Business Plus August 2018

ISSUE 161 august 2018 Complimentary for EMA members

Global players Common themes in sustainable exporting – P26

Employment law duress: activism To catch a thief Fun and speedy staff training B2B procurement increasingly online

P5, 9 P17, 22

...AND MUCH MORE!

P18 P31

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On the cover: Pictured: Representatives of the

BusinessPlus is published by The Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern) Inc (EMA) EMA is the major shareholder of national lobby group, BusinessNZ. BusinessPlus is attached to EMA’s fortnightly email newsletter, e-report on August 8.

category winners of the 2018 Air New Zealand Cargo ExportNZ Awards are (from left): Stu Wilson of Endace, Ian Black of Gentrack Group, Steve Tucker of Gallagher Group, Cameron Ross of Ross Roof Group, Eleri Williams of Haka Educational Tours, John O’Keeffe of More4Apps and Daniel Maxwell of Auckland BioSciences. Winner, Sir Patrick Hogan, was absent. …..Read more, p30

Views expressed in BusinessPlus by non-EMA staff are not necessarily those of EMA. Editor: Mary MacKinven T +64 9 367 0939 M +64 21 636 089 E mary.mackinven@ema.co.nz Designer: Ripeka Mikaere Printer: SMP Solutions

ISSUE 161 august 2018 Complimentary for EMa members

Global players Common themes in sustainable exporting – P26

EmPloymEnt law dUrESS: aCtIvISm to CatCh a thIEf fUn and SPEEdy Staff traInInG B2B ProCUrEmEnt InCrEaSInGly onlInE

P5, 9 P17, 22 P18 P31

...and mUCh morE!

“Helping business succeed”

Contents CEO comment

5

EMA’s CEO Kim Campbell on: Outstanding response to ER campaign

Distributor: Orangebox

Commentary

Advertising sales: Colin Gestro, Affinity Ads, M + 64 27 256 8014 E colin@affinityads.com

Member Briefings highlight employment relations concerns

6

Business leadership on climate change matters

8

BusinessNZ CEO Kirk Hope on: Campaigning against old thinking for the modern world

9

Seen @ Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty ExportNZ Awards

10

Business activity and confidence mismatch

12

ISSN No. 1176-4953 EMA Head office – Auckland: 145 Khyber Pass Rd, Grafton, Auckland, NZ Private Bag 92066, Victoria St West, Auckland 1142.

P +64 9 367 0900 E ema@ema.co.nz Hamilton: EMA/ExportNZ Waikato 103 Tristram Street, Hamilton.

PO Box 490 Waikato Mail Centre, Hamilton 3240.

P +64 7 839 2710 Tauranga: ExportNZ Bay of Plenty Smart Business Centre, 65 Chapel Street, Bay Central, Tauranga, 3110.

PO Box 13202, Tauranga Central, Tauranga 3141.

P +64 7 571 0600 AdviceLine: NZ 0800 300 362 AUS 1800 300 362 E advice@ema.co.nz Phone 8am-8pm weekdays for information about employment and more, plus referrals to EMA Legal lawyers and your local EMA consultant in employment relations and/or occupational health and safety.

Visit www.ema.co.nz for owner and staff training programmes, conferences and other events, employer guides and templates, manufacturer services, media statements and submissions, export development and more EMA contacts Chief executive: Kim Campbell Membership manager: Kayne Franich GM Advocacy: Alan McDonald Public Affairs and Communications manager: Val Hayes GM Business Services: David Foley Employment Relations & Safety Manager: Paul Jarvie Finance & Technology manager: Paul Yeo Corporate & Building Services manager: Sheree Alcock Managing Solicitor EMA Legal: Matthew Dearing

X

Employment A moment of indiscretion is all it takes to lose a customer

13

EMA’s Risk Roadshow rates highly with members New legal obligations coming for employers, to victims of domestic violence

14

Paid parental leave period increases Employment Chat - Q&A: Mental health days bonus, working during parental leave, stealing company information

16

Micro-learning transforming training and development

18

Staff engagement reduces need for regulating communication

19

Staff profile 21

Meet Ava Williams, Membership Territory Manager

In business IT: Reducing insider security threats

22

Marketing: Google Analytics cheat sheet

23

Innovation: It’s not all about the bots

24

International trade Combatting slavery in modern times. Yes, really!

25

They saw, they went, they conquered: keys to export success

26

‘80s child now on trend

28

New broom in Mexico good news for NZ

29

Member profile 31

Solutionists: Business-to-business procurement is changing

+ Inside

Training Plus insert detailing August training courses

BusinessPlus is free to EMA members BusinessPlus August 2018

3

It’s time to act.

The Government is considering a Bill that threatens to undo many of the gains made in employment relations over the past few decades.

If passed, the Employment Relations Amendment Bill 2018 will not only seriously reduce your ability to engage and develop your workforce, but will also put the brakes on business growth.

Four aspects of the Bill are especially worrying.

1

Employers with 20 employees or more will lose the right to include trial periods in employment agreements.

2

This caused issues in the past. Thankfully, employers and unions today have mutually respectful relationships, and we expect most unions would still provide notice regardless of legislation. So why return the country to an “us-vs-them”, anti-growth mentality from the 70s?

Trial periods have given many employers the confidence to take on people without experience. 80% of employers used the 90-day trial period in the past year. This clause will discourage New Zealand’s larger employers from doing this and make it harder for young people to enter the workforce.

3

Forcing businesses to settle collective agreements even if they don’t or can’t agree.

The right for either party to opt out of the bargaining process is fair and equitable. Removing this right from employers creates an uneven playing field, which is not only unfair but also a recipe for bad agreements created under duress.

Allowing union reps access to workplaces without any permission.

4

Not allowing businesses a choice to opt out of a multi-employer collective agreement (MECA).

This compels businesses to join a MECA against their will. This is at odds with International Labour Organisation conventions which support everyone’s voluntary right to take part in collective bargaining or not. It protects the wishes of unions at the cost of freedom, productivity and growth.

If enough people voice their concern, the Government must listen. The EMA is already undertaking a major press, billboard and public relations campaign to fight for employers’ rights on this issue and asking the Government to “please explain”.

You can add your voice by emailing key members of Parliament with your concerns.

We can fix this Bill if we all act right now. Go to fixthebill.co.nz now, to have your say.

Authorised by Kim Campbell, 145 Khyber Pass Road, Grafton, Auckland.

ema.co.nz

ceo comment By kim campbell

Outstanding response to ER campaign Thank you to the 1700-plus members who have taken action and sent a message to the Government that trying to bring back industrial relations of yesteryear will not help your business grow.

It was important to put in this effort, otherwise silence can be taken as consent to proceed with the proposed changes.

Your response to our Fix The Bill campaign was outstanding and collectively has sent a very strong and clear message to Government that hastily cobbled-together legislation will not provide a solution to the problems it seeks to address.

Add to this the dynamic of an ageing workforce, ongoing skills shortages and the impact of technology on the workplace and it quickly becomes clear the future of work looks very complex.

While we wait to hear what amendments will be made to the Employment Relations Amendment Bill, I take heart that business has ensured its concerns have been aired.

It was important to put in this effort, otherwise silence can be taken as consent to proceed with the proposed changes.

Who would disagree with the Government’s aim of a high performing, high wage economy?

However, we are puzzled by how bringing more compulsion and regulation into our industrial relations will achieve this.

The country needs a legislative framework that promotes productive employment relationships. The Future of Work Forum is yet to convene and this is where employers, government and unions will shape the framework required to equip workers and businesses to adapt to the rapidly changing nature of work.

In the meantime, it seems illogical to introduce hurriedly drafted legislation before the strategic discussion has been had.

Workplaces will only need to be more nimble going forward, to better service the needs of customers who can choose their goods and services from around the globe.

Hence the need to have employment legislation which looks forward, not back.

Which makes the marked increase in strike action an interesting phenomena. While this action may have the effect of forcing up wages and delivering short term gains for those workers involved, it does not address the wider issue of how enterprises increase productivity.

