now known as The Star. Having previously joined several Boards that had government influence, he knew he could make a difference.

His State and Federal Government contacts have come in handy during the times when political advocacy has been a necessity, but he doesn’t use them lightly.

“We are very focused on building key relationships and we are disciplined in our approach in that we usually only make public comment if the political stakeholders who are likely to read the comments are already aware of our policy position on a particular issue. We need to be credible in our arguments and provide evidencebased advocacy on behalf of our members. We are very tactical and employ a valuable resource in Canberra to ensure that we stay on top of the ever-changing political and policy environment. We now have state advisory Boards in place in many states to ensure we have a local voice which can also feed into our national board.

Some of the bigger issues the AAoA advocate for include the impacts large global online companies are having on small business in Australia. Munro recently represented the industry at a Federal Parliamentary inquiry into this very matter.

“The majority of our members are small businesses located in regional areas. They have made a very large investment (bricks and mortar) to try to develop a longterm sustainable business. What has happened in recent years is the internet is now the primary booking channel for customers, but unfortunately this channel has been hijacked by online offshore behemoths with deep pockets.

They have enormous market power and the way they are behaving they have little or no regard for their customers, who are our members.”

Munro says AAoA members offer a prime product to the customer in accommodation, but the challenge is how they connect the guest directly with that prime product.

“Large offshore booking companies are using tax loopholes

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Victoria State Advisory Board

and major procurement deals with Google to lure the customer and as a consequence, the consumer is paying more, the accommodation provider is receiving less, employment in Australia suffers and so does the amount of local taxes paid. Accommodation operators want to take back control and enable the customer to book direct via their websites, achieving a lower price with our members.

Making it worse is these offshore giants have the budgets to bombard our television screens with advertisements. It is bordering on offensive.”

To overcome these challenges, government relationships are vital: good relationships can have a major influence over policy and regulation. And according to Munro this is crucial to an industry that is labour-intensive and relies on skilled customer service staff to deliver quality experiences to domestic and international visitors. These are economic decisions being advocated for and jobs are on the line.

Jobs are at the heart of AAoA’s advocacy and this issue alone is a crucial benefit of membership.

AAoA also negotiates many tangible that could save money or increase revenues for its members.

The group merchant rate AAoA has

with the Commonwealth Bank is a prime example.

“By switching over to our product, our members are reporting savings of thousands of dollars per year by transacting on our platform. It’s a very simple switch that is a great testament to group purchasing.”

A further benefit is the expert assistance the AAoA seeks out. An example is its partnership with Melissa Kalan who developed the Australian Revenue Management Association. Melissa advises AAoA members on how to best manage bookings on the plethora of booking channels to maximise revenue – a complex area for any operator. Melissa provides information to members about best practice.

The AAoA and its partnerships will play an increasingly important role as the industry continues to grow.

According to trade figures recently announced by the federal Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Hon Steven Ciobo MP, tourism exports increased 7.6 per cent to $37.2 billion in 201617. Reflecting this, visitor arrivals increased 9 per cent to 8.6 million.

New Zealand (1,352,900), China (1,259,100) and the United States (759,400) were Australia’s largest

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BFM | PROFILE

source of international visitors.

Almost 600,000 Australians were directly employed in tourism in 2016-17. The tourism industry is outpacing most other industries and contributing 5 per cent to GDP. The accommodation sector is adding hotel rooms at around 3 per cent per year, e.g. Melbourne is adding 50 new accommodation projects.

There is real growth here and according to Munro, the only real impairments holding back the sector is profitability from the impacts of unregulated accommodation, online travel agencies and the increasing costs of labour and energy.

It is important to note here, that Munro is not against new online competitors, but what he does want to see is regulation and legislation to bring them into line with regulated industry standards.

He also cites planning approvals in some states as taking their toll on developments, with developers experiencing high holding costs

due to delays in approvals.

“One developer told me last week that they had a project team working for four years on one particular hotel without a development application approved yet. With these sorts of delays, the industry is being held back from reaching its potential,” Munro says.

The AAoA’s strategic plan moving forward is growth focused.

“We ensure we have the right products available to our members to ensure they can cope with an ever-changing business environment. Our Board of Directors who represent the some of the largest brands in the world has a clear view that we must measure our success by, among other things, how well we engage and represent small businesses in our membership and that we can effectively capture their view. I believe that this is an important culture for us because small family businesses in regional areas are the lifeblood of not only tourism,

but also Australian business. The smaller operators are long-term investors in their communities and provide jobs. Therefore, they are important economic drivers in their regions. This contrasts with online offshore giants who are creating havoc for our industry from whichever tax haven they are based in.”

Looking forward the AAoA will be attempting to achieve further wins for its members. One of the most important in recent times was to lobby the government to amend a tax bill that now sees tourism accommodation properties exempt from a 5% bed tax.

Again, protecting members is paramount and saving them money or increasing revenues is also high priority. It is those goals that Munro through the AAoA will continue to advocate no matter how big the industry grows.

NB: If you are interested in joining the AAoA apply online or call the toll free number 1300 304 397. BFM

Queensland State Advisory Board

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BFM | INVESTMENTS

Strong start to 2018 for VC market with Q1 tally of US$49.3bn invested worldwide 2018 had a rousing start with US$49.3bn of venture capital investment raised across 2,661 deals in Q1, just shy of the global record for a single quarter, according to Venture Pulse Q1 2018, a quarterly report on global VC trends published by KPMG Enterprise.

• Q1’18 sees second highest quarter of VC investment ever, as median deal sizes grow • US dominates VC market globally investing US$28.2bn • Australian Q1’18 VC hits $130.5m • Unicorns raise US$14bn across 32 deals, including Australia’s Canva

W

hile venture capital deal volume continued to decline, the median deal size globally continued to grow across all deal stages in Q1 reaching US$1.3m for angel and seed stage rounds, US$7.7m for early stage rounds, and US$15m for later stage rounds.

In Australia, Q1 VC investment reached US$130.5m across 16 transactions, spurred by significant deals including Canva’s US$40m Series C funding round, which valued the Sydney-based startup at US$1bn. Other significant funding deals recorded during the quarter included data room software startup Ansarada’s US$18.92m Series A round and Adelaide-based space IoT startup Myriota’s US$15m Series A round.

“Australian startups continue to attract increasing levels of commitment, both from local and international investors,” said Amanda Price, head of KPMG High Growth Ventures in Australia, “with larger investment rounds reflecting the ambitions and capabilities of these startups to expand into global businesses.

Recent fundraising by Australian venture capital funds meaning

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there is more money on the table than ever before for our startup founders.”

Q1 ’18 KEY GLOBAL HIGHLIGHTS • Global VC investment rose from $46bn in Q4’17 to US$49.3bn in Q1’18, a solid increase buoyed by five US$1bn+ megadeals.

• The number of global VC deals declined for the fourth straight quarter, falling from 3,286 in Q4’17 to 2,661 in Q1’18. The number of VC deals has dropped by half since reaching a peak of 5,480 deals in Q1’15.

• The Americas set a new record for VC investment in Q1’18, with US$29.4bn raised across 1,782 deals, with Asia raising US$14.6bn across 317 deals, and Europe with US$5.2bn raised across 548 deals.

• Corporate participation in global VC deals set a new record for the second straight quarter, rising from 18.5 percent in Q4’17 to 21 percent in Q1’18.

• New and old unicorns – companies valued at over US$1bn – attracted a significant amount of funding with US$14bn across 32 deals.

• Two unicorns went public late in Q1’18: cloud-based security provider Zscaler and cloudstorage provider Dropbox, with both companies seeing positive results to date. With Spotify set for a direct listing in April and UK-based online loan provider Funding Circle planning to go public later this year, the IPO market may be opening up.

COMPETITION IN THE RIDE-HAILING SPACE REACHES FEVER PITCH The ride-hailing industry attracted

massive VC investment this quarter, accounting for four of the quarter’s five largest deals, including: US$2.5bn raised by Singapore-based Grab, US$1.7bn raised by US-based Lyft, US$1.5bn raised by Indonesia-based GO-JEK, and US$1.25bn raised by US-based Uber. Electric car manufacturer Faraday Future rounded out the top five, raising US$1.5bn.

US SEES RECORD VC INVESTMENT IN Q1’18, PROPELLING THE AMERICAS TO STRONG RESULTS The US saw a record-setting level of VC investment in Q1’18, with US$28.2bn invested across 1,693 deals. In addition to the three US$1bn+ megadeals seen in the US, a bevy of US$100m+ deals helped propel VC investment to a new high. In addition to transportation and autotech, biotech was a big winner in the US this quarter, with large raises by Moderna Therapeutics (US$500m), Harmony Biosciences (US$295m), and Viela Bio (US$282m).

Across the Americas, Canada matched its second-best quarter of VC investment, with US$800m raised across 72 deals, including a US$219m raise by alternative fuels producer Enerkem. Brazil also saw a nice quarter of VC activity, with Nubank achieving unicorn status following a US$150m raise.

VC INVESTMENT IN EUROPE REMAINS HIGH AGAINST HISTORICAL NORMS Europe saw US$5.2bn in VC investment in Q1’18. Amid a quarterover-quarter decline, Q1 was the fourth highest on record in the region. The number of European VC

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INVESTMENTS| BFM

deals continued its sharp decline, falling to 548, less than half of the number of deals seen during the same quarter last year.

Strong activity outside the UK helped keep European VC investment high although Ireland bucked the trend with investment increasing strongly quarter-overquarter to US$162m. Germany saw its second highest quarter of VC investment, just shy of US$1.5bn raised and led by a US$560m raise by Auto1 Group. France, meanwhile, achieved a new high of US$767m of VC investment, further cementing its growing prominence as an innovation leader in Europe. Spain also saw a strong quarter, boosted primarily by a US$160m raise by Cabify.

deals in Q1’18, as two US$1bn+ megadeals were struck outside China with Singapore-based Grab raising US$2.5bn of Series G financing, and GO-JEK in Indonesia closing on US$1.5bn of Series E funds. While VC investment in China fell significantly quarter-overquarter, the country saw a healthy number of US$100m+ megadeals and an increase in the number of deals. India’s VC market got off to a great start in Q1’18, seeing a strong rebound in investment. Food and grocery delivery was the hottest area of investment this quarter, with unicorn company Zomato raising US$200m and BigBasket raising US$300m.

MEGA-DEALS CONTINUE TO SHAPE ASIAN MARKET Asia continued to see large

STRONG OUTLOOK EXPECTED FOR REMAINDER OF 2018 VC activity globally is expected to

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remain strong, with an increasing focus on artificial intelligence (AI) autotech, and healthtech.

With exit and IPO activity also expected to increase over the next few quarters, there will likely also be a renewal of activity at the earliest deal stages.

“Venture capital investors continue to pour money into latestage companies, in part because of the number of aging unicorns that have remained private,” said Brian Hughes, National Co-Lead Partner, KPMG Venture Capital Practice, and a partner for KPMG in the US. “With strong IPO exits

by Dropbox and Zscaler this quarter, and an increase in the number of IPO filings, we could see the tide turning over the next few quarters, bringing with it a resurgence in early stage deals activity.” BFM

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BFM | FRANCHISING

Why franchising is the smarter form of entrepreneurship Over the last few years, we’ve seen a great surge in the number of Australians making the switch to self-employment with many in favour of becoming their own boss. But for those who are new to business, is this really the best move? By Peter Thomas

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t’s no secret that the startup culture is thriving, but for entrepreneurs without experience, the road ahead can present many risks with failure rearing its ugly head at every turn.

Many attempts to go it alone and start something from scratch but I believe that this is riskier than investing in an established brand and system which is what franchising provides.

I began my career with Stockdale & Leggo back in 1981 as a real estate agent before quickly recognising the potential to turn the business it into a franchise, effectively introducing the franchising business model to the real estate industry in Victoria.

In 1986, I purchased what was then a seven-office company and set out on my mission to transform it into what is now a 70-office strong agency. It wasn’t long before other real estate agencies also introduced the franchise model to their brands. Why? Simply because it works.

Here’s why I believe Stockdale & Leggo has seen so much success, and why franchising really is the best business foundation in today’s economy.

REDUCED RISK Perhaps the most attractive aspect of buying into a franchise as opposed to launching your own business venture is the fact that a franchise offers an added layer of protection and reduced level of risk. While signing on to a franchise can’t guarantee your business success, it can offer a tried and tested business model with proven success. As the old

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saying goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink, and ultimately it is up to the franchisee themselves to take advantage of the tools offered. As with most things in life, those who are willing to put in the work are the ones who will see the greatest success, and franchising can offer a fast track to getting there that is free from the setbacks that so often occur when launching your own start-up.

client or customer to take you on when they’ve never heard of you isn’t easy, as they lack the brand awareness that is closely linked with trust. On the other hand, when your business is part of a

STRONG SYSTEMS As anyone in business would attest to, strong systems are vital to business success – and this is something that the new entrepreneurs often seem to struggle with, especially during a growth period. Creating an effective set of systems is no easy feat, and often these systems can start to fall apart once you experience any considerable kind of growth. However, when you’re operating as part of a franchise network, the franchisor will have already put in the hard work so you won’t have to. Whatever problems you encounter are likely to have already happened at least once before, so rather than floundering when issues arise, you can expect to have an effective strategy to fall back on. Real estate in particular relies heavily on strong systems, and I would argue that without them an agency would have a really hard time in trying to grow.

ESTABLISHED BRAND Another challenge that is often faced by new businesses is the fact that they are essentially unknown. Trying to convince a new

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FRANCHISING| BFM

highly reputable franchise such as Stockdale & Leggo, they are likely to already have a certain level of understanding about your service, regardless of whether they have worked with you in the past or not.

In an industry such as real estate where trust is so important, you simply can’t underestimate the value of a well-established brand and a strong reputation.

PROPER GUIDANCE Finally, perhaps the single most valuable thing about franchising is the support and guidance you receive along the way. This is something you just can’t find in any other business model, and certainly not as a solo

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entrepreneur. When you become part of a franchise business, the franchisor acts as your mentor and will guide you through the process and help you stay on the right track to achieving your goals. By default, they have a vested interest in your success, and as such, they are committed to teaching you all that you need to know. At Stockdale & Leggo, my business leaders know that my phone is always on and that they are always welcome to contact me at any time if they are in need of some guidance. How many start-ups can say they have the same level of support?