The productivity conundrum The heightened industrial action primarily calling for higher wages only shines light on this further. How will New Zealand enterprises lift productivity to cover an increased wage bill?

Wages in New Zealand are lower than other OECD countries because our productivity is lower. We are working more, but Gross Domestic Product is down. As a nation we put in the hours, some of the highest per capita in the OECD, but the value produced from the labour force is amongst the lowest.

It is therefore deeply disturbing to read commentary saying that business has no interest in addressing the problem of low pay and is only interested in taking profits, and a large share of these offshore. Arguably, I would say the business community has a natural self-interest in trying to address this.

To lift wages, productivity must first be improved to enable a sustainable lift in incomes. Which business does not want to be more productive?

The work that we do, and how we work, will be different in the next decade or so. Therefore, New Zealand needs to future-proof itself and produce integrated employment law that will assist in increasing productivity and growth, not stifle it.

Addressing low pay is the outcome of addressing deeper issues within the New Zealand economy: the lack of capital investment for one.

For all these reasons we have called on the Government to explain how its proposed changes to industrial relations will address these significant underlying issues and help deliver a more productive and sustainable economy.

We are waiting for a response, and until we hear further, it is clear business has made its views known.

Kim Campbell is chief executive of the Employers and Manufacturers Association. Email kim.campbell@ema.co.nz BusinessPlus August 2018

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commentary By alan mcdonald

Member Briefings highlight employment relations concerns Finding staff, keeping them and retaining flexibility in employment relations were concerning issues for our members at the EMA Winter Briefing round.

Business’ concerns about employment relations and the direction the economy is heading in, drove high levels of member engagement at the Briefings. The rooms were full at most of the 20 Briefings held at different venues around the EMA membership region, and sometimes extra seats had to be added to accommodate everyone.

Employers are concerned about the loss of flexibility inherent in much of the newly proposed legislation - up to 10 pieces of legislation in the pipeline in the employment relations arena - with ongoing talk about cutting immigration, and an apparently growing skills shortage in several key sectors.

And many members agree that looking back to set a new employment relations framework – the Employment Relations Amendment Bill is supposed to reset the agenda to where it was a decade ago, although the EMA believes it goes further back – is the wrong way to look at setting New Zealand up for the rapidly changing future of work.

Being forced to join a Multiple Employer Collective Agreement (MECA) just rubs many of our employers the wrong way. These are employers with settled, wellremunerated workforces on good terms and conditions.

As one forestry business owner put it to me in Rotorua: “Why the hell would I want my team in a collective when they are already being paid better and being better looked after than what the union is getting for its members? I don’t need or want my

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BusinessPlus August 2018

“Why the hell would I want my team in a collective when they are already being paid better and being better looked after than what the union is getting for its members? I don’t need or want my business to be part of that and I’m sure my staff don’t either.” business to be part of that and I’m sure my staff don’t either.”

The idea of free access to the worksite for union delegates also creates concerns, with employers just not feeling it’s necessary.

Several felt the proposal was an overly aggressive move that was unnecessary, given attitudes in the current relationship between employers and staff.

Most concern was raised in regard to the loss of the 90-day trial, which is currently only planned to be available to businesses with 19 staff or fewer.

One human resources (HR) manager with nearly 300 staff is desperate for it to be retained to help find desperately needed staff.

She said, “We’re a big business in the area, and really struggling to find staff. There are so few people around, we find we are really having to look at people we might not otherwise consider. We’re having about a 60 per cent success rate when we hire from that pool but we’re also finding that for some, their home and lifestyle issues just take over and they don’t make the cut.”

Another company’s partner whose

80-strong business basically uses the company personal assistant for much of the HR function, said the trial system enabled them to take on people with confidence, knowing that if they’d made an error it could be simply fixed. He said, “We actually keep most of them on, but knowing we have that ability to say “no” up to 90 days just gives is a bit of confidence to take people on – especially when we don’t yet have the demand or need for an HR specialist.”

I’d like to thank all who came along to the Briefings and those who took the opportunity to join our #FixtheBill campaign. It’s still live. If you want to contribute, please go to https://. fixthebill.co.nz

Three waters: drinking, waste and storm waters On a matter of infrastructure, it is encouraging to see the Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta and a team from the Department of Internal Affairs looking at water provision systems in Ireland, Scotland and England, to see what can be applied back in New Zealand to improve the quality of drinking water in this country.

There is no doubt we have too many water providers in a multifragmented system that is only likely to result in more cases like the Havelock North E. coli poisoning.

The major driver for water reform in the UK was the imposition of enforced standards for the quality of drinking water. We have standards in New Zealand but until they are enforced, another Havelock North is always a possibility.

That of course raises the key questions of how the new water infrastructure should be funded, and who should carry out that

commentary

enforcement role. At the moment it’s local councils, and that’s clearly failing, possibly because there are just too many of them, or they don’t have the funds and they can’t attract or retain the expertise – or all of these reasons.

Scotland and Ireland went down the path of a centralized control model, with Scotland reducing its number of water authorities from more than 40 at one stage to just one – Scottish Water. It serves around 5.5 million people.

Scottish Water is publicly-owned and one of the top 10 for quality in the UK. England took the privatisation route, which initially had its issues but has also settled into a strong model. I was lucky enough to visit Thames Water last year – also a top 10 quality provider – and it is successfully reinvesting billions of pounds into its network.

It costs to get water to the kitchen sink and then get it safely back down the drain.

New Zealanders will have to stop clutching at the idea that water is free.

Both models have advantages and it would be short-sighted to rule out some kind of private investment model in New Zealand, given the very large amounts of capital that will be required should New Zealand decide to actually enforce standards.

Two things are certain: 1. The kind of compromise reached recently by the three Waikato councils taking just half a step to combine their water

infrastructure resources, won’t work. It’s a typically New Zealand compromise, failing to deliver the best result for either consumers or the councils, and will almost certainly reduce value while failing to make the most of the cost minimisation opportunities available.

2. It costs to get water to the kitchen sink and then get it safely back down the drain. New Zealanders will have to stop clutching at the idea that water is free.

Simple tools like water metering are good on so many levels: to minimise waste; to reduce pressure on building new, expensive infrastructure; and to reduce use. It should be standard across the country.

And to achieve desirable quality levels, water in many cases is just going to have to be treated.

Alan McDonald is EMA’s general manager of advocacy. Email alan.mcdonald@ema.co.nz

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BusinessPlus August 2018

7

commentary Byabbie reynolds

Business leadership on climate change matters New Zealanders are nothing if not resilient, but everyone who runs a business knows that at present it is a pretty challenging time to be a leader.

They face digital disruption, a looming trade war and uncertainty about the future of work such as whether there will be enough of it, or enough people with the right skills.

At the same time, society’s and communities’ expectations of business to be good citizens continue to rise. And then you throw in an issue like climate change.

That’s why the leadership shown by the newly-formed business group called the Climate Leaders Coalition is so important.

The government’s proposed Zero Carbon legislation is important, but it just sets the ground rules. It is business that has to develop, invest in and deliver low carbon solutions.

Businesses must take heed of government action, consumer sentiment and shareholder values.

But other big influences are the decisions and actions of other businesses.

The Coalition emerged from a group of chief executives (CEOs) meeting last October to discuss what they could do to help New Zealand navigate well the low carbon transition.

Now its 60 CEOs, whose companies collectively make up nearly 50 per cent of New Zealand’s gross emissions, have committed to action through the “CEOs Climate Change Statement”, published on July 12.

Their commitments are: •

To measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions; and

These steps represent a big shift in the way New Zealand business thinks about climate change, from awareness to readiness to act; rethinking what the future of a business looks like, so that in the next 20–40 leaders can transform their businesses so they have no greenhouse gas emissions.

•

To work with suppliers to reduce emissions, to help limit global warming to less than two degrees, as specified in the Paris Agreement.

Sixty businesses with the courage to make these changes, and ask their suppliers to join them, creates a ripple effect in our tight-knit business community.

These steps represent a big shift in the way New Zealand business thinks about climate change, from awareness to readiness to act; rethinking what the future of a business looks like, so that in the next 20–40 leaders can transform their businesses so they have no greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate change response a new skill CEOs are experts in running their businesses, but not necessarily experts on climate change.

Embracing the opportunities and challenges climate change presents may mean having to renegotiate

what has made the business successful in the first place. But businesses can support each other to take action, by talking about the issues.

And here at the Sustainable Business Council, we aim to equip our members with the tools, knowledge and skills they will need.

I am constantly impressed by how many CEOs talk about climate change action being “the right thing to do”, and wanting to leave New Zealand better off for future generations. This is an advantage for New Zealand. When I visited the World Council on Sustainable Business Development in Geneva earlier this year, I didn’t hear business leaders there, talk this way.

The launch of the Coalition demonstrates a generation of business leaders is emerging that truly understands its role is to lead for New Zealand as much as it is to lead business.

The Coalition is supported by the Sustainable Business Council, but is open to all businesses wanting to commit to action on emissions.

And if you are looking for support and advice, or to work with other businesses on wider sustainability issues, please consider becoming a member of ours.

Businesses don’t need to wait for government to set the rules of the game via the regulatory framework.

A great game comes from the ambition, energy and passion of the players. The CEOs Climate Change Statement sets a new level of ambition for the New Zealand business community to approach these challenges together.

Abbie Reynolds is executive director of the Sustainable Business Council, a division of BusinessNZ. Visit www.sbc.org.nz 8

BusinessPlus August 2018

commentary By kirk hope

Campaigning against old thinking for the modern world The last time BusinessNZ or our member groups campaigned against proposed employment law was about 20 years ago.

The issues back then were very similar to those that employers are concerned about today: a large, complicated piece of legislation that would make it harder to run successful businesses and maintain constructive employment relationships.

Today’s Fix The Bill Campaign undertaken by our regional business groups - EMA, Business Central, the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and the Otago Southland Employers Association argues that the latest employment Bill is old thinking for the modern world.

It would lock Kiwis into working practices of a past age and make the most vulnerable more vulnerable.

The Employment Relations Amendment Bill contains many parts that would negatively affect workplaces in different ways.

For example, it would prevent larger businesses from using trial periods in employment agreements.

It would require all employees to take meal and tea breaks at the same time.

It would introduce complex rules governing unions, collective agreements and their roles in the workplace. For example, the Bill would allow union reps to enter any workplace at any time without permission. Employers would be required to provide paid time off work for union delegates; and union delegates, rather than the employer,

would decide how long they will take off and when.

Employers would be required to give details of new and prospective employees to a union, in a breach of their privacy.

Perhaps the most concerning elements of the Bill concern collective agreements.

Collectives compulsion There is a risk that individual employment agreements would not be allowed to include better pay or conditions than a collective agreement at the same workplace.

The Bill would force employers to settle collective agreements, even if they did not agree with the terms being asked for - a breach of International Labour Organisation conventions requiring bargaining to be voluntary. This is not only unfair, but a recipe for bad agreements created under duress.

Employers would also be forbidden from opting out of negotiations towards a multi-employer collective agreement.

Given that employers could be joined with the negotiations against their will (following a request by a union), the fact that employers could then be compelled to settle the negotiations would amount to further duress.

None of these provisions of this new legislation would help businesses or the economy to grow.

The planned legislation would make life easier for unions, but not for employers or employees.

Furthermore, unemployed people

would suffer from fewer job opportunities, with the reduction in availability of 90-day job trials.

Noticeably absent is the information campaign to educate the public on what the new legislation would do and why it is needed.

Workables So what is the solution for the future of work?

There is no one, single answer, but some things seem clear: •

Enterprise level bargaining causes far less lost productivity than national or sector level bargaining.

•

Interest rates stay lower when industrial action is lower.

•

The economy, and Kiwis, benefit most from being able to make their own decisions at the enterprise level.

They benefit from not having to agree to arrangements that don’t suit their business model, style or culture.

They benefit from not having to contract with people they don’t want to associate with.

And they benefit from not having unnecessary extra costs loaded on by central government.

The Bill would work against a hightrust, collaborative workplace. It would not assist the Government’s desire to encourage highperformance, high-engagement workplaces.

It would ultimately harm New Zealand.

Kirk Hope is chief executive at BusinessNZ. Visit www.businessnz.org.nz BusinessPlus August 2018

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Seen @ 2018 Air New Zealand Cargo ExportNZ Awards in Auckland A B C D E F G H I J K L M

Charlotte Porter and Andrew Seabrook [NZ Bloodstock] Vaughan and Mary Darby [Auckland BioSciences] Mike Riley and Siobhan Cohen [Compac] Michelle Olsen [Fonterra] and Marcus Raman [Westpac Institutional Bank]

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(l-r) Ben Stevens [Risk Dynamics], Shane Linehan [BDO] and Nadine Stevens [Risk Dynamics] Liz McMaster, Angela Derecourt, Estelle Carmichael and Anna Ruediger [NZ Trade and Enterprise] Warren Roodt and Carmen Vicelich [Valocity] Maureen and Graham Kearns [Kearns Services], and Maureen and Robert Lind [RML Management Services] Denis Wallabh [Westpac Institutional Bank], Catherine Lye [ExportNZ Auckland] and Steve Thompson [Westpac Institutional Bank]

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Malcolm and Gay Rankin [Baldwins] and Rosanna and Chris Luoni [Worldwide Leisure] Alex Larsen [Air NZ Cargo], Paul Adams [EverEdge], Greg Edmonds [Air NZ Cargo] and Michael Masterton [EverEdge], Andrei Teodorovici, Leshia Whale, Belinda Johnson, Ben Schofield, Carl Harris and Curt Roehricht [Mindfull] (l-r, seated) Kirk Hope [BusinessNZ], Sir Ken Stevens [Glidepath Group], Hon David Parker [Minister for Trade and Export Growth] and Ken Campbell [EMA]; (l-r, standing) Andrew Hunt [Kinetics Group], Catherine Beard [ExportNZ], Phil Goff [Mayor of Auckland] and Angela Campbell [EMA]

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BusinessPlus August 2018

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Seen @ Zespri Bay of Plenty ExportNZ Awards 2018 1 2 3

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Paulette Fraser [NZTE), Chris Longman [EMA] and Jenny Milson [NZTE] Hiraina Tangiora [Zespri], Lance Eggersglusz [The Big Picture] and Melanie Eggersglusz [Zespri] John Willson and Kay Rogers [YOU Travel], and Brian and Sharon Richardson [Grove Avocado Oil NZ] Kym and Mike Lehan [Page Macrae Engineering] Wayne and Cheryl Lewis [Bay of Connections] Moira and Bob Sievwright [Trimax] Natalie and Hon Simon Bridges [Leader of the National Party] Melissa van Leeuwen, Joanne O’Neill, and Karen Littlewood [MSM Sales Specialists]

9 Vanessa Dufty and Tracy and Shane McCarthy [Zespri] 10 Kylie Boyd [Sharp Tudhope] and Mark Sadd [Comvita] 11 Simon Oldham, Tina Neville, Annette Weatherall and John Cilliers [QJumpers]

12 Jared Hancock, Danica Bright and Nick Wilson [NZ Post]

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Activity and confidence mismatch Diffusion index

Most surveys that measure business 55 confidence are consistently showing that its level has, without question, dropped for the past few (threemonthly) quarters.

These50 results come from regional confidence surveys undertaken by the BusinessNZ family, as well as the long-established NZIER survey. The latter shows business confidence in 45 Zealand economy reduced the New to a net negative 19 per cent for the June quarter, compared with a net negative 10 per cent for the March quarter of 2018.

40 However, when one examines the latest NZIER report in greater detail, another statistic tells a slightly different story. In terms of how their own trading activity has fared over the past six months, a net 7 per cent said that their domestic trading activity improved, although down from a net positive 13 per cent in the March quarter.