They say that life is better when shared, but I believe the same is true in business. While

the future of the entrepreneurial world certainly looks interesting, it doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. Franchising really does have so much to offer and could open up a whole new world of opportunities you might have never thought possible. BFM Peter Thomas is the Chief Executive Officer of national real estate network Stockdale & Leggo and industry pioneer, credited with introducing the franchising model to the Victorian real estate industry in 1981, when he became the group’s first franchisee before acquiring the business in 1986 and growing it to 70 franchises across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

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BFM | PROFILE

THE ABC OF TARYN WILLIAMS: AGENT, BOSS, CEO

She may have started a successful modelling agency at age 21, but it hasn’t all been cover shoots and red carpets for Taryn Williams. Here’s how the former model taught the world to take her seriously.

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ehind the glamorous world of modelling, where sashaying into parties and befriending celebrities sounds like a regular Friday night, is a woman who understands that’s just a fraction of what the industry really is. Taryn Williams, a former model who started her own agency at age 21, knows it’s actually a lot of hard work.

“I was under no illusions that the world of modelling was entirely as glamorous as it seemed. For starters, one of the motivations for running my own agency was to improve models’ working conditions,” she says of her first business, WINK Models.

Laser-focused on the ‘why’ of the business, she built WINK as a response to the industry’s broken system. “It was common practice for models to be paid late, not in full, or not at all,” she explains.

Taryn used her own savings to bootstrap the agency and instilled a company policy that models were to be paid within seven days, regardless of whether the client had paid the agency—a policy still in place more than a decade later.

As she developed the business, she identified inefficiencies in the model hiring process and realised that technology could address many of the issues. This led to development

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of the industry’s first app. “It allowed us to integrate payroll, accounting and live web updates. It removed the key dependencies in the business, and we thrived.”

While the resulting accolades have been nice, Taryn takes more pride in having grown a national business from her initial $30K, with a talent list of 650 people and a turnover in the millions. And at that point, she handed over the reins to her managing director.

BEST FIT FORWARD In the development of the WINK app, Taryn hit upon an idea that would then become her next business, theright.fit. Her second startup, launched in 2016, is a marketplace where brands can source creative freelancers and influencers. “The platform empowers a wide array of talent including models, influencers, actors, photographers, stylists, videographers and make-up artists to control their careers and build their brands online and makes it easy and cost-effective for brands to create impactful campaigns,” she describes.

If the platform sounds like a threat to WINK Models, you’d be correct—it currently has ten times the talent on its books. But it’s all

part of the entrepreneur’s modus operandi to lead the industry.

“No business is immune to disruption,” says Taryn. “As an entrepreneur, it is my duty to ensure my companies are constantly evolving and building. I see a place for both.”

Although theright.fit is still in its fledgling years, it has already become a leading player in the influencer space as a matchmaker for talent and brands. The increasing use of influencers is a trend Taryn saw coming at WINK, hence her strong advocacy of this segment.

The early success of theright. fit saw Taryn named B&T’s ‘Tech’ category winner in its 2017 Women in Media Awards. She has now set her sights on international expansion in the coming year.

APPEARANCE VERSUS REALITY While the story of a model-turnedCEO making it big on the tech scene is inspiring, the narrative is a carefully honed one. Very early on, Taryn found she had to dispel false assumptions to establish herself as an entrepreneur in the eyes of the business world.

“Stereotypes about models are entrenched in the business world,” she says, citing the assumption that she’s the brand ambassador

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PROFILE| BFM

Taryn Williams

rather than the boss, to her business being a hobby funded by rich parents. “Whether it was because I was young, female, or a model—or all three—it was difficult to convince people that the business’ achievements were the result of my own hard work.

People saw me as a model first and an entrepreneur second, if at all.”

The realisation led Taryn to tell her origin story in her own words, something she advises all entrepreneurs to straighten out before they engage with others in the industry, customers and the media. “The worst thing about being underestimated is that you

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can get locked out of conversations, or even business deals. Taking control of the narrative is crucial,” she recommends.

But there’s a flipside to being underestimated, she admits. “The best thing is when you prove them wrong and achieve your goals because you backed yourself. That’s the secret to being a successful entrepreneur.”

Taryn’s three top tips for entrepreneurs: 1. Set yourself a scary but exciting long-term goal, “one that you abide by and never lose sight of”.

It will help you become more resilient.

2. Build a strong industry network.

“You’ll become better educated and better connected, plus good networking helps you become better known, which means people are more likely to take you seriously.”

3. Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo. “Whether it’s through technology, ideas, systems or people, look at your industry and ask: ‘What can be done to improve efficiency?’ and ‘How do I make it happen?

Taryn Williams is an awardwinning CEO and founder of The Right Fit (www.theright.fit).’BFM

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BFM | LEADERSHIP

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LEADERSHIP| BFM

Seven traits of great workplace leaders

There are scenes in certain movies that always leave me with goose bumps. Whether it’s Mel Gibson in Braveheart asking “will you fight?”, Winston Churchill offering his “one word: victory”, or Albus Dumbledore imploring “fight and fight again”, seeing a great leader in full-flight is exhilarating and incredibly motivating.

I

’ve been lucky to have some great bosses when I was in junior roles in corporate Australia, all of which have shown at least a number of the seven traits below, traits that I do my best to embody at Found.

1. Great bosses don’t take credit for others’ ideas, they give others credit for their own ideas.

I’m sure we’ve all experienced this when we’ve been working with mediocre managers. One of the junior team members will come up with an inspired new approach to a problem or generate insight which the team hadn’t previously shared.

A mediocre manager will claim this as their own, a great leader will help that person develop the approach or insight to maturity, then give them full credit for the achievement.

2. Great bosses shoulder failures but share success Like the famous desk sign ‘the buck stops here’, good bosses are willing to own the output from their team, without ever feeling the need to pass blame for any failure down to more junior members of their team. Great bosses go further.

3. Great bosses inspire their teams to do what needs to be done, instead of telling them to do what they want While a good manager will efficiently and clearly delegate a list of tasks, and see that they’re performed by their team, a great boss goes beyond this. Instead of

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providing a list of tasks, they will focus on what the team needs to achieve, and make every member understand how their part is vital in the success of the overall goal. Not only will everyone know exactly what they’re doing, they’ll know how to do it and why they’re important and valued.

4. Great bosses have teams who work “with” them, not “for” them One of the best bosses I ever worked with refused to use the term ‘works for me’. Over the years that I was in his team, he consistently introduced his team as people he worked ‘with’, rather than those who worked ‘for’ him. In practice, this also meant he never asked someone to do something that he wasn’t willing to do himself.

5. Great bosses are consistent, yet flexible We’ve all worked for someone in the past who’s overly-bound by process, or who can only be relied on to change their mind on a regular basis. Great bosses have a clear view on what they want their team to achieve, meaning that they’re not only consistent in their goals, but are willing to challenge the status quo and provide flexibility for their team if it increases the probability of achieving the desired outcome.

6. Great bosses aren’t afraid to hire people who are more talented than they are Great leaders surround themselves

with the best people they can find, never being afraid that they may one day be ‘upstaged’ by someone who works for them. This confidence inspires the team, and ensures not only their own success, but the success of the people around them.

7. Leaders create other leaders Confident and successful leaders aren’t afraid to build the capability of those around and below them.

Like great teachers, they always hope that people they come into contact will be at least as successful as they are.

While we may never be lucky enough to come into regular contact with a real-life Braveheart, Winston Churchill or Albus Dumbledore, many of these traits are as relevant to the newest trainee as they are to a seasoned corporate leader. After all, anyone who can start acting like a leader in their everyday life will undoubtedly end up in a position that recognises these traits. BFM Andrew Joyce was previously cofounder of mobile refurbishing business, Rifurb which turned over $25 million in its first twelve months. He is now three years into his second venture as co-Founder at Found Careers, a jobs app taking on the $11 billion dollar Australian recruitment industry by connecting mobile job seekers with employers.

He established Found Careers in 2015, which has rapidly become the leading platform for mobile jobseekers. www. found.careers

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BFM | CONSUMER

CONSUMERS ARE SEARCHING, BUT WILL YOU BE FOUND? Australian consumers today are savvy – increasingly they’re going online to research a product they’re interested in purchasing, especially to read customer reviews and compare competitors. In fact, the latest Salmat Marketing Report showed that search engine results (search) was second only to recommendations from trusted family and friends when it came to the way consumers source information about a product or brand. By Andrew Lane

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onsumer purchase trends are changing. While Australia has for many years lagged behind overseas markets in the eCommerce space, brands and consumers are closing the gap – particularly in light of Amazon’s arrival to Australia. We are more comfortable searching for, and increasingly transacting online.

This highlights the need for retailers to ensure their online game is strong. Here are three ways marketers can help their brand stand out online: 1. Invest appropriate resources in search Brands that use search successfully often find it to be the highest performing marketing channel driving interest in products and sales. However, many marketers continue to undervalue Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). This points to a disconnect around their understanding of it, and how they’re using it.

In terms of time invested in SEO, marketers often default to a ‘set and forget’ approach. Typically it will be something they look at as part of a website build, rebuild, or update – and expect it to continue performing well as months go by.

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For success over the medium to long-term, marketers should dedicate a sufficient portion of their annual marketing budget to search – how much will depend on the industry and competition.

They also need to set themselves up from a resourcing point of view.

They need a considered strategy, as well as people who are able to create quality content to which ads are driven, and manage the website.

2. Encourage online reviews Salmat’s research showed that 62 per cent of marketers do not believe that online reviews influence consumer purchase decisions. However, two in five (40 per cent) consumers said an online review would influence their decision to purchase. Further, 37 per cent said they often go online while in-store to assess customer reviews before purchasing a product. The good news is that, despite the assumption that customers are more likely to leave a negative review, consumers are almost three times more likely to write a positive review than a negative one.

This presents an opportunity for marketers to encourage online

reviews. Marketers can either display reviews on the brand’s website using a plugin like TrustPilot, or elsewhere online on Google, social media or other third party platforms. Once this is integrated, marketers can start encouraging reviews by emailing a customer post purchase and prompting them to write a review.

And don’t shy away from publishing the negative reviews either – being authentic and transparent is important for building trust among potential buyers. No one believes it when all they can see is positive reviews.

Negative reviews also provide a chance for an experienced marketer to engage with the

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CONSUMER| BFM

dissatisfied customer to manage and address the issue, and ultimately turn sentiment around.

Having a social listening tool in place is important to ensure marketers are aware of what’s being said about their brand, and where the discussion is happening – it may not be through the channels you expect. Social listening can be time intensive and medium to large companies may find it favourable to outsource these requirements to an external specialist. On the flipside, smaller companies may find it most cost effective to manage and implement social listening internally, with advice and guidance from an external partner.

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3. Connect your online and offline assets Despite the increasing number of people who are shopping online, our research found that in general, most Aussies (49%) still love to walk into a store so they can see and touch a product (58%) and so that they can walk away with it immediately (59%).

Many Australian brands are very active online, but online sales count only towards a small part of overall revenue. People are using online search and eCommerce channels in the discovery stage – particularly on mobile - but revert to bricks and mortar when it comes to the pointy end of the purchase.

Given this, it’s crucial marketers

connect their online and offline assets to help customers with their journey to purchase. Brands doing this successfully have a mobile responsive website, and the correct contact, location and opening hours on Google and their website.

Finally, utilising measurement tools to track purchase behaviour is critical. Once upon a time, stores saw online as a ‘competitor’ rather than a facilitator and complementary channel. However, having measurement tools in place will enable marketers to demonstrate how online activity is influencing offline sales. BFM Andrew Lane, Head of Sales and Marketing for Salmat.

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BFM | PROFILE

Leaving a legacy for those left behind It is easy to lose sight of what our Police Force actually does. The unrealistic action and melodramatic storylines we see in television dramas is not a true representation of the work that is undertaken. These shows often neglect the community service and public outreach work that officers carry out on a daily basis. Our Police Force looks after the community in more ways than most people realise, but who is looking after the Police Force? And should the worst happen, who is looking after their families? Business First speaks with NSW Police Legacy Chair, Detective Superintendent Gary Merryweather about the support mechanisms in place for members of the Police Force and their families.

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olicing is a dangerous job, so when officers put their lives on the line they need to be assured that family and loved ones are well taken care of and supported should dire situations occur. Organisations such as NSW Police Legacy (NSWPL) go a long way to instilling peace of mind.

In essence NSWPL cares for the Police Family.

“We exist to support our police legatees: the widows, widowers, partners, and children of deceased NSW Police Officers. We also care for the parents of deceased NSW Police Officers,” NSW Police Legacy Chair Gary Merryweather says.

It is not just death, however, that calls the organisation into action. In 2013, NSW Police Legacy amended its constitution to extend its role to assist NSW police and their families facing difficult, tragic and necessitous circumstances.

There is also the transition from police to civilian life to take into account, which can be traumatic in itself.

“The more recent BACKUP for Life initiative supports former NSW police and their families as they transition from a career in policing to civilian life via a number of initiatives including counselling, mentoring, career development and family support,” Detective Superintendent Merryweather says.

It is work that shouldn’t be underestimated. According to Merryweather, regular workplace health and safety laws don’t necessarily apply. There are risks involved that very few people will

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experience. These risks warrant an extra level of care.

That is where NSWPL is ready to step in and support them.

“The risks they encounter are not supported by their remuneration so NSWPL as the NSW Police Force charity provides a range of benefits and services to ensure they are honoured and supported in their role and when tragedy strikes.

“A lot people do not realise the risks Police face on a daily basis where they have to act on their oath of office in protecting life and property. This can range from dealing with dangerous criminals to rescuing people in need of help, unavoidably often these jobs put the safety of officers in jeopardy.

Having NSWPL behind our officers provides them with security and surety that if something unforeseen happens to them their families and loved ones will be taken care of. The introduction of the BACKUP for Life program takes the care we provide one step further as we provide various options to former officers and their families following their policing career. This can address mental health issues impacted by the exposure to trauma in policing to assisting them with a career transition following a physical injury.”

In essence NSWPL helps police legatees by providing education and welfare grants, scholarships, special assistance grants such as driving lesson support, or retraining to help them return to work. Further services include aged care support and advocacy as well

Gary Merryweather

as welfare grants for families who are facing difficult circumstances.

The organisation provides referrals to counselling and support services and act as advocates for many other community support services for all ages.