70 65 60 55 50 45 40

Seasonally adjusted

Seasonally adjusted

Actual

Seasonally adjusted

Actual

35

Figure 1: PMI survey results for levels of manufacturing activity, August 2002 to April 2018.

A reading above 50 points means activity is expanding; below 50 that it is declining.

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Oct-07 Jan-08 Apr-08 Jul-08 Oct-08 Jan-09 Apr-07 Apr-09 Jul-07 Jul-09 Oct-07 Oct-09 Jan-08 Jan-10 Apr-08 Apr-10 Jul-08 Jul-10 Oct-08 Oct-10 Jan-09 Jan-11 Apr-09 Apr-11 Jul-09 Jul-11 Oct-09 Oct-11 Jan-10 Jan-12 Apr-10 Apr-12 Jul-10 Jul-12 Oct-10 Oct-12 Jan-11 Jan-13 Apr-11 Apr-13 Jul-11 Jul-13 Oct-11 Oct-13 Jan-12 Jan-14 Apr-12 Apr-14 Jul-12 Jul-14 Oct-12 Oct-14 Jan-13 Jan-15 Apr-13 Apr-15 Jul-13 Jul-15 Oct-13 Oct-15 Jan-14 Jan-16 Apr-14 Apr-16 Jul-14 Jul-16 Oct-14 Oct-16 Jan-15 Jan-17 Apr-15 Apr-17

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Aug-02 Dec-02 Apr-03 Aug-03 Dec-03 Apr-04 Aug-04 Dec-04 Apr-05 Aug-05 Dec-05 Apr-06 Aug-06 Dec-06 Apr-07 Aug-07 Dec-07 Apr-08 Aug-08 Dec-08 Apr-09 Aug-09 Dec-09 Apr-10 Aug-10 Dec-10 Apr-11 Aug-11 Dec-11 Apr-12 Aug-12 Dec-12 Apr-13 Aug-13 Dec-13 Apr-14 Aug-14 Dec-14 Apr-15 Aug-15 Dec-15 Apr-16 Aug-16 Dec-16 Apr-17 Aug-17 Dec-17 Apr-18

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commentary By stephen summers

Diffusion index

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Despite this apparent contrast, to say that confidence and activity are not connected ignores the fact that perceptions can often become reality.

50

Seasonally adjusted

45

Seasonally adjusted

Seasonally adjusted

Actual

Actual

Actual

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Figure 2: PSI survey results for levels of service sector activity, April 2007 to April 2018.

A reading above 50 points means activity is expanding; below 50 that it is declining.

attention and makes one start to ask questions.

The other noticeable recent aspect is that while the PSI has held a “business as usual” position, barring April’s blip, the PMI has shifted down a gear in terms of expansion.

This has happened before, with the period 2009-2012 showing lacklustre expansion and never really building momentum.

Apr-08 Apr-07 Jul-08 Jul-07 Oct-08 Oct-07 Jan-09 Jan-08 Apr-09 Apr-08 Jul-09 Jul-08 Oct-09 Oct-08 Jan-10 Jan-09 Apr-10 Apr-09 Jul-10 Jul-09 Oct-10 Oct-09 Jan-11 Jan-10 Apr-11 Apr-10 Jul-11 Jul-10 Oct-11 Oct-10 Jan-12 Jan-11 Apr-12 Apr-11 Jul-12 Jul-11 Oct-12 Oct-11 Jan-13 Jan-12 Apr-13 Apr-12 Jul-13 Jul-12 Oct-13 Oct-12 Jan-14 Jan-13 Apr-14 Apr-13 Jul-14 Jul-13 Oct-14 Oct-13 Jan-15 Jan-14 Apr-15 Apr-14 Jul-15 Jul-14 Oct-15 Oct-14 Jan-16 Jan-15 Apr-16 Apr-15 Jul-16 Jul-15 Oct-16 Oct-15 Jan-17 Jan-16 Apr-17 Apr-16 Jul-17 Jul-16 Oct-17

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Perceptions vs reality

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Apr-07 Jul-07 Oct-07 Jan-08 Apr-08 Jul-08 Oct-08 Jan-09 Apr-09 Jul-09 Oct-09 Jan-10 Apr-10 Jul-10 Oct-10 Jan-11 Apr-11 Jul-11 Oct-11 Jan-12 Apr-12 Jul-12 Oct-12 Jan-13 Apr-13 Jul-13 Oct-13 Jan-14 Apr-14 Jul-14 Oct-14 Jan-15 Apr-15 Jul-15 Oct-15 Jan-16 Apr-16 Jul-16 Oct-16 Jan-17 Apr-17 Jul-17 Oct-17 Jan-18 Apr-18

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Diffusion index

50

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A business that does not believe the country is heading in the right direction, or believes outside influences will hamper their operations, can often become doubtful around spending in new markets, increasing staff numbers or broadening their range of products.

To that end, the June results for both the Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) survey and Performance of Services Index (PSI) survey saw lower levels of expansion than seen for some time.

Anytime a result is at its lowest level in over five years certainly grabs

Future looking brighter Looking at the time series results for both the PMI and PSI in figures 1 and 2, we see one major turning point: namely, the Global Financial Crisis that in the space of a few months saw both sectors experience a plunge in activity, the likes of which we have not seen before or since. In short, that was a swift, activity-based reaction to a significant global event.

Interestingly, while the PMI dipped into negative territory twice more in 2011-12 (see figure 1), the PSI has remained positive overall, and in solid territory from 2012 onwards (see figure 2).

Looking ahead, will the PSI join its sister survey and also shift down a gear? Will either survey dip into negative territory during 2018?

Lead indicators like the local and global PMI and PSI provide up-todate and accurate pictures of actual activity from businesses across the country, which is what we should focus on.

Stephen Summers is BusinessNZ’s economist. Visit www.businessnz.org.nz EMA is the main stakeholder in BusinessNZ. To add your business’ activity to the monthly, 5-minute PMI or PSI, please email Sonja.rose@ema.co.nz 12

BusinessPlus August 2018

employment By arlene nicholson

A moment of indiscretion can lose a customer Businesses with customer service staff might have recently employed Generation Z (yes, we’ve moved on from Gen Y) during the July holidays from school and university.

The cost to train and coach young people to deliver a stand-out service experience is insignificant compared to the costs to develop, market and sell new products.

Young people with limited skills, experience and/or knowledge about the businesses might have been given the responsibility to influence whether customers buy, recommend the offering or simply walk away.

We know word-of-mouth is more powerful now than it ever was, given the variety of platforms social media provides. Landlords of holiday accommodation know that regardless of how they advertise their property, consumers will be influenced by reviews. Sales staff often underestimate the sphere of their influence.

Yet dealing with the public is a difficult job that requires a high degree of emotional intelligence, creative problem-solving and exceptional communication skills.

In a world where internet shopping erodes significant chunks from companies’ bottom lines, and where news travels at the speed of Twitter, it’s time to stop and ask, “What am I doing to equip my frontline staff with what they need, to deliver stand-out service?”

Here’s an example to illustrate. I waited in line to be served by a young sales assistant in the store of my telecommunications provider. He had just helped another customer who appeared similar to me demographically. As that customer turned to leave, I noticed the sales assistant rolling his eyes at them.

In that moment of indiscretion, consider the potential harm.

That sales assistant’s lack of professionalism undid the hours his colleagues spent converting me to their business.

Gen Y and Gen Z are the customerservice front of the future. Teach our emerging workforce emotional intelligence so they can engage with customers. Remind them how valuable they are to the success of your business. Set the bar high and support them to reach it.

Consumers are spoilt for choice, which means that delivering a memorable customer experience is key to staying in business.

Check out EMA’s Customer Service Master Suite of five training programmes, for ideas that will work for your team.

Arlene Nicholson is a learning and development consultant and EMA trainer. Email tailored@ema.co.nz

EMA’s Risk Roadshow rates highly with members Feedback from members showed they were keen for EMA to make our recent Risk Roadshow a regular occurrence. The subjects covered in the half-day, travelling seminar were Machinery Risk, Hazardous Substances, Competency and Auditing.

In particular, many of the 450 attendees commented that the roadshow was very informative, relevant, and well-presented.

The EMA Health and Safety training team took the seminar about managing safety risks through five cities in June: in Auckland, Whangarei, Hamilton, Rotorua and Tauranga.

The topic that proved to be the most popular was ‘Competency’, which was presented by Glynis McCarthy, an EMA licensed health and safety consultant and trainer. She spoke

about creating a learning culture to build a competent workforce. This resonated strongly with attendees.

Another EMA licensed health and safety consultant and trainer, Brent Sutton, presented on the topics of Machinery Risk and Hazardous substances.

Brent offered a different view on how to approach risk, reinforcing the fact that the PCBU (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking) is required to manage the hazard and ensure controls are in place.

He said that, while “risk was in the eye of the beholder” and employers must recognise and accept the fact that people fail, employers need to allow them to “fail safely”. Employers need to take the approach that incidents and accidents occur “not if, but when”. It was obvious this point really struck home with attendees.

Our other guest speaker was Philip Cryer, chief executive of TELARC, the government auditing agency.

Philip spoke of the demise of ACC’s Workplace Safety Management Practices (WSMP) audit programme, and what was happening in its absence: the new auditing standard, ISO 45001, as well as products produced by WorkSafe New Zealand and yet-to-be-released from ACC. Philip introduced a new auditing tool (M-Safe) nearing release that has been developed by TELARC in conjunction with Brent Sutton and the EMA. M-Safe (M stands for manufacturing) uses about eight key elements of ISO 45001 at its core, along with industry-relevant content to create an auditing tool that is more applicable to small-to-medium businesses.

BusinessPlus August 2018

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EMPLOYMENT

By KENT DUFFY

New legal obligations coming for employers, to victims of domestic violence Draft legislation in relation to domestic violence is unique in that it will bring into the working arena a matter that is considered private by most people.

It places legal obligations on employers to assist employees who are affected by domestic violence.

The Domestic Violence – Victims’ Protection Bill proposes to amend the Employment Relations Act 2000, Holidays Act 2003 and the Human Rights Act 1993. It seeks to enhance legal protections for victims of domestic violence and support them to stay in paid employment.

The Bill recognises the complex and often extremely difficult circumstances associated with domestic violence and the significant effects it can have on victims and their employment.

The key changes proposed under the Bill are summarised below. · Employment Relations Act 2000 – Flexible working arrangements The Bill would see changes to the Employment Relations Act 2000 that provide employees who are victims of domestic violence with a statutory right to make a request for a shortterm variation to their working arrangements, eg, temporary changes to their duties, hours and location of work.

Employers are required to deal with a request as soon as possible, but no later than 10 working days after receiving it.

The Bill provides limited grounds for an employer to refuse a request.

Grounds for refusal include a lack of proof that the employee is affected by domestic violence, or 14

BusinessPlus August 2018

if the employer cannot reasonably accommodate the request on specified grounds, eg, their inability to reorganise work among existing staff, their inability to recruit additional staff or a resulting detrimental impact on quality or performance.

In addition, the Bill provides that where an employer refuses a request to vary an employee’s work arrangements, that the employee can refer the matter to a Labour Inspector for resolution, mediation or to the Employment Relations Authority. · Holidays Act 2003 – Paid leave for victims of domestic violence The Bill would also see changes to the Holiday Act. There is provision for up to 10 days’ entitlement to paid domestic violence leave per year (subject to eligibility criteria) in order

to assist employees with managing the effects of domestic violence. · Human Rights Act 1993 – New form of unlawful discrimination The Bill would see changes to the Human Rights Act. It would be unlawful for a person in the course of their employment (or in making an application for employment) to be treated adversely by any other person on the ground that they are affected by domestic violence.

Employers need to be aware of the new obligations under the Bill.

They also need to consider whether their policies, procedures and practices need to be changed to ensure compliance with the changes, if the Bill is passed into law.

The Bill was awaiting its third reading in Parliament at time of print, and is likely to be passed into law.

EMPLOYMENT

By KENT DUFFY

Paid parental leave entitlements increase Employees can now take more paid parental leave and can also work more hours for an employer while on parental leave, under changes to the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2017.

On July 1 this year, eligible employees’ entitlement to paid parental leave increased from 18 weeks to 22 weeks.

It is Inland Revenue (IR) that provides this leave pay, equal to the employee’s normal pay up to a maximum of $564.38 a week before tax.

Increase to ‘keeping in touch’ days In addition, the number of “keeping in touch days” an eligible employee is entitled to be paid for, has increased.

This change allows an employee to work up to 52 hours of paid work for his or her employer while they are receiving parental leave payments, without losing their entitlement to the IR payment – subject to the requirements outlined below.

An employee is able to perform work for his or her employer on a “keeping in touch” day, provided that: · This work does not occur within 28 days of the child’s birth, and · The employer and employee consent to the work being performed on the particular day.

It’s important for employers and employees to be aware that if an employee performs paid work for his or her employer within 28 days of

the child’s birth, or performs more than 52 hours of paid work during the period of paid parental leave, the employee is treated as having returned to work and their parental leave payments are recoverable by IR. Employers should review their policies and/or employment documentation on parental leave and ensure these are updated to reflect the changes to parental leave entitlements.

Alongside other services, the EMA can provide your business with the right legal advice, in respect to understanding your legal obligations in employment law, as well as excellent general advice on a broad range of employment matters.

Kent Duffy is EMA’s intermediate solicitor. E: legal@ema.co.nz or ph 0800 300 362 within NZ and 1800 300 362 from Australia.

BusinessPlus August 2018

15

employment chat

Mental health days bonus, wo leave, stealing company inform Q. I heard of a business that lets their staff take “mental health days”.

Is that legal? It sounds good to me – how do I go about offering that? – Meg Dear Meg As long as you offer at least the minimum standards required in employment (as regulated by the Holidays Act), you can offer additional leave!

Note that sick leave is not defined in the Holidays Act (this Act governs types of employee leave); arguably, an employee could use sick leave where they were experiencing mental health concerns/illness. To be generous and fair, you could offer “mental health days” in addition to the minimum sick leave requirements.

It is recommended that you write a policy and inform staff of your new offer, and alter employment agreements accordingly.

In constructing this offer, you need to define “mental health days” – and to do this, we suggest you consult EMA Legal or one of our expert employment relations consultants.

Q. I have a staff member on parental leave who would like to do a bit of work. Can I allow her to work? – Danny Dear Danny Under the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act, a person may be entitled to take leave for a period and have their position held open for them upon their return. The position can be held open for up to 12 months from the day they begin parental leave, depending on how long they have worked for you and the arrangements you and they agree to.

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BusinessPlus August 2018

To be generous and fair, you could offer “mental health days” in addition to the minimum sick leave requirements.

Under the Act, you are not obliged to pay a staff member on parental leave. The “paid” part is paid for by Inland Revenue and known as “paid parental leave”; as of July 1, 2018, the payments have been extended to 22 weeks while the remainder of their leave is unpaid and known as “extended leave”.

The Act allows your employee to work whilst they are receiving the paid parental leave payments from Inland Revenue. Your employee may perform up to 52 hours of paid work while they are receiving parental leave payments from IR, without losing their entitlement to the payment. This is known as keeping in touch (KIT).

She may perform work on KIT, provided that this does not occur within 28 days of the child’s birth, and the employer and employee consent to the work being performed on that day. If she performs paid work within 28 days of the child’s birth, or performs more than 52 hours of paid work during the period of parental leave, the employee is treated as having returned to work and their parental leave payments are recoverable by Inland Revenue.

You should have documentation around this agreement for the keeping in touch days – including the hours and days on which she worked.

At the outset you would need to set expectations around her time away from work, namely, that she should not be working unless agreed to by both parties.