Adventure camps are held twice a year, family days and luncheons are regular occurrences, and there is also a Parents’ Support Network.

Last July, 35 Police Legatees travelled to Uluru and Kata Tjuta and in January this year 41 from NSWPL and 10 from AFP Legacy joined forces at the Narrabeen Sport and Recreation Facility for a week of canoeing, climbing, sailing, surfing, tackling, scrambling, volleying, walking, telling stories and laughing.

It is important that police officers feel like they have their own community to lean on: a community that offers a lifetime of support.

“We are always pleased to see

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PROFILE| BFM

NSW Police Commissioner Michael Fuller APM and Ms Kate Kilby our Police Legatees who started their journey with us as children grow up into exceptional young adults. It seems unfair to single out anyone, but two of our recent successes are Caitlin Robinson and Blake Brotherson.

“Blake recently returned from walking the Kokoda Trail along with a group of young police legatees. As part of the Trek experience we ask our legatees to fundraise for us, and Blake was responsible in coordination with the Local Area Command in his area (directly and indirectly) for raising nearly $19,000. And Caitlin is currently in the middle of her training at the Police Academy – an inspiration for us all!”

Merryweather was recently appointed to the Chairperson role.

He has served the Force since 1987

Police Remembrance Day

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and was promoted to the Rank of Superintendent in 2008, taking up Command positions at Monaro, Quakers Hill and Blacktown Police area Commands. In 2014 he was appointed as Commander, Blacktown Local Area Command.

He is a strong advocate for the prevention of violence towards women and an active White Ribbon Ambassador.

Looking after the welfare of Police Officers is a passion and Merryweather has, for several years, been an active supporter of welfare services. So his appointment to the NSWPL in 2017 came as no surprise.

His vision is to grow NSWPL by way of corporate sponsorship and match giving programs. By actively getting involved in these initiatives, businesses can demonstrate their social responsibility and support towards the NSW Police Force and the Police family, enabling the charity to expand its services to its beneficiaries.

Support is received via individual and corporate donors to run the charity and manage its many programs. It also important to note that police officers are also great benefactors. One important source of funding is through police officers committed to the work NSWPL do.

Merryweather will also be looking to increase support from corporate partners, and look to further increase the strong and ongoing ties NSWPL has within the business sector. Current partners

include: Police Bank and the Police Association of NSW. “The Police Association has been with us since the beginning – one of our co-founders was Lloyd Taylor, the President of the Police Association of NSW,” Merryweather says.

Merryweather will look to nurture existing relationships, whilst increasing awareness of the organisation, and encouraging companies to join.

As noted corporate support is already strong, however crucially government is also involved “Until the BACKUP for Life program started (in 2016), we received no government funding whatsoever, relying entirely on the support of our serving NSW police officers through salary deductions, individuals and corporate donors.

The BACKUP for Life program is funded through a grant from the NSW Government and this program is focused on retraining officers who have been injured and can no longer be Police for a range of reasons. We transition these officers into alternative employment and provide a network of support if they are unable to work any longer.”

This self-funded not-for-profit organisation relies on the support and generosity of the Police Family as well as the wider community.

Merryweather will continue to push its virtues and build relationships outside the Force to ensure NSWPL continues to grow stronger, whilst delivering even more benefits to its members. BFM

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BLUE

BALL 2018 SATURDAY 29 S EP T EM BER Enjoy the entertainment of the NSW Police Force Rock Band!

Join us for an unforgettable night!

Sydney International Convention Centre, Darling Harbour — Dress: Black Tie www.2018blueribbonball.gofundraise.com.au TICKETS NOW ON SALE!

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FEATURE | BFM

How to manage a remote team It is 2:00pm at our office in Sydney and our meeting with the Asia Pacific team is scheduled at 2:30pm. Michelle and Pete from the Sydney team will join the video conference call from home as their commute from Central Coast is a long one. Several members from the Shanghai team will call in at 3:00pm, after their lunch break. In Auckland, it will be 4:30pm and the last meeting of the day for the team. By Damian Lepore

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his is one of the many video conference calls we do in our office every day. At Logitech Australia, we have been practising flexible working arrangements for 10 years because we understand the rhythm of an expanding team spanning across multiple time zones is no regular 9-5 melody. With half of the team based in New Zealand and the Australian team splitting across the office and remote locations as well as our day-to-day communication with the global team, we have learnt through trial and error in the past decade on how to build an efficient and trusted team, office-bound or not.

SCHEDULE FIXED DATES FOR THE TEAM TO CONNECT Having a dispersed team can be tricky, especially when some of the team only come into the office twice a week. I always make sure there is at least one day when everyone is in the office (usually a Tuesday).

These regular meetings give the team opportunities to share their progress and get to understand each other better both personally and professionally. We also have an office chat group on Whatsapp to help everyone stay in touch during the week.

Whilst we can’t be with the New Zealand team every week, we have daily video conference calls with them and schedule quarterly in-person meetings to nurture relationships and foster trust.

SHARE THE BURDEN OF DIFFERENT TIME ZONEs With teams spread across the world, sometimes you have a very short window for meetings. It is very easy to favour the team where you are based, and make your colleagues from a different part of the world stay up late or come into the office early. This can create negative feelings and resentment between different teams. Try to rotate your meeting schedule so no particular team always wakes up early or stays behind for meetings.

EQUIP YOUR STAFF WITH THE RIGHT TOOLS In a perfect world, all tools available to your team are reliable and your Internet will never drop out.

But in reality, no single technology platform can do everything we need. Our team stays connected on Whatsapp, phone, Zoom and emails. We also have Google Drive and DropBox to share information internally and with our agencies.

For best results, we make sure our team has access to robust cloud services reachable from anywhere

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and the right video conferencing technology - each frequent remote user has a compact 4K webcam, and every conference room in our office is equipped with a user-friendly conference camera.

It takes time and effort to adapt to different tools and technology but once you have the system in place, your team will be more efficient than ever.

BE AVAILABLE AND UNDERSTANDING It is very important to acknowledge the value your colleagues bring to the table by making yourself available and be understanding, albeit their locations.

Take our Australian team as an example, everyone in the office works remotely at least once a week and 80 percent of our sales team is constantly on the move.

To ensure a smooth communication, we talk to our remote team at least three times a day via Whatsapp, phone, or Zoom. These regular catch ups give us a good understanding of their day-to-day duties, mood, and even personal life - just like any office-bound worker, your remote team needs to know they are connected to you and the rest of team on a social level.

And as much as we love emails, sometimes important correspondences may get lost in the sea of unread incoming emails. In my experience, it is not the best practice to demand immediate responses.

Pick up the phone or send your colleague a Whatsapp message. After all, you can’t expect everyone to be at their desk 9-5. BFM Damian Lepore is Managing Director of Logitech ANZ

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BFM | COACHING

Harnessing the ripple effect of coaching… to deliver powerful leadership lessons Physics was never my thing at school…not by a long way, yet a small insight into the physics of ripples will create a better understanding of their power and presence in everything we do and how leadership coaching can create the right type of ripples.

By Richard Day

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t best managers, teachers and mentors alike who are charged with the responsibility of improving skills and performance, can only go as far as setting up an environment that is conducive to stimulate that motivation and bring it out of the individual, who operates within that supportive environment.

With apologies to physicists past, present and future…a ripple, is quite simply, an energy wave from a source; for example, the ripples that emanate from a rain drop on the surface of a pool of water.

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I’m sure that all leaders reading this article can associate with the concept that they are in fact the source of much of the energy that pulses through the organization or business they lead on a daily basis.

One of the benefits of coaching is developing an awareness of the energy that every leader brings on a daily basis and what ‘ripples’ result and how that impacts the organisation moment to moment in other words coaching assists individuals in becoming aware of the thoughts and behaviours they have and the inevitable impact

they have on others.

In fact, there has been much research on the impact of coaching at the individual level and much of it, mostly aligned to familial aspects of coaching such as goal achievement, health and well being, increased level of mastery and self leadership, mental resilience and reduction of workplace stress and anxiety amongst other things. (Green et al. 2006) (Gyllensten and Palmer 2005) Interestingly though, there is some research tracking the

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COACHING| BFM

impact of coaching on something identified as Complex Adaptive Systems theory (CAS). (O’Connor and Cavanagh 2013) CAS is an emerging theory that attempts to understand the interconnected ripples of organisational actions, decisions and behaviours. Because organizations and businesses are essentially interactive systems the cross over ripple effect is enormous at every level around every behaviour, action and outcome.

A classic example of the extraordinary power of this concept

‘A powerful coaching conversation might have explored what they stood for as individuals and within the team and what they wanted their respective reputations and legacies to be.’

is the recent turmoil around the Australian Cricket team and the ball tampering scandal (In a previous life I was a High Performance Coach to elite sports teams so this issue is of particular interest to me.)

As a case study on the ‘ripple’ effect of poor sporting and team leadership behaviour it is possibly without peer…unfortunately.

As a result of the complex adaptive systems theory or ripple effect; this scandal has had an impact on the collective psyche of a proud sporting nation; it has also impacted Australia’s international sporting reputation, the financial well being of the game and the mental health of some of its players. It has also, no doubt, ended careers and the perception

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of the game from the eyes of impressionable youth.

Tragically, this is not the complete extent of the damage either.

Quite some ripple effect as I am sure you would agree and all due to a small but critical lapse in leadership judgement.

So what role could a coach and coaching play in the ability to make better decisions and create a positive ripple effect in any environment?

Depending on your coaching style the answer could vary however most professional coaches enjoy exploring the relationship between your personal values and your decisions and behaviours and the subsequent “ripples” you create as a result.

For example, an authentic leader with an understanding of what their purpose is in life and business, as well as what values anchor them, can create “ripples” of leadership authenticity.

Can you imagine how the recently deposed Australian cricketers may have behaved if they were aligned with the values and expectations of the team, their coach and the game itself.

A powerful coaching conversation might have explored what they stood for as individuals and within the team and what they wanted their respective reputations and legacies to be.

Strategically, starting with the end in mind.

So, how does coaching result in powerful leadership lessons that have a positive ripple effect?

1. Coaching is designed to challenge the individual leader and the way in which that leader interacts with the system through generating awareness and selfreflective opportunities, which in turn minimizes the risk of bad decisions.

2. Coaching provides a safe space and opportunity to review both personal and professional alignment.

3. Coaching improves the understanding between the authenticity of your behaviour

choice and your values and beliefs.

4. Coaching may also allow you to understand and explore your strengths and how you would use them to make better decisions and be more authentic as a leader.

Ultimately though, each of us decides the size, shape and height of the ripples and waves we create and the value they have in our lives and the lives of others.

Coaching helps you to learn how to surf the waves of uncertainty until they become ripples of empowerment and inspiration.

“Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects.” ~ Dalai Lama. BFM References: Green, L.S., Oades, L.G., & Grant, A. M. (2006) Cognitive-behavioural, solution-focused life coaching: Enhancing goal striving, well-being and hope. The Journal of Positive Psychology.

Gyllensten, K., Palmer, S. (2005) Can coaching reduce workplace stress.

The Coaching Psychologist.

O’Connor, S., & Cavanagh, M. (2013) The coaching ripple effect: The effects of developmental coaching on wellbeing across organisational networks. Psychology of Well-Being: Theory, Research and Practice.

Richard Day PCC “Potentialist” helps individuals and businesses increase their Impact, Influence and Income...Everywhere. He is the Brand and Communications Leader of the Victorian Branch of the International Coach Federation Australasia Chapter (ICF). Globally, ICF has over 32,000 members, over 65% of whom are credentialed, in 149 countries.

International Coach Federation (ICF) is the leading global organisation dedicated to advancing the coaching profession by setting high standards, providing independent certification and building a worldwide network of trained coaching professionals.

Contact us at president.victoria@ icfaustralasia.com and we will direct you to the best person on our team to answer any questions you may have.

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BFM | PROCUREMENT

ARE WIN-WIN NEGOTIATIONS REALLY POSSIBLE? A

s the world becomes more globalised, the performance and value delivered by our suppliers becomes more and more important to business bottom line. In the past there has been a perception that anyone in the business can negotiate however the need for strong commercial acumen within the Procurement profession is now well understood.

In leading organisations Procurement teams with highly developed negotiation skills are delivering significant cost savings, improvements in efficiency and increases in value across the supply base to help grow the competitive advantage for the organisation.

Negotiation has moved on from aggressive ‘banging the table’ competitive negotiations to an understanding that suppliers are actually key to the success of the organisation. The relationship is key and negotiating the best possible deal for the relationship is not easy.

In these situations, people often use the term “win-win” to describe negotiations where both parties are equally successful in meeting their objectives, but is this really possible? In most situations, the objectives of both parties are different – the supplier wants higher margins, the buyer wants lower cost. The skill of the negotiator is to uncover these objectives and be creative in designing a deal to make both parties feel satisfied.

And the key here is the word ‘feel’. Perception in negotiation is everything and the way the negotiation process is managed can have a profound effect on how the other party feels about the quality of the outcome they achieve.

We know this is in our personal lives – if we offer $10k for a used car and the seller immediately accepts it – we feel as if we could have got a better deal. If however, the seller negotiated and managed

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our expectations, we could end up with exactly the same deal, however feel happy about it.

So how do you get your team to manage these expectations effectively? We’ve prepared some key pointers for you to set your Procurement team on the path to better negotiations.

BEFORE YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT NEGOTIATION - UNDERSTAND THE OTHER TEAM The goal here is to understand the other party at least as well as they understand you. Develop a personal profile for them including their personalities, motivators and drivers. We can do this through a number of means, including meetings and conversations prior to the formal negotiation.

A crucial part to this profiling, is understanding negotiation styles. Everyone has a preferred negotiation style which can be used depending on the circumstance, we identify five major ‘styles’.

Too many negotiators are ‘one club’ players - they have a style that suits and which they believe, rightly or wrongly, to be effective, but they haven’t learnt to change their approach according to circumstances. They only use one golf club for the whole round!

We are not clairvoyants, but through research of the other party and the market we should be able to make some educated guesses as to what may happen when we meet.

START STRONG The first thing you say in a negotiation should condition the other party and manage their expectations. Condition them towards your ideal objectives and manage their expectations away from their objectives. Skilled negotiators will rehearse their opening statements several times prior to entering the negotiating room. Rehearse and then ask

yourself the question… ‘if I heard this statement would it encourage me to walk towards my ideal objective or away from it?’ This would be a good cross check as to whether you are managing the expectations of the other party positively towards your ideal objectives.

BE EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT Whilst we need to flex and adjust our approach to appeal to whomever we are negotiating with, we also need to upskill our

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PROCUREMENT| BFM

In the third of a series of six articles focusing on strategic procurement, Daniel Fielding explores the need for negotiation expertise in organisations and five key steps to increasing your negotiation power. at the right time. If we ask open questions it is very difficult for the other party to evade and therefore puts the asker in a position of control. A common mistake is that many people believe that talking gives you control. In fact, it is the person asking the open questions and listening to the responses that will be in a position of control.

If you talk too much, and are underprepared, the other party will put you on the spot with a wellchosen question. Remember that questioning is only part of the story – we also need to LISTEN to the answer!

By using these techniques, we can manage the perception of the other party – maybe you won’t get to the theoretical ‘win-win’ – but you may get close, and importantly the other party will value the process that we have gone through and it will feel like a win!

While some people are ‘born negotiators’, it’s not a skill that most people feel they possess or feel comfortable using. We can have all the qualifications in the world but if we can’t negotiate we will never be successful in today’s challenging economic climate. Negotiation may not be in-born but it is a skill that can be learned and practised. BFM

EQ for every negotiation. Being emotionally intelligent helps us to read the other party, understand them and maintain emphasis on the relationship without compromising our own position.

Effective negotiators spend more time considering areas of common interest between themselves and the other party over which bridges could be built to reach agreement.

HAVE A STRATEGY AND USE TACTICS A big picture strategy and

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purposeful use of tactics to guide the discussion gives us confidence that the negotiation is going the right way. There are over 70 tactics that can be employed in a negotiation - understanding the core tactics is the best way to set yourself or your team up for success in a negotiation.

THE KING OR QUEEN OF QUESTIONS We must never underestimate the power of great questions. An important skill in negotiations is the ability to ask the right questions

ArcBlue is a global specialist procurement consultancy and training group who are passionate about the benefits that strategic procurement can bring. Our services range from complex sourcing projects to leading organisational and sector procurement transformation programs, organisational assessments, spend and opportunity analysis, skills assessment and benchmarking, functional development and benefits realisation.

Daniel Fielding is Director at ArcBlue Consulting and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply.

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BFM | PROFILE

TRANSFORMATION IN THE HEART OF ADELAIDE Rundle Mall is South Australia’s premier shopping and tourist precinct, attracting more than 24 million visitors every year. It is currently being redeveloped into a precinct that could transform the heart of Adelaide. Business First speaks with Weinert Group Property Manager Evan Brumby about the redevelopment.

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ince its official opening as Australia’s first pedestrian mall more than 40 years ago, it has seen extraordinary transformation and the latest project to make its mark on the precinct is the major redevelopment of Rundle Mall Plaza.

The four lower levels of the prominent nine-storey building – originally constructed as a standalone David Jones department store in the 1960s – are being transformed as part of a multimillion dollar redevelopment by owners the Weinert Group.

The large-scale project spanning 12,000sqm will see the creation of a lower ground tech hub, the ground floor dedicated to retail and fashion, an exciting new dining precinct on level one and a health and wellbeing precinct planned for level two.

Weinert Group Property Manager Evan Brumby says the redeveloped Rundle Mall Plaza would offer the highest quality retail, dining and

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wellness experience in Rundle Mall when it re-opens later this year.

“The Plaza’s new dining precinct is one of the most exciting aspects about the redevelopment and it will be a truly unique experience for Adelaide,” Brumby says.

“When you visit cities like Melbourne and Sydney, they have upper floor dining with views and natural light, where lots of shoppers, workers and tourists go to eat and we are bringing that experience to Adelaide.”

A substantial part of the floor of level two will be demolished to create a double-height dining precinct with large glass windows overlooking Rundle Mall.

A new multi-storey void at the main entrance will be another standout architectural feature and host the relocated Progress Statue, a welded copper sculpture created

by Lyndon Dadswell in 1959.

“We have also taken great care selecting high quality finishes, working closely with our architects Hames Sharley. The design

incorporates a lot of brass, wood and stone and moves away from the cold stainless steel, whilst also introducing all the modern comforts to go with a new development.”

In a major coup for Rundle Mall Plaza, Swedish fashion giant H&M has chosen the site as the location of its first South Australian store.

“We’re very proud to have secured H&M as our major tenant. The store is going to be a significant drawcard not only for Rundle Mall in particular, but Adelaide in general,” Brumby says.

“The interest shown by international retailers to establish a presence in Rundle Mall demonstrates confidence in the State’s retail sector, which is continuing to gain strength.”

In the 12 months to March, South Australia recorded a 3.3 per cent rise in retail turnover, the best result in the country.

Rundle Mall Plaza’s large-scale redevelopment also presents

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PROFILE| BFM

“Whether you shop, work or live in the City of Adelaide, Rundle Mall Plaza will seek to provide the ease and comfort of visiting one central spot for all your needs,” Brumby says.

“Customers are now looking for more than just retail. They are looking for a place to relax, a place to experience, and we intend to provide just that.”

“With the new tramline down North Terrace, the upgrade to Gawler Place, numerous commercial and accommodation buildings under construction in the CBD and the Rundle Mall Plaza redevelopment, it is an exciting period for Adelaide.”

The Weinert Group, which converted the building into Rundle Mall Plaza in the early 2000s, has appointed the original builder, Hansen Yuncken, as the Principal Contractor for the redevelopment works.

The redevelopment is expected to be complete in late 2018. BFM numerous leasing opportunities across all four floors for potential tenants in the fashion, food and beverage, and health and wellness spaces. New tenants will join the likes of Swarovski, Sportsgirl and JB Hi-Fi, which are continuing to trade throughout the redevelopment works.

CBRE Leasing Agent Julie Thomas says the uniqueness of the Plaza’s dining precinct was a major drawcard for potential tenants.

“A double height glass atrium will be the centrepiece of a sophisticated art deco styled precinct, offering sunlight, atmosphere and views over Rundle Mall,” Ms Thomas said.

“The dining precinct will create an enjoyable shopping and business lunch experience, concentrating on higher quality food and beverage operators.

“So far there has been a lot of interest from prospective tenants and we’re in discussions with several prominent operators.”

For the health and wellbeing precinct, Rundle Mall Plaza is hoping to attract medical practitioners and allied health professionals as well as wellbeing services such as a day spa, gym or pilates and yoga studio. www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

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BFM | PROFILE

Matt Skinner

SALES ENABLEMENT DRAMATICALLY INCREASES ROI; WHAT EVERY CEO NEEDS TO KNOW The world of B2B sales is changing rapidly, particularly the area of sales enablement, the strategic use of processes and technology to improve a sales team’s productivity and drive more revenue.

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% of top performing companies are investing in technology and programs to drive sales productivity, and with measurable results directly impacting ROI, creating empowered sales teams and driving growth, it’s easy to understand the explosion of interest.

So the question is raised, who is responsible? Should you leave this to an experienced sales manager, or is this a C-suite responsibility?

In my experience as CEO of IRD

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Prospector, a business insights and sales intelligence company that has helped clients earn over a billion dollars in incremental sales over the past 16 years, the buck stops with me. Why? Because when sales systems are optimally aligned to glean the maximum intelligence, results follow. And at the end of the day, growing the business is my job.

One opportunity to see quick results is to increase the ROI associated with your CRM. With

recent research stating worldwide sales of CRM software is likely to exceeded US$36bn, CRM is here to stay. And as most sales leaders I speak to agree, it can have a massive impact on profitability, productivity and customer service.

However the level of negativity and dissatisfaction I encounter when discussions turn to CRM amazes me. CRMs are only as good as the data that’s in them, and all too often they become a graveyard of decayed data and a labor-

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PROFILE| BFM

intensive requirement resented by the busy sales reps they’re designed to help.

In my experience, there is a simple way to overcome this - properly fueling your CRM by plugging in a highquality third-party database of company intelligence and contact information that constantly updates and enriches your data. By committing to this approach, tired data can be replaced, and clean new prospect data can be added to the mix, effortlessly improving targeting and accelerating growth.

IRD Prospector takes this a step further, identifying embryonic triggers that signal a company is about to grow or evolve, then integrating this intelligence directly into your CRM. Essentially inserting fresh data while augmenting & enriching existing data, which provides a more complete picture of your prospects and clients.

This results in a clean data set of prospects, prioritised by the activity most likely indicating growth, ready for your sales team to convert into happy customers.

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Simply scheduling a reminder for the relevant sales rep when such a trigger is automatically uploaded into your CRM is a simple yet incredibly effective way to increase the dollars, time and labour already invested in your CRM.

“We’re excited about the constant evolution in the sales enablement space and look forward to helping our clients make the most of these new opportunities.”

This approach also has the flow on effect of motivating your sales team by demonstrating you are serious about enabling their success. They succeed, you succeed and the business flourishes.

The most impactful business triggers that allow sufficient time for a company to pitch a solution tend to include; a company raising capital, appointment of a new CEO, a new

company launching in Australia, the acquisition of a new brand or a company restructure. This sort of information can be tough to stay on top of manually – reading the news everyday usually isn’t enough.

Which is why we built IRD, a business providing just this kind of intelligence, now available as an app that plugs directly into Salesforce and other leading CRM systems.

We’re excited about the constant evolution in the sales enablement space and look forward to helping our clients make the most of these new opportunities.

Matt Skinner is CEO at IRD Prospector, a sales enablement & intelligence platform that integrates directly with your CRM to cleanse data, provide fuel for your sales engine and increase your sales enablement ROI. After 16 years in the media and marketing industry, where long-term clients have repeatedly been voted best in class & made over a billion dollars in incremental sales, IRD Prospector is now available in your b2b industry.

Get in touch today to find out more.

Irdgroup.com.au; 1300 736 447; info@irdgroup.com.au BFM

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EQ | BFM

Emotional intelligence keeps employees one step ahead of the robots As workers ponder whether their training, skills and occupations will become redundant after the forecast artificial intelligence tsunami of jobs doom finally hits, many are seeking out meaningful training that boosts their adaptability – and won’t become obsolete.

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ompanies that offer training in emotional intelligence will have no trouble filling courses with employees of all ages keen on training that assists their personal growth both inside and outside of the office.

Only two years ago, the World Economic Forum ranked emotional intelligence as one of the top skills required to succeed in the global workforce of tomorrow.

However artificially intelligent and robotic the future workplace might become, there will always be a need for leaders with high emotional intelligence, which involves mastering and regulating personal emotions and and an ability to understand and manage the emotions of others.

The demand for employees with high emotional intelligence is one certainty in an age of uncertainty.

Companies who offer EI training to their staff reap the benefits in higher productivity and improved workplace culture, while these popular courses also serve as a lure to attract and retain top staff seeking innovative training that will improve both their professional and personal lives.

Emotional intelligence or ‘EQ’ may sound like corporate buzzwords, but that’s only because they were more recently defined in the 1990s (first in a Yale University publication in 1990 and then the best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman in 1995).

But most people are familiar with the underrated business ‘superpower’ of emotional intelligence, even if not by name.

We have all worked with that employee that seems to have the gift of the gab and remarkable abilities to inspire and motivate both colleagues and clients. Or that cool cucumber who can calmly right the ship while others are losing

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their heads in a company crisis.

These are individuals with high emotional intelligence.

Conversely, many have encountered a manager at some point in their career who was brilliant at every aspect of their job - except for managing other people.

You probably didn’t work for them for very long. Their brilliance in all other aspects of their job comes at a high price for the company with high turnover and reduced performance of their team.

The good news on emotional intelligence is that, unlike IQ, it can be significantly improved with training. As the Washington Post puts it, emotional intelligence is “the sole determinant of professional success that we can actually improve”. Very handy when it is the single biggest predictor of job performance, according to the popular book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0, which scored an endorsement from perhaps the world’s most revered guru of emotional intelligence, the Dalai Lama.

Higher emotional intelligence does not arrive in a Kumbaya moment. Effective training involves a time commitment over an extended period of time. A weekend workshop is of little value. Replacing entrenched emotional habits with new ones requires sustained practice

over a longer period of ideally six months or more.

There’s science behind that concept. Our underlying neural circuitry formed from habitual responses serves as our personal default option. By learning new emotional habits, new neural connections are strengthened until over time they become dominant, thus resetting our emotional default options. While the brain’s neocortex is the base for cognitive abilities, the neural circuitry from the amygdala - the brain’s centre controlling emotions, emotional behaviour and motivation relates to social and emotional competencies. This is where new emotional habits are formed.

Emotional intelligence training should always be voluntary to ensure staff are committed to the change process. Dealing with emotional responses is often personally confronting as it so closely associated with personal identity and self-esteem, which is another reason you don’t want sceptical or reluctant employees forced to attend.

Those who do complete emotional intelligence training often remark how it has vastly improved not just their working lives, leadership skills and productivity but also their relationships marriages and relationships with their partners, parents, siblings and children.

The training can also help tackle emotional issues that have an impact on their health. Happy and healthy workers make more enthusiastic, loyal and motivated employees. It’s a worthwhile investment for all companies and their employees. BFM Edwina Webb is the General Manager - People and Culture - for Bastion Collective, an integrated communications agency.

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BFM | LAW

Profound changes to the business of the legal profession I am going to show my age here – I studied law in the early 1970s when articles meant being an “office boy.” I remember the thrill of washing my master solicitor’s 1972 Jensen-Healey, as one of my weekly jobs with a Sydney based corporate law firm that no longer exists today.

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fter a stint in the Jesuits, I went on to study business and psychology and ended up as a partner in Coopers & Lybrand and then Price Waterhouse (now PWC). This was a time when the accounting firms were rapidly changing from “practices” to “businesses,” embracing specialisation, mergers and profit sharing and diversifying their offerings. I was one of the first strategy consulting partners in this profession.

In the mid to late 1980s, the legal profession was beginning its own evolution as a profession into becoming a commercial industry, much like the accounting firms had done in the previous decade.

During this shift towards more corporatisation, an important philosophical debate was being played out by lawyers…. namely, whether functioning as a profitmaking business was antithetical to remaining a professional?

In many ways, that question is still being debated today.

In the vanguard of the 1980s and ‘Thatcherism’ and ‘Reaganomics’, entrepreneurship was king.