Q. I have a staff member who I believe is sending confidential material offsite via work email. What can we do? We have a computer and email policy. – Manish Dear Manish This can be a tricky situation as it also involves privacy principles.

The employment relationship is governed by the mutual obligation to act in good faith; your employee owes you a duty of loyalty and fidelity and should not be acting in bad faith in this regard by disclosing or using confidential company information for their own benefit or the benefit of others. Breaches of this nature are often considered serious misconduct, as it causes the employer to lose trust and confidence in the employee, but this depends on your policy.

The policy should deal with your ability to monitor email and company computer use and it should stipulate what actually is company information/property, and the consequences for breaching the policy.

The first step is to formally investigate the situation. Assuming this employee had been told that all work emails will be monitored, this allows you to investigate.

Preferably your IT system has the ability to pick up when emails containing company/confidential information is being transmitted.

This evidence is what you need to provide to your employee before they attend the formal investigation,

orking during parental mation If she performs paid work within 28 days of the child’s birth, or performs more than 52 hours of paid work during the period of parental leave, the employee is treated as having returned to work and their parental leave payments are recoverable by Inland Revenue.

and this must be attached to the formal investigation invitation letter along with any other relevant information (such as policies/ employment agreement).

Depending on your investigation, you may be able to progress to a formal disciplinary meeting.

Following that process, depending on your company policy and all the circumstances, this employee’s behaviour could be misconduct or even serious misconduct. The latter enables you to dismiss summarily, provided you are able to establish the allegation and can justify that you have lost all trust and confidence in your employee - the normal considerations under the test of justification applies.

The Board and/or management of a company should be taking a strong stance on IT security within the business, as our articles in BusinessPlus (July and August issues) explain. · By the EMA communications team in consultation with EMA Advice, and loosely based on real

calls to EMA’s AdviceLine. All names are fictional.

The information in this article is a guide only and not to be used as business advice without further consultation.

BEST E H EST T YOU WE T R O F ...

EMA members can start with our free AdviceLine team at phone 09-367 0909 or 0800 300 362 (within New Zealand), and 1800 300 362 (from Australia), 8am-8pm weekdays NZ time; or email You can also find information at www.ema.co.nz such as the A-Z of Employing – a manager’s guide on specific employment topics.

Call 09 966 74 74 www.horizonrecruitment.co.nz

BusinessPlus August 2018

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Employment

By Nirupam Sarkar

Micro-learning transforming training and development Back in 1956, a psychologist from Harvard University named George Miller found that human beings can hold no more than five to seven individual pieces of information at a time, in their active, short term memories.

However, by combining individual pieces of information into chunks, he observed it was possible to process and retain larger pieces of information. Thus was born the term “chunking” of information for better retention; a key premise of every good learning session in the classroom.

Fast forward to the eLearning era of today where chunking has now translated into bite-sized, online learning modules. Experienced online learning providers across business, academia and infotainment, including EMA’s Learning team, use short videos and interactive content along with snap multiple choice-type quizzes, to keep online learning fun and engaging for learners and ensure their steady completion rates.

While this has been the mainstay of online learning formats for some time now, we are seeing a further refinement of the concept, with the rise of micro-learning.

Transformational micro-learning Although there are a number of slightly varying definitions of micro-learning, all share three key characteristics: it is short; has a narrow topical focus; and can be in a variety of forms.

Micro-learning retains the fundamental concept of breaking down complex information into small chunks of information that can

be easily processed by our active memory, and transferred into longterm memory. But it is other areas of learning where it is making significant impact: in the learning experience and in learner engagement.

And technology is playing a crucial part in this transformation of learning.

This time, micro-learning is radically different from any other learning style that has come before. And it has huge potential for delivering high-quality and effective learning and development in business, in schools, colleges and universities and other relevant environments.

Mobile People use smartphones today to consume a variety of content in many formats such as apps, games, YouTube videos, news text, Google Search and more.

This 24/7 availability of content is the cornerstone of the new micro-learning wave. Learners can access training content on their smartphones as and when they need it. This “just-in-time” approach to training can yield massive benefits in retention as well as engagement.

It also gives control to the learner in structuring their learning.

Gaming and interactive content Another key feature of effective micro-learning is that it relies little on lines of boring text and uninteresting graphics. Instead it uses stimulating content in the form of games, snappy videos and simulated scenarios to deliver complex information and training within a very short burst.

And it keeps the learner completely

engaged until the learning objective is achieved. Ask any gamer how difficult it is to peel themselves away from the next in-game quest or objective!

The micro-learning infrastructure The question facing providers of learning and development is how to deliver micro-learning for their organisations.

The first step is to find a platform that can deliver a variety of content to a variety of interfaces, for on-demand consumption. The traditional Learning Management Systems are transforming into versatile platforms that can deliver and track micro-learning, powered by new learning technology standards such as xApi.

Micro-credentials Digital badges that recognize the achievement of a small but defined understanding or skill are key to formalizing micro-learning, rewarding the many people who are constantly learning through smart phones and consuming critical learning content across platforms.

The importance of embracing microlearning in a learning environment today is underscored by the fact that regulatory bodies around the world, including our own New Zealand Qualifications Authority, are starting to look at new frameworks for accrediting micro-learning.

While traditional learning methods and qualifications will always have a place, micro-learning is worth exploring and embracing as an effective tool for increasing learner engagement and outcomes in the workplace and elsewhere.

Nirupam Sarkar is EMA’s Learning portfolio manager – digital. Email nirupam.sarkar@ema.co.nz 18

BusinessPlus August 2018

employment By paul jarvie

Staff engagement reduces need for regulating communication Workers have opinions, need a voice and more often than not, have ideas for solutions about workplace problems. This undeniable fact applies in the health and safety area as much as anywhere.

But in this day and age it is interesting, if not bewildering, that we need legislation to enable communication with staff.

Our current laws - the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and the associated Regulation (Worker Engagement, Participation and Representation) - prescribe formal approaches for businesses and workers to communicate with each other.

The Regulation spells out the role of Health and Safety Representatives.

But despite this, there are two distinct opinions about how the rep role operates in businesses.

Now firstly is the belief they are representatives of the work group and will work and speak on its behalf; and secondly, that the Health and Safety Representative is just the goto person for employees - their point of contact about risks and incidents.

While these are similar roles, they can and do operate differently, depending on the reason for establishing reps (and due to some confusion). And in fact, both purposes are integral to the role under law.

Let’s be honest here: creating a Health and Safety Representative system because you are required to by law, or because you need an ACC audit, is never the best reason to do so. Staff know that, you know that, and the results prove it.

Since New Zealand’s first occupational health and safety (OH&S) law about 16 years ago, some 60,000 Health and Safety Representatives have undertaken rep training. The trainees have been mainly workers, although more and more middle management have been attending.

The cost of all this training in terms of fees, time off from work, etc, is almost unfathomable.

There has been good feedback and good stories from all this activity: workplace changes and innovation have taken place; ACC audits have checked meeting minutes and reports, and spoken with staff including Health and Safety Representatives.

Involving workers But still, involving workers is hard.

There has been a lot of suspicion and mischief surrounding this topic. True, there are always cases where things go really wrong. Petty topics can become unsolvable, misinformation become truth, hidden agendas rule the health and safety function, and so on.

A recent Deloitte survey (June 2018) found that senior management knew why it was important to engage with workers and that uptake levels in OH&S were better. However, OH&S managers often still ran rep committee meetings and compliance with the law was still a big driver.

Simply, good business The modern term of relevance is “staff engagement”. This activity shouldn’t rely on legislation, Codes of Practice and the like, but rather knowing that engaging with staff is good for staff and management and the business.

International studies repeatedly indicate that only 26–35 per cent of staff are actively engaged with managers and their workplaces; 1523 per cent are actively disengaged; and the remaining 50 per cent are not engaged.