Fittingly, with the ideas of Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics driving much of this free market approach, the largest law firm in the world was Chicago’s Baker & McKenzie, with over 700 lawyers.

Only two other firms had more than 400 lawyers at the time. One of them, Skadden Arps, was the first law firm to gross more than US $100 million revenue, and by the late 1980s had increased to record estimated revenues of well over US $200m.

The other largest firm,

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Finley Kumble, was just four years away from its sudden dissolution. Skadden Arps was the second most profitable firm in the world, behind Wachtel Lipton, with profits per partner of approximately US $780,000.

The day-to-day practice of law was substantially different in those days. Shorthand was a required skill for secretaries and partners had a personally assigned secretary who typed up correspondence and generally “served their masters.”

Unsurprisingly in those days, in such a servile environment, there were very few women in the ranks of partners.

I remember the tea trolley coming down the aisles of desks twice a day, the noise of type writers and paging systems with speakers in the hallways. A feature of the professional services environment at this time was a small army of messengers wandering the corridors, who made hourly deliveries of inter-office mail or hand carried packages to clients and other law firms. International communication was by telex and the fax machine, and paper was everywhere.

During this period, law www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

LAW| BFM

firms were in the midst of major technological change in their accounting systems and protocols, a situation not unlike today.

Many mid-sized and larger firms still used NCR and Burroughs accounting machines to maintain client records.

The change to billable hours from retainers and quarterly billings was still a work in progress for midsized firms, and the first concerns about the foibles of keeping time would not be addressed by the American Bar Association until Beyond the Billable Hour was published in 1991.

The concept of desktop computers had still not found an application in the legal environment, but a few firms experimented with the Apple Macintosh or the Compaq portable computer for graphic design and typesetting.

The concept of marketing was a popular seminar topic in 1980s but few firms were actively involved in formal business development activities. This was one of the major changes across the profession as law firms became businesses in the 1990s.

With the advent of the internet in business in the late 1990s and new faster, more efficient accounting systems, the business behind the law became more streamlined. Partner profits at the larger firms which had adopted commercial practices began to skyrocket with better leverage and matter management.

The times were good, and they were only going to get better, as the turn of the century ushered in opportunities for law firms to take advantage of the shift towards a global marketplace.

Mentors, Mergers and Memories At the turn of the century I had the massive privilege to work with a truly inspirational and humble managing partner who’s vision and mandate was to restructure and combine the state based offices of Freehills Hollingdale and Page.

I had consulted to Clayton Utz 12 years earlier in their restructure and national build out strategy through two state based acquisitions in Brisbane www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

and Perth and a green fields start up in Melbourne. This was a new challenge a decade later. This was also a time when large law firm brands were becoming more corporate, partner profits were increasing, and a high performing firm could mark its space in the sector, as Freehills indeed did!

The other dynamic at the turn of the century was the rise in importance of Asia for our top tier national law firms.

Clients were driving this growth, with law firms following the work. International deal flow was increasing, buying decisions were being made offshore, and it was becoming more of an imperative that firms could offer seamless service delivery to their international clients.

At the same time firms were experiencing pressure on fee rates and margins, there was an emerging oversupply of lawyers and the magic circle UK firms, the global elites and the emerging international firms were all looking towards Asia.

Australia got swept up in this look towards Asia, with it being viewed as a safe pair of economic and political hands, with a mining boom in full swing.

The mergers and combinations of firms began at the start of this decade. Baker Mackenzie had begun with a verein model under one brand and entered Australia in 1964. For the next 45 years, there was a conspicuous absence of further global firms entering the market.

Then it all changed.

Allen & Overy took a group of partners in Sydney and Perth from Clayton Utz in 2010 and became the first ‘Magic Circle firm’ to enter the Australian market.

Then the dominoes started falling.

Clifford Chance became the second Magic Circle firm from the UK to enter in 2011, DLA Piper acquired Phillips Fox, Norton Rose acquired Deacons across Australia but not in Hong Kong, Ashurst took over Blakes, Squire Sanders acquired the bulk of the Perth office of Minter Ellison and then opened a Sydney office, Freehills combined with Herbert Smith……

and so the mergers, combinations and acquisitions went on.

The Australian legal services and law firm marketplace was never to be the same again. I was privileged to have been engaged by several of the incoming international firms, and several of the Australian firms over this period. Perhaps what we had learnt in the internationalisation of the accounting and other professional services firms was useful to law firm managing partners.

The next phase of reform, following the wave of mergers, is the challenge of innovation and emerging technologies.

Technology has enabled flexible work, but also seen new products used to replace lawyers for work that is able to be handled by machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Generational changes in attitudes to work, life flexibility and expectations all challenge the firms and work life as we know it today. New entrants like Lawyers on Demand and Crowd & Co are really enhancers to the legal services profession, while at the same time disrupting in a good way.

Looking Ahead I am optimistic for the profession of law. From my days as an articled clerk, washing my master solicitor’s car through helping some of the world’s largest and most profitable law firms grow into Asia and Australia, I have experienced so many aspects of the profession. As a psychologist, I know that people are attracted to law to make a difference, to contribute to society through the rule of law. I have the deepest respect and admiration for lawyers and the legal services sector. The best firms with the best cultures will survive by being adaptable and embracing the current legal revolution.

The legal services sector will continue to grow, change and adapt and I certainly look forward to continuing to play a small part in that evolution.. BFM Dr Stephen Moss is the managing partner of Eaton Capital Partners. He still talks to lawyers every day!

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BFM | PROFILE

How MinterEllison is breaking the industry mould

MinterEllison is a household name in law, but over the last few years this international legal firm has spread its wings to expand into non-legal consulting work. Jonathan Jackson speaks with Chief Client Officer Lawrence Owen to discuss the importance of business development in the modern legal landscape and how MinterEllison is leading the way.

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f there is one thing to be said about MinterEllison, it is that this is a company refusing to stand still. Two years ago, the firm reported annual sales increase of 6.5% to $456 million in what was then a flat market.

The goal then was to grow revenue to $600 million by 2020 and become the number one law firm by revenue. MinterEllison is well on track: the firm released its annual report for the 2016-17 financial year, revealing increased revenues – $476 million in FY17 up from $456 million in FY16 – a record year.

With CEO Tony Harrington departing 30 June, MinterEllison is predicting it will breach $500 million in revenue this financial year.

The growth is due, in part, to the firm’s expansion beyond legal services which has formed a crucial part of MinterEllison’s Business Advisory – 2020 strategy.

The transition began by dropping the word ‘lawyers’ from its moniker and was followed by the acquisition of specialist businesses and personnel across a range of industries including IT, remuneration practices and tax among several other verticals.

In 2016, MinterEllison added Board and Executive Remuneration (BER) consulting services to complement the firm’s legal services in Human Resources and Industrial Relations (HR&IR), M&A, Corporate and Tax to deliver efficient, fully integrated solutions for clients.

More recently, the firm acquired top tier boutique technology consulting firm ITNewcom, with a twenty-year track record in delivering outcomes through

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strategic sourcing initiatives, innovative technology strategy, complex transition management, specialised benchmarking, and high-value supplier management.

MinterEllison’s move into corporate advisory is on trend as many law firms have upped the ante on their marketing capabilities and technology.

MinterEllison has defined itself by taking a more strategic and broader approach to professional services by introducing former IBM

“What we have tried to do is build up the “muscle” and hire more experienced people for senior roles within our CMG Team” man Lawrence Owen to oversee the transformation of the firm’s Business Development function, now called Clients and Market Growth (CMG) “There was no doubt I was brought in to transform the CMG function.” Lawrence says. “What we have tried to do is build up the “muscle” and hire more experienced people for senior roles within our CMG Team. We’ve also made the connection with the business, that together, we are jointly responsible for the CMG efforts of the firm.”

Lawrence was a Consulting Partner at PwC, spent time with

IBM in Hong Kong and China and was looking for a new challenge . He saw MinterEllison as a place where he could apply more of a ‘big four’ approach to business development; big enough to bring in interesting work, but small enough to directly see the effects.

He restructured the existing Business Development and Marketing team, aligning the resources with the business, whilst retaining a central core of marketing, proposals and accounts experts with the seniority to have a positive impact in their roles.

With access to senior partners, Lawrence has also worked closely with the senior team to see this big four approach to CMG come to fruition.

“Many of the people we have brought into the business have a Big Four background, and have experience in government, or specific industry advisory expertise. So we have a broad base skills to cater to particular industry pitches,” says Lawrence of MinterEllison’s CMG expansion.

This transition has occurred because as Thomson Reuter’s 2018 State of the Legal Market states, ‘demand for legal services has stagnated, creating a struggle for firms to earn new business and stay profitable. To maintain profitability, firms typically take one of two avenues. They either take a traditional route, increasing rates and slashing expenses, or they break away from the traditional and invest more heavily in business development strategies’.

For Lawrence’s CMG team, this has meant implementing a key strategy that sees advisors spend www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

PROFILE| BFM

Lawrence Owen time not only understanding the industries they are now consulting to, but also the businesses with whom they are working so that advice can become more commercially relevant.

“A key CMG strategy for us is to understand the needs of a business so we can better execute on those requirements,” Lawrence says. “If we are approaching a client that is acquiring a mining asset or property, we want to understand how that asset fits into the overarching business strategy. Once we have that understanding, we can tailor our advice to be more relevant and suggest different ways of executing.

It would be the same with M&A. We would look to understand the merger and what the client is trying to achieve, so we can build in the business outcomes.”

There are three key phases to working with clients. The first, Lawrence says, is to understand exactly what the client is looking for. Then it’s a case of matching that business need up with the skills and the capability of the firm. Finally, it is ensuring that MinterEllison communicates that alignment in the most compelling and concise way.

Another part of MinterEllison’s repositioning is building up strong relationships with its existing client base, understanding the work they’ve done for them in the past, understanding their strategy and going to them proactively and asking about how to help them www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

with an issue or suggesting a future deal. For instance they may advise on new legislation that has just gone through the UK, or been in the US for a couple of years and is coming to Australia.

“We can go to a client and say, ‘How about we start getting you ready for this change’.”

Lawrence is quick to point out that MinterEllison’s CMG growth has been a team effort: the result of partners, lawyers and CMG staff working together to form a best practice business development function.

“Everybody is focused on understanding our clients, being responsive and communicating ,” Owen says.

“Having dedicated partners in a client relationship role allows our people to get to know the business they are advising and also the people working in these businesses, and what’s important to them.”

“Clients appreciate the approach we take.”

What also stands out is the proactive approach MinterEllison takes to its client management.

Advisory isn’t just about reacting to situations when a client needs a solution; it is about being proactive in finding solutions to problems that may arise or suggesting ways to conduct better business.

“We make sure we have a plan when we go to see our clients. Too many relationships in the advisory industry are about fees, but we form on-going relationships by

keeping in constant touch, having a plan, understanding how we can help and by creating a continuous communication environment where everybody benefits.”

Lawrence says clients are looking for consistency in advice, responsiveness in service, flexibility and innovation.

“My job is to make those qualities shine through in the communication that partners are having with clients. We try to strip away some of the legalese inherent in many law firms communication and expose the “personality” of the firm and its partners. This is how you build close relationships with people.

“The market is moving away from the smartest lawyer getting the business and moving towards lawyers that understand a business and the people within it. The key to success in this is to listen to your clients, understand their industry and be driven by their needs.

Essentially, doing the best thing for clients is the best thing you can do for you and your own business.”

For law firms, in particular MinterEllison, BD is a lot more connected than it once was. It is about building relationships, having something insightful and intelligent to say and bringing a wider range of skills, process automation and increasing artificial intelligence into the deal.

“Increasingly our pitches are not about legal issues, but about how we help clients efficiently deliver against their business opportunities.”

The company differentiated itself from the many law firms that were crowding the industry and opened up other markets. Its opportunities are bigger and it is breaking the mould as a business with not just a law function, but also a full suite of professional advisory services.

MinterEllison now has its eye on expanding further into different industries and increasing its nonlegal services. It is a major part of the 2020 strategy as it looks to weather industry pressures and increasing competition, whilst continuing to build on its recordbreaking revenue growth.BFM

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BFM | PROPERTY

7 FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO A PROPERTY’S VALUE Buying a home is for many the largest purchase they will ever make in their life. People put their life savings on the line in hope of making a good investment for their future, but nothing is ever a guarantee as the Australian property market is under constant change.

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here are certain things you can do to increase your chances of getting a good return on your investment the day you do decide to sell your home.

1. Know your demographic Each property is unique and needs to be judged on its own merits including its location, style and size. Before buying or selling your home it is worth researching the area to get an understanding for the demographic that lives there.

Are there many young families,

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first time buyers, downsizers or singles? Each demographic has different needs, wants and lifestyles, for example, if a property is located close to a school, there is a high chance that the property will attract families with children.

One better is if the property is in a desirable school zone, then the buyers are likely to pay that bit extra.

If you are looking to buy a home, it is important to thoroughly research and do your due diligence to make sure you get the most of

your return later on. The same goes to the vendor who might be looking to sell, it is beneficial to know who your future buyer might be to make improvements on your home before putting it on the market to increase your chances of getting a higher sale price. Our advisors at PropertyDuo by WBP Group thoroughly research current market trends to be able to educate people on their property journey, whether they are a first-time home buyer, homeowner or investor.

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PROPERTY| BFM

2. Valuable land Land size underpins the value of a property, especially in today’s market as lots become smaller in order to make room for our increasing population. In some instances, the land accounts for 70 per cent or more of the total value of a property. Before deciding to purchase, consider how the value of the physical site compares to the value of the dwelling. If the value of the property is weighted towards the dwelling itself, such as is the case for high-rise apartments; it is unlikely to benefit from significant levels of future capital growth. When assessing a property remember one simple thing; land appreciates and improvements (buildings) depreciate.

3. Physical floor space Increasing a property’s physical floor space, for example adding bedrooms, having more than one bathroom and an open modern kitchen, can generally add the most value to a property however these can come at an expense.

As such, buyers need to avoid overcapitalising. Naturally costs should not exceed the value added to the property. An extra room may add thousands of dollars to a property, depending on location of the dwelling and its type. Adding an additional living area or bedroom to one, two and three-bedroom homes in inner and middle ring areas, can be particularly valuable as it may attract the property to medium size families in addition to singles and professional couples. Adding a room is not always advised. To determine whether it will add value, analyse the dominant property and buyer types in the local area.

4. Kitchen and bathroom It is often said that kitchen and bathrooms sell homes and in many cases this saying is true.

Kitchen and bathroom renovations are among the most common, as

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these areas tend to date quickly.

A modern kitchen can be a huge selling point and the number of bathrooms will always influence a property’s value. Keeping these areas up to date when selling can be quite costly so make sure you target the renovation and materials for the demographic. Renovating a bathroom in marble with top end brands does not necessarily mean that you will reach a higher sale price, if people in that area are not expecting this kind of luxury they might not be willing to pay for it and you will most likely not get your money back on that investment.

5. First impressions A manicured front garden is extremely important. When selling a property presentation is everything and first impressions count. Interested buyers may drive past a house prior to an inspection and if the property presents poorly from the outside it may deter buyers. With that said, there is a risk of overcapitalising when developing garden landscapes.

Land size and location are two major variables to consider.

6. Heritage features The architectural style of the dwelling can also impact the value for the home and the price you will receive on auction day.

Many people value features like fireplaces, ornate cornices, wide skirtings, high ceilings, which add character to a home and is costly to replace. For example, in inner-city localities Victorian and Edwardian style properties are very popular and highly sought. Think twice before knocking down an older style house as it might be worth more to restore and renovate, rather than knocking it down and building a new one.

7. Close to the local village Location is the one thing you cannot change and one of the attributes that adds the most value to a home.

House prices can vary several $100,000 just by being placed in different streets or having a glimpse of the water for example. Many people also value being in close proximity to lifestyle amenities and the local village with shops, restaurants, public transport, schools etc. This is something that people will most likely be willing to pay some extra for.

Last but certainly not least While some factors can make a massive difference in a property’s value, there are certain attributes that could decrease its value that you also should take into consideration. Some negative factors to avoid are: • Buying on main roads and near train or tramlines, as this will add to the noise level.

• Environmental risks: i.e. overhead transmission lines.

• Access to poor or non-existent public transport, shops and/or schools.

• The existence of only one bathroom, especially in homes that have more than two bedrooms.

• Layout and design, which reduce the openness of internal areas and feels claustrophobic. Natural light and the feeling of space is very valuable.

• No garaging, lack of storage and built in robes will also impact the price.

Before making one of the largest purchases in your life, make sure you have done your homework and have taken these things into consideration. BFM Greville Pabst, Executive Chairman of WBP Group is one of the buyer’s advocates on The Block on Channel 9 and a regular commentator on Sky News, Herald Sun, Australian Financial Review and The Australian, helping everyday Australians make better property decisions. www.wbpgroup.com.au & www. propertyduo.com.au

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BFM | ECOMMERCE

HOW TO DOMINATE ONLINE SHOPPING A great eCommerce website, fast delivery promise and 24/7 customer service are no longer differentiators. They’re the price of entry. Here’s how to dominate online shopping.

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nline transactions in Australia have now surpassed $20 billion per annum. We’re also one of the world’s leading smartphone adopters, with a staggering 88% market penetration. Recent growth in smartphone adoption is being driven by older generations and, unsurprisingly, mobile purchases have increased by 25% since 2016.

“People don’t buy on phones” is a myth.

An excellent user experience for customers, no matter where they are, is paramount. Responsive websites that work perfectly across computers, tablets and smartphones are a given. If customers want to buy from apps – as many do for repeat purchases – an awesome app experience on iPhone and Android also goes without saying. Here are some principles for retailers to dominate online shopping.

BE ‘ECOMMERCE UNFRIENDLY’ US-based home improvement retailer Home Depot’s sales have increased at over 6 percent annually for the past 5 years. Online sales account for $6.5 billion in revenue for the past year, making it the fourth biggest eCommerce player in the US. Over 40 percent of Home Depot’s online orders are picked up from stores.

Home Depot’s growth is the result of focusing on products that are ‘eCommerce unfriendly’. Think sophisticated power tools and home renovation supplies. Customers need advice on these products from experienced associates in store, and the in-store experience and

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staffing strategy has been geared around this.

Retailers are in the business of service, not products, and finding an expert service niche creates value for the customer and helps to achieve a premium retailer positioning. What expert service can a retailer provide that others can’t? The answer is often found in the call centre and on the shop floor, in both the questions customers call and email to ask and the skill-sets of staff. Retailers, be eCommerce unfriendly and lead with service to win.

GO WHERE AMAZON CAN’T Amazon now accounts for 44 per cent of all online sales in the US. If that doesn’t frighten Australian retailers, it should.

Now that Amazon has landed, selling commodities online in Australia is over. If Amazon sells it, it’s unlikely that you can sell it faster or cheaper or better. So don’t. Amazon is the world’s most valuable company, and there’ll only be one winner if you take the retailing giant head-on.

Instead, go where Amazon can’t.

Get clear about what you’re really selling. Like Home Depot, most companies, even those that sell products, are really in the service business. How can you out-service Amazon? Home Depot achieves this in-store, though you can also achieve it online.

Nuts.com has gone where Amazon can’t. Who would’ve thought buying nuts online could be so awesome? Take a look and notice the nut-specific touches

throughout. Special advice for dietary needs and fussy eaters, an incredibly thoughtful and intricate product range, useful recipes, amazing nutrition breakdowns, storage tips, and a heads up on expiry dates for short shelf life products during checkout. Amazon can’t go this niche with this much care – it’s not scalable enough. By understanding Amazon’s business model and learning what your customer wants better than anyone else, you can go where Amazon can’t and win.

UNDERSTAND YOUR ROLE To help you navigate where you can go and what you’re really selling, understand why customers choose to hire you. If you’re selling high-value items purchased occasionally, like cars or beds, you’re a concierge and educator. If you’re selling clothing, you’re a stylist ensuring a look and fit. If you’re selling consumables and household goods, like groceries or pizza, you’re an order-taker and rapid deliverer. If you’re selling travel and transport, you’re a peoplemoving utility.

Virgin America understands its role. The airline increased its online conversion rate by 14 per cent by streamlining bookings to less than 60 seconds. In terms of online, the airline is a utility. Let customers book with speed, and stay out of their way.

INTRODUCE THE RIGHT UPSELLS The Village of Useful’s work on a national travel website increased

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ECOMMERCE| BFM

revenue by 20% with the right upsells. The right upsell isn’t selling, it’s helping. Approaching upsells and cross-sells from the customer’s point of view, not the retailer’s, helps to educate customers by showing them alternate or complementary products that genuinely improve their situation.

The art of the upsell isn’t knowing when to do it and when to resist it, but how to

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personalise the right offering to the right people at the right time. Launching online A/B tests is a helpful way to work out the right balance, whereby different customers see different upsell offers and sales data is used to inform the approach.

PRIORITISE INVESTMENT IN THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Jeff Bezos invested 100 times more in customer experience than

advertising during the first year of Amazon, and took the company public three years later. $5,000 in shares at the time of Amazon’s IPO is worth over $2.4 million today.

With online, an amazing customer experience that drives repeat sales and word of mouth beats advertising. BFM Andy Howard is Director of The Village of Useful.

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BFM | PROFILE

A new movement in fitness Adala Bolto is the female entrepreneur who is about to take training for women to a whole new level. In 2018 Adala co-founded ZADI Training, a new boutique fitness concept that features workouts combining both HIIT and resistance training, with exclusively for women.

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Adala Bolto

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here has been a fundamental shift in the industry when it comes to functional group training, hence the concept of ZADI was born in July 2017. Functional training in small groups came about specifically to solve some of the major pain points experienced by traditional gym customers. Since then, small group training has been the growth engine in the fitness industry. In Australia alone, IBISWorld predicts revenue in the gym industry will grow at a compound annual rate of 9.3 per cent over the five years through 2016-17, to reach $2.1 billion.

With a continued passion for fitness and seeing her loyal clientele grow to achieve their goals, Adala saw a gap in the Australian market for a bespoke fitness program, targeting the younger female market, aged 1834 years. In July 2017, equipped with a clever idea and a strong business plan, Adala teamed up with Fernwood, Australia’s leading female fitness brand, and co-founded ZADI Training, a new boutique fitness concept that features workouts combining both HIIT and resistance training.

ZADI offer unique programs, steering away from the typical ‘gym crowd’, working with Australian renowned exercise scientist, Damien Kelly to design workout systems. Damien’s extensive years and knowledge in the fitness industry have led him to develop cutting edge programs for many Australians. At ZADI, the specialised workout systems are female targeted and set out to achieve three things which are essential to achieving results: challenge, variety and fun. These three key structures allow for challenging yet achievable workouts you can do so that every hour

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PROFILE| BFM

spent sweating is maximised. Each day these workouts are fresh and different ensuring your workout are always inspirational and never boring. Atmosphere is a key factor in ZADI, not only are the trainer’s experts at enticing you with the latest music tracks they are high energy personalities that will leave members with a positive attitude.

“The membership targets per studio are not massive as we are a boutique concept,” says Bolto.

“We’re aiming for 300 members per studio in the first 12 months’ post launch. Our female-targeted programs are exclusive to ZADI. They’re unique and simple, and are not only backed by science, but are fun, balanced, challenging and achieve real results.

“ZADI have a solid business plan in place to take us through to the next 5 years. We’re definitely not planning on a slow growth path, with 50+ locations projected to roll-out in the next two years across Australia, with a big focus on the East Coast to commence with. Looking at ahead, we have our eyes on some of the high growth international markets including Asia Pacific and the Middle East. These are high growth markets across many industries with a demand for new and innovative concepts – specifically in the Middle East where our exclusive female-only studios will be well received.”

Adala holds a unique story, with over 12 years in the industry she has always had a strong passion and dedication for fitness. Adala established her management and operational skills earlier on in her career working as a Regional Retail Manager for a leading Australian fashion retailer. Adala engaged in handling team management, customer service and operational issues across the business.

With a career change in 2006, Adala decided to follow her interest in fitness by achieving a Certificate III and IV in Fitness, becoming a qualified personal training for over ten years. In her personal training career Adala excelled in tailored programs specifically for women and group fitness. Her perfected programs included workouts such as Body Pump, Body Attack, Body

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Vibe, Body Tep and Boxing.

Given Adala’s personal training skills and her history of managerial experience, in 2014 Adala became the acting manager at Australia’s leading female fitness network Fernwood. Growing into her new role Adala eventually went on to be the Franchisee of Fernwood located in Ryde. During the 8 years of owning and operating the health club as a franchisee, Adala has successfully achieved year-on-year growth across all areas of the business.

During her time as a Franchisee and acting manager Adala’s persistence and hard work was recognised and as a result she received consecutive nominations for Club Manager of the Year through the Fernwood Franchisee conference. Additionally, Adala achieved nominations for Functional Fit Finalist at the same conference three years in a row, winning an award in 2016.

With a strong passion and dedication for fitness and over 12 years in the industry, Adala Bolto has brought ZADI Training from concept to launch in a little under 12 months, with the first two studios planned to open in NSW (Surry Hills & Neutral Bay) in June and July this year. ZADI is more than a new

concept gym. ZADI is a fitness movement created to unleash the ‘extraordinary’ in women. ZADI focuses on celebrating women and empowering women to thrive and reach for their goals. ZADI believe in women that know what they want, that challenge the status quo, that thrive on personal challenge and succeed in their own right. ZADI represents the celebration of womanhood and the strength of women – supporting them to achieve anything they set their mind too.

ZADI plays an integral part in one of the highest growth sectors in the fitness industry. They’ve been inviting franchisees to be part of a network that offers key benefits including a simple, low cost setup, simplified systems and virtually paperless and a comprehensive marketing plan with ongoing support. They have also gained the support of Fernwood Fitness, with founder Dr Williams coming on board to cofound the movement.

Adala’s brainchild ZADI Training, is set to make a strong foot print in the Australian fitness industry with ambitious plans to rollout many locations across the local market and further expansion plans internationally. BFM

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BFM | ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

CAREERS IN AI: NEW JOBS CREATED BY BOTS (THAT YOU PROBABLY HAVEN’T HEARD OF)

The new era of automation has stirred up a lot of anxiety about bots and artificial intelligence (AI) taking people’s jobs. By George Wilson

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ajor brands are actively embedding these technologies into their care and sales organisations, passing off simple or routine tasks to bots and reducing the workload for human agents. But rather than taking jobs away, bots have generated a host of new roles that are now necessary to organisations’ success.

When web and mobile app paradigms emerged in the ’90s and mid-’00s, respectively, they

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created new demand for different skill sets and introduced positions across development, UX, design, strategy, and testing. AI is doing the same today. Bots aren’t able to successfully handle the breadth of customer interactions without significant training. They need to learn the nuances of language and how to craft appropriate responses.

Then, they need to be coached, managed, measured, and adjusted based on performance. This has given rise to a new industry

of conversational commerce specialists.

LivePerson has a team of experts in the new, hot field of conversational design dedicated to creating bots that talk with consumers, in tandem with human agents, getting their questions answered and needs addressed while staying on brand. This team is comprised of designers, managers, and analysts who make sure bots use the right language at the right time all the time — or can

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE| BFM

non-stilted way. They also address the fundamental issues of a bot’s personality and tone of voice, ensuring both reflect the brand it represents. A good bot can express empathy, reassure a frustrated customer, and make conversations seem effortless. Our conversational designers are trained in the art of dialogue: we’ve hired former actors and professional playwrights — excellent at listening — to put their skills to new use designing conversations for bots.

‘Bot managers watch conversations in realtime dashboards that highlight interactions most in need of human intervention’

correct the conversation if it ever goes off track.

For people who are interested in the industry but lack an engineering or technology background, this is an exciting new area of opportunity as the world moves away from coded interfaces, with buttons and fixed layouts, towards more natural, conversational ones. The following roles are in demand right now as organisations hasten to implement automation.

CONVERSATIONAL DESIGNER Conversational designers create the dialogues that enable bots to interact with humans in a natural,

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BOT MANAGER Bots aren’t plug-and-play solutions, and they can’t learn in a vacuum. They need the right teachers — or bot managers, who coach them on how to respond to different scenarios. These managers can also course-correct when a bot gets things wrong. In their day-to-day, bot managers watch conversations in realtime dashboards that highlight interactions most in need of human intervention. When one requires attention, a manager steps in, takes over the conversation, and sets it on the right track.