Achieving staff engagement (ie, openness, honesty and transparency) will deliver longlasting benefits. It is recognisable by staff’s open conversations about the business and where it is heading; about staff issues and how “we” can address these.

Sometimes people need to relearn how to listen (as opposed to hearing), how to not jump to conclusions and how to respect each other’s point of view.

In the future, work and workers will be different from now. Having engaged staff will be paramount to ensure you can respond to your changing customer needs.

You do not need legislation to talk with customers nor engage with staff; doing so is simply good business.

So, after decades of thinking about this issue we have not progressed very far. Surely, rolling out more rules, more courses, more of anything, is not enough to make this work. We need to rethink this space.

Paul Jarvie is EMA’s manager of employment relations and safety. Email paul.jarvie@ema.co.nz BusinessPlus August 2018

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Our series of Employer Guides provide accurate advice and guidance on the following employment matters: • ACC

• Discipline & Termination • Diversity

• Drug Testing

• Employees & Technology • Harassment & Bullying • Health and Safety

• Leave Entitlements • Payroll Essentials • Privacy

• Recruitment • Unions

Guides are now only available on USB or on the website for download.

NZ 0800 300 362 AU 1800 300 362 shop.ema.co.nz

ur or yo f T b ay S ra d +G G to 9 B $9 US ly on

Employer Guides 2018 Update

staff profile

EMA staff member Ava Williams introduces herself to members.

My role at EMA I’m the Membership Territory Manager for South and East Auckland. My area includes Mt Wellington to Howick and all the way to Pukekohe.

Not only do I bring on new members but I also get to help tailor our EMA services to our current members’ requirements. It’s great when you see a member engaging with our services and see the relief they feel after overcoming a hard employment issue or the excitement they experience after hearing a great speaker at an event.

What excites me most about my role Knowing that I can play a part in helping Auckland businesses is what excites me the most in my role.

It really resonated with me that the EMA was helping businesses, and the flow-on effect that can be felt in our communities.

I’m very proud to look after South and East Auckland as I’m born and raised here.

Key strengths of an EMA membership One of our key strengths is our ability to follow our members on their business journeys.

Ava Williams

We can help to resolve an immediate employment issue with our AdviceLine, legal team and consultants. We can then help to prevent these issues through services in our diverse training portfolio, then we can look at helping to grow their business with development courses, great events and connecting them to ExportNZ. We even take it a step further with the Advocacy team that keeps an eye on the changing economic and political landscape and makes sure our members’ voices are heard.

Wherever our members are in their journeys, we are able to provide support and advice to help their businesses succeed.

Five fast facts about me •

I’m part Maori and have a goal to speak Te Reo fluently.

•

I’m a proud Mama of a six-yearold girl.

•

I’m a qualified makeup artist and beauty therapist.

•

I’ve lived in Tokyo, Japan.

•

I have a deep love of fried chicken.

Contact me: ava.williams@ema.co.nz 021 133 9767 Connect with me on LinkedIn

Membership Referral Programme Refer a friend to our membership programme and reap the rewards!

For more information email membership@ema.co.nz

BusinessPlus August 2018

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in business By david spratt

Reducing insider security threats In this Part II about potential data security threats that may arise within your business, I run through the key actions you can take to reduce the risk, without treating your muchloved people as if they are criminals.

Contracts and policies Any employment contract should have clauses that relate to a company’s ownership of its data, as well as the responsibility of the employee in keeping it secure, the policies that protect the company’s data and the consequences for anyone breaching the rules.

EMA has a great range of employment advice, sample contracts and training programmes that can help you with this, at www. ema.co.nz

Induction Staff induction is important for setting the standard for security awareness. Don’t sugar-coat the discussion. Be clear, authentic and firm about how seriously you take this issue.

Ensure everyone is handed a hard copy of the company security policy and guidelines.

Show leadership How can someone be blamed for, say, sharing a username and password, when their boss has a post-it note on their machine with the same information available for all to see? When you set the standard for security, your staff will follow, whichever behaviour you exhibit.

Monitor behaviour

In last month’s article, I mentioned email and USB sticks as common ways rogue employees send offsite important client lists, company records and sales figures, without being spotted. Your IT guys should be looking for downloads and emails with unusually large file sizes. Failed system access attempts are also a warning sign.

Password safety Recent research has found that forcing people to change their passwords every few months can be counterproductive.

Encourage your employees to create passwords that are secure yet reasonably easy to remember. In my case I use things like Aunty Edith’s original five-digit phone number with her husband’s nickname at the beginning. This creates a hard-tocrack mix of numbers and letters without the requirement for a degree in cryptography.

Get IT to run a password-cracker programme, if you have any concerns. This will weed out the geniuses who think “password” or “admin” or just plain nothing at all constitutes a reasonable attempt at protecting your business’ interests.

First day, last day process There is no legal way to hold users responsible for the protection of your company data if you can’t prove it was they who accessed the system in the first place. Assign new employees unique usernames and passwords and immediately switch off their access on the day they leave.

Keeping an eye on the business is your right and responsibility. This can be done discreetly, using easily understood tools, without creating an environment of fear or distrust.

David Spratt is a director of Total Utilities. Email david@totalutilities.co.nz 22

BusinessPlus August 2018

Set auto lock No employee’s device should remain accessible for more than a couple of minutes of idle time.

Auto lock is a simple setting, and everyone should use it. If for any reason this is impractical it should be the clearly stated responsibility of the user to log out of their machine every time they leave their desk.

Remember the fox in control of the henhouse IT staff have access to all your data.

Any displays of negativity, declining performance, poor attendance or wanton policy violations from these staff can be a big warning sign.

Ensure key staff (not just IT people) take regular holidays. If they insist on working without taking at least two weeks off at a time, it can be a sign they are covering up something at work.

Remember the innocent A lot of the above seems obvious but many of us are too busy or too shy to insist on the need to protect our company’s information.

Let me ask you one thing: Would you rather hold an employee accountable for their actions, or explain to all your staff and their families that they are out of a job because of a security breach that should have been prevented?

in business By rosina webb

Google Analytics cheat sheet Using Google Analytics can feel overwhelming, but they can answer many questions about who visits your website and what they do there. You can also see what is working, what’s not; and fine-tune your website for the best visitor experience.

The basics Before we describe the key website aspects you need to analyse, make sure you have the basics set up: •

•

Date Range: Set your date range before you start looking at the data. Do you want to see this week’s results or last month’s? You can compare your chosen date range to another, which automatically generates percentage increases or decreases across all metrics.

Goals: Clearly-defined goals guide you to seeing when something important has happened on your site, and they should be in line with your business objectives.

With the right goals, Google Analytics can provide the information you need to assess the effectiveness of your online marketing activity.

Below I discuss the most important metrics (among many options): website traffic, traffic sources, audience, content viewing and conversion rate.

Traffic Sources – where are your visitors coming from?

Content – What pages are visitors looking at?

The four categories of traffic sources are:

Knowing which pages are most viewed shows what your visitors are interested in. This data can help you:

1. Organic Search, ie, traffic from search engines, an incredibly important source of traffic.

Google computes over 3.5 billion searches a day, so a good search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy is essential and this tells you how well it’s working.

2. Referral Traffic, ie, traffic from other websites. Through this metric you can measure the success of online advertising and activity including banner ads and guest blog posts on other websites.

3. Direct Traffic, ie, people who type your website address straight into their browser. These are usually regular customers.

4. Social Traffic, ie, people visiting your site from social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Audience – who is visiting your site?

You can measure visitors by their language, country or city to get a deeper understanding of who they are and where they’re from. You can also see how engaged visitors are with your site, through these metrics:

Website Traffic – How many people are visiting your site?

•

Average number of pages viewed per visit;

The total number of visits gives a good indication of the overall health of your website. If you’re seeing a long term decline in traffic, it’s a sign that what you’re doing isn’t working and you need to change things fast.

•

Average visit duration;

•

Bounce rate, ie, the number of single page visits. This number should be as low as possible as it means visitors are leaving your website quickly.

•

New visits, ie, new people visiting your site.