CONVERSATIONAL ANALYST Think of bots as additional employees. Like their human colleagues, they need to be

reviewed regularly to measure performance. Conversational analysts read transcripts of bots’ conversations with humans, parse data, and track progress, looking carefully for mistakes — either in factual misunderstandings or miscalculations in tone of voice.

Then, these analysts make sure bots are being implemented in the appropriate scenarios, improve scripts, and set them up for success.

Conversational interfaces, such as the smartphone’s messaging apps, have become the default way consumers connect with each other, favoured around 90 per cent of the time when compared to voice. As messaging apps and voice assistants like Alexa and Siri also begin to dominate how consumers communicate with businesses, brands urgently need to be able to meet customers through the conversational interfaces they prefer.

And like the professionals who build mobile technology, specialists in conversational design and AI will be just as rare and just as sought after, as this technology moves to dominate customer service.

In a few years, conversational design — and related areas like conversational architecture, conversational analytics, and AI journey management — will be as well-known and widespread as the skills that underpin how humans and computers interact.

Companies will be searching for top talent to fill the roles above and think strategically and creatively about these new technologies.

And they won’t need “engineer” on their résumés to land the job. BFM George Wilson, Director of Sales Operations, APAC at Paessler AG – PRTG Network Monitor

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BFM | MOTIVATION

How to better understand and enhance your motivation By now most people would accept that personal motivation is intrinsically born from within the individual and subsequently can’t be conveniently and externally manufactured by others.

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t best managers, teachers and mentors who are charged with the responsibility of improving skills and performance, can only go as far as setting up an environment that is conducive to stimulate that motivation and bring it out of the individual, who operates within that supportive environment.

This environment acts as a pure catalyst to fuelling those internal drivers that together fuel individual performance and drive positive outcomes. The only caveat then is that the correct motivation already needs to be there to begin with.

Understanding this, it becomes a critical success factor for every individual to understand their own motivators and the practical steps as to how they can go about enhancing them to better achieve their personal and professional objectives. The following simple steps can help to simplify this process for you.

Step 1. Identify your personal drivers The first step is to examine your own personal drivers. Namely those factors that stimulate desire in you to continually be interested and committed to behave or act in a certain way or to achieve a goal or desired outcome. This can result from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious factors.

It is reasonable to say that motivated people usually act in a way that goes beyond what a reasonable person would do, based on the available external factors being present.

So, for example a firm may have a monthly prize of a $30 DVD voucher for the sales representative that has the highest call rate of any rep

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nationally. Within this scenario in place one rep by spending an extra half hour a day, consistently wins this bonus despite having to work an extra 10 hours a month. In this case, the outcome may be winning the award but the true motivation that drives the individual’s commitment to achieve this goal is not the $30 voucher, but rather the need for recognition and managerial acknowledgement and / or perhaps the respect of their other sales colleagues.

The ability to identify your key motivations and to look for supporting behaviours that validate them is critical and requires on the part of the individual a reasonable degree of self-awareness as a key foundation for all emotional intelligence skills. So for you personally, what are your true, sustained and most powerful personal drivers? Is it achievement, recognition, competition, variation, winning or proving others wrong that fuels your desire?

Step 2. What is the underlying goal for this motivation Behind every motivational impulse lies a causative need.

For example, you may feel a great urge to not be noticed at larger business meetings and feel more comfortable in the background, simply observing and recording what is happening within the meeting. You continue to act this way despite the obvious advantages of speaking up at the right times and providing appropriate content during the meeting and in so doing demonstrating to all your knowledge, insights and potential to grow within the firm.

So why are you reluctant in these

situations when it is a genuine opportunity to position yourself in the eyes of key decision makers? Do you for example have an underlying fear of not knowing what you need to know in your role, or providing feedback that may be inaccurate or perhaps sharing an opinion that is unpopular and against the grain of what is considered conventional wisdom within the firm at present.

Step 3. Address the gaps between your current and ideal motivational mix.

From the example above let us assume for the sake of argument, that you do indeed fear answering a question and providing a wrong answer based on a lack of product knowledge or other technical skill.

This new awareness is the basis for change and will provide you with the insight to understand what changes you need to make to ensure that you have the requisite knowledge and answers in future

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MOTIVATION| BFM

meetings. These gaps can occur for several reasons and over a lengthy period but once the issue is identified and appropriate action taken, the solution to bridging this gap can occur quickly and successfully.

Step 4. Identify the valued alternative outcomes that these missing motivators would bring.

By envisaging the alternative outcome that these behavioural changes would provide over time and how these new outcomes would benefit and drive greater achievement and success for you, it becomes apparent that the processes being followed are the right ones to gain future success regardless of what thaey might be.

Positive contributions during a management meeting may for example: • Position you positively for a future role within a new area • Provide proof of your expertise in

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this field as a basis for promotion • Earn you recognition within your peer group • Drive positive changes within your organisation • Develop your reputation as a high potential employee earmarked for more advanced level training Step 5. Re-align your new behaviour sets Re-align your new behaviour sets to these revised motivations and focus on the value that those alternative outcomes will provide you over time. Behavioural science has clearly demonstrated repeatedly that around 3 to 4 weeks of continuous focus on new behaviours leads to them becoming ingrained as new habits that delete and replace earlier, unwanted habits that stemmed from other motivations that took us away from our ideal, behavioural outcomes, be they professionally based or otherwise.

SUMMARY It is important to always remember that people are different and will not surprisingly have different types of motivation and to different degrees. There should be no judgement made here as there is no right or wrong but simple observations undertaken of those behaviours, and a logical analysis made of how well or otherwise they align to your stated goals. From this a proactive action plan that emphasises practical tactical steps can be developed and implemented to make any necessary adjustments that will drive more productive and successful long-term outcomes for you. BFM Daniele Lima is the Managing Director of Road Scholars Training & Strategic Consultancy And the author of the new book: The Practical Guide to Selling with Emotional Intelligence.

Email: admin@roadscholars.training Web: www.roadscholarstraining.com

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BFM |WORKPLACE RECOVERY

Three reasons your workplace recovery strategy needs a re-think Businesses are waking up to the fact that their workplace recovery plans may not be fit for purpose in a crisis scenario and a flexible, dynamic workplace revolution is poised to sweep through the industry. By Joe Sullivan would send the 20 or so ‘critical’ staff to work from space next to the server. That’s the model the industry has followed – but it is a model which is redundant.

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ustralia is no stranger to natural disasters; from hurricane, floods and bushfires, mother nature can strike at any time and without warning.

By 2050, natural disaster costs in Australia are predicted to reach $39 billion per year. But adverse weather events only account for a portion of workplace recovery incidents. Interruption to utility supplies, IT outages, health and safety incidents and increasingly, the advent of cyber-attacks and data breaches can all force crippling workplace disruptions.

As the Australian business landscape changes and the global economy becomes increasingly competitive, traditional workplace recovery strategies haven’t kept pace with modern needs and trends.

Historically, companies built their strategy around IT. This meant that when disaster stuck, to keep critical staff working, businesses needed access to their data. The solution was to keep offices near a recovery server ready for when a problem shut the office down. If that happened, businesses

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WHY? THERE ARE THREE MAIN REASONS: 1. Technology Technology has evolved dramatically since most large businesses first developed a workplace recovery strategy. The rise in cloud computing means that data is not housed in one particular place. It can be accessed from anywhere. This means a recovery plan no longer needs to be based entirely on the location of servers. It can be based on what works best for your business at a particular time.

2. Flexibility to choose from multiple locations Recovering to one fixed recovery location can be a logistical nightmare – if not ill-advised. Of course, if a small leak in an office has rendered it unusable, you can move staff to a specific, identified back-up office. But what if your city is flooded or facing another equally significant impact event?

Chances are one of two things could occur if you are dependent for recovery on one specific location.

Either your back-up location will also be hit, or your people won’t be able to get there even if the building is accessible. In today’s world, a smart business needs to develop a workplace recovery strategy that is responsive and dynamic. One which can evolve to a live situation.

3. Outdated Business Model of Shared seats Third, the traditional financial model of making workplace recovery centres profitable

revolves around oversubscribing each centre – essentially selling the same ‘seat’ to 10 or so different businesses. This makes sense based on the assumption that different businesses will not need recovery at the same time. But in the example above – a major incident affecting large swathes of a city – chances are multiple companies will be impacted.

Businesses therefore run the risk that at the one time they need the recovery seat they’ve been paying for, someone else may be sitting in it! The Syndicated or shared seats model is like buying insurance, without any guarantee of return.

The old system was the best for the time when it was designed – the 1980s. But like so many industries, it is ready for a technology-driven disruption.

Traditional workplace recovery providers are going to be hit hard and, in the end, replaced by dynamic providers. Static offices will be replaced by flexible, peoplefirst partnerships.

WHAT MAKES A DYNAMIC WORKPLACE RECOVERY PROVIDER? Primarily, a network of business centres that can guarantee recovery seats and provide the flexibility to choose from multiple sites depending upon crisis coverage, to ensure their customers can continue working, irrespective of unforeseen events.

Businesses need a smart strategy which ensures business continuity and agility at times of unexpected crises.

It might be time to dust of your workplace recovery strategy and ask whether it is still fit for purpose. BFM Joe Sullivan is Managing Director of Regus Workplace Recovery.

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THE LEADER’S BOOKSHELF| BFM

THE LEADER’S BOOKSHELF:

HOW TO READ A NON-FICITON BOOK

To answer work out how to read a non-fiction book, you need to determine what kind of book you’re reading. Reviews by Daniel G Taylor

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on-fiction books fall into two categories: those presenting original ideas and those synthesising existing ideas.

Those which synthesise ideas combine the author’s experience and insights, based on research done by others.

In contrast, original books introduce groundbreaking ideas that challenge the way you think about a topic, drawing on a combination of synthesis, experience, and the author’s research.

SOMETHING OLD: WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR CULTURAL CHANGE? That’s not to say that books which synthesise ideas are not without value.

The first book this month fits gives a visual facelift to old ideas: Feedback Flow: The Ultimate Illustrated Guide to Embed Change in 90 Days by Georgia Murch.

What makes this book fresh is the beautiful physical full-colour presentation. However, the content is straightforward, and almost all of it has appeared in other books.

Those ideas include: • Set goals you can achieve within 90 days.

• Incorporate feedback as a regular practice within your organisation.

• The most significant factor in creating leadership change is the character and competence of the leader.

This last idea especially bears repeating.

Competent leaders aren’t necessarily great leaders. Great leaders possess the character that earns them trust.

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SOMETHING NEW: 80% OF PROPERTY INVESTING IS EMOTIONAL MASTERY In contrast, Let’s Get Real: Discover the Reasons Most Australian Property Investors Fail to Get the Results They Desire by Luke Harris and Matthew Bateman (collectively known as the Property Mentors), presents a fresh idea: The reason most property investors don’t get the results they desire has nothing to do with their chosen investment strategy. These investors struggle because they’re putting the how-to ahead of the why.

“In our opinion, the biggest reason most investors fail to get truly amazing results is that they ignore the 80% of emotional work that generates the bulk of their results. Instead, they focus all of their attention on the remaining 20% — the technicalities. This is like trying to build a house with just a hammer and without any blueprints or plans!”

If you’re not getting the investment results you seek, ask yourself, Am I focusing on the 80% of work or the 20%?

SOMETHING BLUE: HOW TO AVOID DEATH BY POWERPOINT I applied the “something blue” part of the wedding blessing to the book in this section because the book is about using visuals for impact and blue is a word you can picture.

You don’t have to sit through many presentations before you experience “death by PowerPoint”: the dense, text-heavy slides which the speaker uses as cue cards.

Speakers who make those kinds of slides stand there and read the text to their audience.

Let’s be clear about the purpose of slides: Slides are VISUAL aids.

Slides are supposed to enhance recall of your points. Adding pictures to your presentation increases recall by 65%.

In Visual Thinking: How to Transform the Way You Think, Communicate, and Influence with Presentations, Emma Bannister teaches readers how to prepare a presentation that will have the maximum visual impact.

Bannister doesn’t think about B2B or B2C, for her, all communication is human to human. By making your presentations visual, you’ll make sure your messages are made memorable.

So coming back to those two non-fiction categories — original and synthesis — knowing which one of them the book you’re about to read falls into will shape how you read that book.

Books which are a synthesis of existing ideas can be skimmed and scanned. But books presenting original ideas need a careful reading, backed up by memory recall techniques such as mind mapping and organising your notes.

The easiest way to work out whether a book presents original ideas or synthesises old ideas is to flick through the book spending no more than two seconds per page.

This overview helps you determine the category so you can choose whether to read the book carefully or skim it quickly, looking for the fresh idea — and there’s almost always one.

Your job is to find it..

Online copywriter Daniel G. Taylor helps businesses attract visitors to

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BFM | HEALTH

Understanding body type and its importance for workplace

In this article, Neerja Ahuja, Ayurveda practitioner and Principal Consultant at Ayurveda Awareness will share the benefits and how you can use Ayurveda practice in the workplace.

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n today’s high technology and fast paced world, almost everyone feels overwhelmed and overly busy. In one way or another, we all have experienced work-related stress. Some people may feel trapped in a rat race and meeting deadlines become their daily routine. Stress on the job creates a variety of symptoms, including fatigue, increased anger, problems with relationships, inability to focus properly, stress headaches, insomnia and a variety of stress related diseases. Longterm stress can lead to serious problems such as acquiring critical illnesses and more.

Effective stress management is key to having a balanced work life.

You can’t always avoid the tensions that occur on the job, but you can take steps to manage work-related stress.

In Ayurveda, your career and work is linked to who you are in your body. For example, knowing your doshas (kapha, pitta, or vata) (see box at the end for definition of dosha) – that is, your mindbody type and what is typical of that mind-body type and how that relates to your environment will give you a clue about what type of work would suit you. Having a deeper understanding of who you are, allows you to modify your current working condition which makes your work environment more enriching and satisfying.

Consequently, if you are in a position that you can’t change your situation, you may want to know about what types of jobs you should look for that are less stressful to you.

VATA DOSHA For a person who has a dominating Vata Dosha, he or she may be

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typically more susceptible to mental stress. While many Vata types do well in creative or mental jobs, it could create too much stress if the mental workload is intense.

Vata types do best if they have moderately relaxing jobs, without excessive mental or physical activity. The Vata dominant minds are ever curious and creative, fundamentally motivated by the need for change and stimulation.

Vata helps to create something out of nothingness with ideas coming from nowhere. Vata types can give them plenty of change, renewal, variety, novelty, stimulation, freedom to move and think relatively freely. If they work with a healthy amount of experimentation and exploration they will love and thrive in that kind of context.

Our Ayurvedic recommendations for work, and career strengths for

VATA types, is that at work and probably anywhere else, make an effort to practice moderation.

Excessive responsibilities or boredoms, or interruptions, multitasking will feed their erratic and nervous kind of nature. They have to pay close attention to their working environment and they need fresh air, and the fluorescent kind of light, too much movement, dryness and coldness, or air conditioning, will further aggravate their VATA imbalance.

They may do well in creative work, eg., in art, music, or dance, as designers, or photographer.

These are some areas of work which may suit them. Having said that, each person is unique and they may create their own niche by understanding themselves better.

This is true for every one and every body type.

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HEALTH| BFM

PITTA DOSHA People who have more Pitta in their bodies are intense and competitive.

When in balance, they are a realist, a leader, a planner, a decision maker. But if out of balance, they can become aggressive and self-promoting; chances are, they’ll eventually overheat (both physically and mentally).

This shows up emotionally as anger, irritation, frustration and resentment. Pitta dosha is like fire: hot, intense, penetrating, radiant, bright, mobile, expansive, and light. Pitta dominant minds are fundamentally motivated by the need to have a goal, a challenge, something to do and get engaged with, to digest, to understand and assimilate deeply.

Pitta types need their work to be going somewhere; it needs to be goal oriented, clearly structured.

There can be a preference for moderate to high levels of pressure and intensity. Exploration and experimentation are fine, but will be more calculated and focused than for vata. Pitta people get empowered by their own challenges, competition, decision making, and overcoming obstacles, an excess of these conditions will make them impatient, irritable, and domineering. They need to make sure that they keep their working environment cool and resist their tendency to compete and be better than everybody else, and be the boss.

People with a lot of pitta in their body type may find success in elite level sports, law, finance or politics and any other place where they are leaders in their own right.

KAPHA DOSHA Those who have more Kapha Dosha in their bodies are people who are slow but steady, reliable, and compassionate, heavy, immobile, dense, solid, smooth and moist, cool are some other words that are used with Kapha.

When they are in balance, they have a lot of stamina, endurance, and strength. Kapha people often use these qualities to make a business or operation run smoothly. But if their job is sedentary, then they can

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slip into complacency, inertia, possessiveness, and collecting or hoarding. They may not like change and avoid it even when it may be beneficial.

Kapha dominant minds are fundamentally motivated by the need to create security and stability, comfort and cohesion.

Our Ayurvedic recommendation for Kapha types are for them to bring variation in their routine to get over their tendency to get stuck in a rut. Creating challenges for themselves is highly recommended. For example, sign up for a class in something that sparks their interest.

Kapha body type people may find satisfaction and excellence in caring professions like medicine, or horticulture where they are nourishing plants, in manual labour jobs or where they are managing or creating structures or where structure and repetition is required.

A BALANCING ACT - BI-DOSHIC AND TRIDOSHIC PEOPLE As well as finding the work that best suits you, that ‘goes with the grain’ so to speak, you should also pay attention to keeping balance, avoiding the common pitfalls inherent in your particular area of expertise. And if you are a “bi-doshic” (when people have two doshas which are more prominent) or “tridoshic” (all the three doshas are in almost equal proportion and they will show up in different circumstances, as required by life at that moment) rather than a “mono-doshic”, then how and what kind of work do we do so we don’t get too anxious or create a burn out or just don’t get out of the rut!

This requires a good understanding of who we are innately.BFM

FINAL WORDS To learn more about your dosha and understand yourself better when it comes to your work and career we also have our full course which will help you to have a wider and deeper understanding about yourself. In this course, you will learn what foods to eat and avoid, what exercises to do

Key Ayurvedic Terms

Ayurveda A thousands of years old system of healing with origins in the “Vedic” culture of ancient India. The Sanskrit word Ayurveda is derived from the root words “ayu”, meaning “life” or “longevity,” and “veda”, meaning “science”. Ayurveda literally translates as, “the Science of Life.”

Dosha One of three functional energies in nature: vata, pitta, and kapha. In the body, it is the unique ratio of these three “doshas” that determines an individual’s “prakruti” (constitution / mind – body type). When the doshas are present in “appropriate” quantities, they support the health and integrity of the body; when they are out of balance, they can cause illness and disease.

Prakruti (or prakriti or mind-body type) Constitution; the unique ratio of “vata”, “pitta” and “kapha” doshas established at conception and resulting in a unique set of physical, emotional, and mental tendencies, strengths, and vulnerabilities.

Kapha. One of the three “doshas” (functional energies in nature); kapha is made up of the earth and water elements and governs structure and cohesiveness.

Pitta One of the three “doshas” (functional energies in nature); pitta is predominated by mainly fire and some air and water elements, and it governs transformation.

Vata One of the three doshas (functional energies in nature); vata is predominated by the space and air elements and governs movement and communication.

and which to avoid, how to improve your relationships, mental and emotional wellbeing and of course your career!

We also run 5 day Ayurveda Learning retreats. These are an intensive which fast-track you to a clear understanding of the Doshas – the mind body type. During the retreats, we learn about four main practical areas where Ayurveda can be useful to you – 1. Managing stress, 2.

Getting over tiredness and increasing vitality, 3. Improving Diet and Nutrition and 4. Enhancing Emotional Intelligence with Ayurveda. You can send us your expression of interest if you would be interested in coming to next retreat.

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BFM | TRAVEL

Ocean View Pool Villa

Luxury resort Trisara creates reimagined encounters with heritage The Thai family-owned luxury resort Trisara relaunched in December 2016 after completing extensive renovations. Committed to constantly reimagine how guests encounter its rich local heritage, the award-winning all-pool-villa beach resort introduces new villa categories, a holistic spa, unique restaurants and innovative personalized guest services.

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estled in a “managed jungle”, Trisara’s 39 hotel villas and 20 larger residences overlooking an exclusive beach have offered an unmatched guest experience since opening in 2004. Thick tropical vegetation surrounds each villa to provide guests with utmost privacy.

“Trisara’s relaunch will draw on our latest product design and service innovations to bring guests ever closer to our natural and cultural heritage,” said Mr. Narong Pattamasaevi, Chairman of Montara Hospitality Group, owner and operator of Trisara. Each new guest touchpoint introduced

by Trisara’s relaunch reflects his vision.

The new Ocean View Pool Junior Suites are perched on Trisara’s highest vantage point and feature a reflection pool that seems to float atop the resort’s manicured jungle.

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Beautiful lime-washed teak wood and Thai silk create an ambiance that is unmistakably Thai, elegant and timeless. On the same level, the larger Signature Ocean View Pool Suites offer an oversized king bed, ensuite bathroom, a living and dining area with convertible sofa bed, as well as an expansive deck with a 9 meter infinity pool. All suites overlook Trisara’s private beach and the turquoise waters of the Andaman Sea. Trisara’s new multi-bedroom residences bring together families & friends through wish-granting moments created by dedicated Thai service staff who prepare meals from the fully equipped kitchens and create memorable celebrations using the villas’ expansive teak decks and manicured gardens.

The newly renovated and renamed Jara Spa takes guests on a journey of balanced wellbeing.

Its holistic 5 pillar philosophy is inspired by the century old Ficus tree that envelops the spa, and the believe that by nourishing the roots, engaging with the earth, providing strength to the core and taking care of the inner self, outward beauty will ultimately blossom. Tailormade “Discoveries” allow guests to achieve total wellbeing by addressing some or all of the 5 pillars. For example, the “Jara Local Discovery” includes a Thai massage lesson, Samunpai scrub & wrap with local Thai herbs, a Thai thermal massage, Thai stretching and a walking meditation historically practiced by Buddhist monks.

PRU is a new dining experience that seeks to elevate the farm-totable-movement. It is a tribute to the unique terroir of the Andaman region. Grown on its own farm “Pru www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

TRAVEL| BFM

Jumpa”, foraged locally or sourced through a community of local farmers, fishermen and purveyors, each ingredient tells a unique story as it is transformed into original and inventive cuisine by Chef de Cuisine Jim Ophorst, Thailand’s contestant in the San Pellegrino Young Chef 2016 competition.

Seafood at Trisara has also been relaunched to give guests an authentic taste of the destination’s culinary culture. The new

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menu is inspired by traditional local “mama” recipes passed through the generations, offered in a relaxed, ocean front setting.

Each villa is assigned to a dedicated resort host who connects with guests prior to arrival and creates tailor-made experiences throughout their stay. Outside the resort, guests can discover local secrets & personalities during a personalized, hosted experience by their resort host.

The new guest experiences create memorable encounters with the destination’s local heritage for guests to share with loved ones. Trisara’s DDEN, the world’s first resort production studio with professional photographers and videographers helps guests tell their own stories through novel digital formats, including photo, video and virtual reality.

“With our new facilities and guest experiences we have reimagined the nurturing of our heritage, both in terms of the natural environment

and local values,” added Mr. Narong. “Trisara has always been recognized as a luxury destination.

The relaunch elevates our brand promise by creating opportunities for our guests to encounter our rich heritage in ways yet unimagined.”

Trisara’s recent awards include: • 2018 Gold List of Condé Nast Traveler (Only Beach Resort in Phuket) • TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice: #1 Hotel in Thailand • Top 100 Resorts: Robb Report • Gallivanter’s Guide: Best Resort Worldwide, Best Resort in South East Asia, Best Small Hotel/ Resort Under 100 Rooms, Best Resort Cuisine Worldwide, Best General Manager Worldwide • TTG Asia Awards: Best Beach Resort 2017 • Wine Spectator Award of Excellence 2016 For more information or bookings, please call Trisara Phuket, tel. +66 (0) 76 310 100 or email reservations@trisara.com.

You may also visit our website at www.trisara.com. BFM

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BFM | FASTLANE

New Cayenne a plug-in hybrid The next stage in Porsche’s journey towards e-mobility is the Cayenne E-Hybrid.

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he Cayenne’s plug-in hybrid drive enables acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in 5.0 seconds and a maximum speed of 253 kilometres per hour.

The new Cayenne E-Hybrid can drive up to a distance of 44 kilometres and speed of 135 kilometres per hour on electricity alone. The average consumption in the New European Drive Cycle (NEDC), depending on the set of tyres used, is 3.4 – 3.2 l/100 km of fuel and 20.9 – 20.6 kWh/100 km of electricity.

Alongside the launch of the Cayenne E-Hybrid, Porsche is expanding its range of comfort and assistance systems for the entire Cayenne series with additional options such as the new head-up display, massage seats and 22-inch light metal wheels.

While the performance of the combustion engine moderately improves on its predecessor by five kW (Seven hp) to 250 kW (340 hp), the performance of the electric engine is now over 43 per cent higher at 100 kW (136 hp).

Both combine for a total system power of 340 kW (462 hp). The boost strategy derived from the 918 Spyder supercar is a new addition.

It ensures that the electric engine can be used in all the standard Sport Chrono Package’s driving modes for an additional performance boost. This means the maximum system torque becomes available as you press the accelerator pedal. Depending on the driving situation and performance requirements, drivers can continue to draw on the boost torque across the entire range of speeds. This leads to a more agile and superior driving experience.

The extent of the boost support and battery charging during the journey depend on the driving mode. In the performance-focused Sport and Sport Plus modes, virtually all of the battery’s energy can be used for a boost. In Sport

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mode, the battery is charged just as much as is required for a new boost. In Sport Plus mode, the battery is recharged as quickly as possible.

CHARGING WITH THE PORSCHE CONNECT APP AND PORSCHE CHARGING SERVICE Battery capacity has improved significantly in the Cayenne E-Hybrid, along with the distance on electricity and the boost reserves: in comparison to the previous model, capacity increased from 10.8 to 14.1 kWh. This is an increase of around 30 per cent.

The fluid-cooled battery, stored beneath the loading floor in the rear of the car, consists of eight cell modules with 13 prismatic lithium ion cells each. Within 7.8 hours, the high-voltage battery is charged fully via a 230 volt connection with ten amps. if the optional 7.2 kilowatt on-board charger and a 230 volt connection with 32 amps are used as an alternative to the standard 3.6 kilowatt charger, the battery is ‘filled up’ again after only 2.3 hours.

The charging process can be managed and monitored via Porsche Communication Management (PCM) and remotely using the Porsche Connect app.

The independent climate control, i.e. heating and air conditioning when the ignition is switched off, is available as standard and can also be individually controlled via smartphone. Porsche Connect can also be used to find and filter charging stations and set them as a navigation destination. The new Porsche Charging Service allows cross-provider access to public charging stations – without requiring additional registration with the relevant provider. This is billed directly via the Porsche ID account.

NEW HYBRID MODULE AND RAPID SWITCHING TIPTRONIC S Porsche has redesigned the

Cayenne E-Hybrid’s drive train.

The hybrid module consists of a highly-integrated combination of electric engine and separating clutch. In contrast to the previous electro-hydraulic system with the spindle actuator, the separating clutch is operated electromechanically, which ensures even faster reaction times.

The transmission acquires the new Tiptronic S, newly developed for the entire Cayenne range with eight speeds. The automatic gearbox not only offers more comfortable and smoother starting but also speeds up switching.

Active hang-on all-wheel drive With Porsche Traction Management (PTM), the Cayenne E-Hybrid has an active hangon all-wheel drive with an electronically regulated, mapcontrolled multiplate clutch.

With its broad range of torque distribution, the system offers clear benefits in terms of driving dynamics, agility, traction control and offroad capabilities. Thanks to the brand new chassis, Cayenne E-Hybrid offers the same sports car driving dynamics as all models of the new Cayenne generation.

Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) is available as standard. Optional features include the electric Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) roll stabilisation system and a trailer connection for loads up to 3.5 tonnes.

NEW OPTIONS For the first time, head-up display is available in a Porsche. It projects all the relevant driving information directly into the driver’s line of vision in a full-colour display.

Other new features are the smart digital copilot Porsche InnoDrive with adaptive cruise control, massage seats, a heated windscreen, independent heating with remote operation and 22-inch light metal wheels.BFM www.businessfirstmagazine.com.au

FASTLANE| BFM

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