But a spike in traffic after the start of a promotion is a sure sign you should schedule similar activity in the future.

•

Ensure your top pages are kept up-to-date;

•

See which pages on your site need development and improvement; and

•

Experiment with new content to find out what works and what doesn’t. Once you know what type of content ranks best, post more to keep people coming back.

Conversion rate – Are your visitors doing what you want them to?

A conversion is when a visitor does something you deem important usually one of three types of action: •

A sale,

•

Signing up to a newsletter or email list, or

•

A social action, such as a share.

Action is the best indicator of whether your digital marketing is working.

Low conversion rates can mean that your call to action is weak, your copy is ineffective or you are attracting the wrong people to your site.

If you’re having trouble deciphering your Google Analytics reports, or in gathering specific information you need, contact a good marketing agency for help.

Rosina Webb is founder and managing director of Energise Marketing Agency. Visit www.energise.net.nz BusinessPlus August 2018

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in business

It’s not all about the bots Fancy a job as a digital manufacturing biomimicry specialist? How about an embedded product prognostics engineer?

Don’t worry if you wouldn’t recognise these roles in the job listings – they don’t exist yet. But in the next 10 to 20 years employers are likely to be recruiting for such positions.

The composition of their future workforce was on the minds of 25 New Zealand companies’ leaders as they joined the Internet of Manufacturing delegation to the US in June.

They saw glimpses of the ‘digital trades’ that will be required in the age of the smart factory, as they toured factories including Californian machine tool-builder Haas Automation, and the maker of tools, laser and electronics, Trumpf, in Chicago.

Management consultancy McKinsey says up to 14 per cent of the global workforce, or 375 million people, will be impacted by the advent of technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things in the next 12 years.

Here in New Zealand a report by economic consultancy, Infometrics, estimates that 31 per cent of current jobs in the Kiwi workforce could be automated in the next 20 years.

“Will a robot take your job? Yes, quite possibly,” says Nathan Stantiall, Business Innovation Adviser Manufacturing and Niche for Callaghan Innovation, who co-led the US mission with the EMA and the Manufacturers’ Network.

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BusinessPlus August 2018

Clyde McCready of Towbar Express checks out the tech at the Trumpf factory in the US

“But without automation we could lose the whole production line,” he says.

employ for that? You need people who are a bit level-headed who go, ‘okay, we’re going to try this now’.”

New skills in software and data science will drive productivity.

A key takeaway from the group’s visit to the Haas factory was that you don’t need low labour costs to dominate the market.

“Employers in the manufacturing sector need to start getting these into their workplaces,” Nathan says.

Technology needs people Since the global financial crisis the decades-long rise in US industrial output has plateaued and productivity growth has stalled, Manufacturing Leadership Journal reported recently, saying, “It is a challenge that can’t be solved with better technology alone.

Fundamentally, it is about people and skills.”

Forecasts for what shape this will take have varied wildly, and managers are struggling to come to grips with it just as much as employees, says Clyde McCready, director of Towbar Express, who went on the US trip.

The towbar manufacturer’s philosophy is to put big data on the shop floor. He says,“Rather than creating data and bringing it into the office, we’re looking at using it in the factory where someone who actually creates things is going to implement change.”

But technologies are crossing over business boundaries and creating variables no-one is expecting, Clyde says.

“Going forward in manufacturing it will be far more of a collaborative environment, and how do you

Dean Boston, general manager of Baker Boys, is digitising his Christchurch contract bakery and was keen to see how automation is being done in the US. But he found the employment structure at Haas equally fascinating.

He says employees are either ‘full time’ or ‘temporary’, with full timers on higher pay and eligible for bonuses. After temporary workers have been at the company for a certain period their colleagues decide whether they should get full time status.

Alongside that Haas has an impressive bonus structure. If the business meets its performance target in a given month, everyone in the company gets 40 hours’ extra pay. If annual targets are met, all staff get another 60 hours’ pay, plus 60 hours on top of that if stretch targets are reached.

“The point is having the staff as a peer group looking at the temps and saying, ‘are you going to contribute to or hinder our ability to get the bonus?’ It’s very smart,” Dean says.

For more information about how smart technologies will impact your factory, go to Callaghan Innovation’s Industry 4.0 hub at www.callaghaninnovation.govt.nz/ industry-4

international trade By tod cooper

Combatting slavery in modern times. Yes, really!

Modern slavery has no legal definition, but it includes the crimes of human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices such as servitude, forced labour, forced or servile marriage, the sale and exploitation of children, and debt bondage.

The 2016 Global Slavery Index identified New Zealand as 52nd of 167 countries in its Prevalence Index Rank, being home to an estimated 800 people living in modern slavery.

The 2018 Global Slavery Index will be released this month by the Walk Free Foundation. In 2016 they estimated 45.8 million people to be in some form of modern slavery across 167 counties, and 58 per cent of those slaves are in just five countries: India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Uzbekistan.

Does your supply chain start in or dissect these countries at some point? And remember, these are just the countries with the highest incidence.

Modern slavery is a situation where one person has taken away another person’s freedom to control their body, to choose to refuse certain work or to stop working, so that they can be exploited. Freedom is taken away by threats, force, violence, coercion, abuse of power and deception.

Recent examples are indicated by the following newspaper headlines: •

•

Guilty: First human trafficking conviction in New Zealand (New Zealand Herald); and

•

Surfwear brand Rip Curl accused of using ‘slave labour’ in North Korea (New Zealand Herald).

There needs to be zero tolerance of modern slavery.

Actions a business can take include the following: 1. Have a policy on modern slavery and human trafficking, ensure due diligence, and governance training for boards and managers.

Regardless of the size of your business, understanding in depth your organisation’s supply chain is the first step to minimising these often horrific human rights abuses.

2. Ensure those responsible for ensuring policy compliance – the procurement and contracts staff? – are sufficiently trained and empowered to advise the business’ top floor and act immediately where any issues are identified.

The UK and recently Australia have adopted legislation to drive a change in behaviours. Expect the New Zealand government to follow with a legal requirement.

3. Have a ‘supply chain due diligence process’: undertake regular supply chain reviews, audits and risk assessments. It doesn’t need to be complicated.

Personally I like the approach taken

by Walk Free Foundation founder and mining magnate, Andrew Forrest, who said: “I knew I had slavery in my supply chains, I just couldn’t prove it. So I just pressed a button”. That button was an affidavit he required suppliers to sign, forcing them to disclose whether slavery existed in their work practices.

4. Know who your suppliers are, where they operate, and what products or raw materials they source. Know their suppliers too, and their suppliers’ suppliers. Ignorance won’t be an excuse to your customers.

Preventative actions

Forrest said to them: “If you’ve got any transgressions, report it to us.

We’ll work with you to get it out, no penalty. But if you don’t report it barbecued. Not only will you be cut from our supply chain, we’ll make sure you’re cut from everyone we speak to.”

Nestlé admits slavery in Thailand while fighting child labour lawsuit in Ivory Coast’ (The Guardian);

Tod Cooper is an independent commercial and procurement consultant and a board member of Transparency International New Zealand. Visit www.tinz.org.nz

5. Ensure your supplier questionnaires, code of conduct, procurement documents and contracts clauses all contain modern slavery statements, and demand an affidavit as Andrew Forrest did. It needn’t be complicated.

6. Assess and prioritise your supply chain risks. Tools like the Global Slavery Index and Corruption Perception Index can help prioritise.

All the steps above follow normal best practice for policy and management in many operational areas. Ensure it extends to slavery.

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They saw, they went, they conquere The winners of the export awards programme for Auckland, Northland and the Waikato have been announced in the media and our Exporter Link newsletters, but now we give you the judges’ comments on each category winner.

The 23 judges were convened by Bob Walters of Robert Walters Consulting.

On behalf of them all, judge Alexander Larsen, Air New Zealand Cargo’s Regional Sales Manager Cargo, NZ & Pacific Island Cargo Sale, said, “There are several common themes that shine in all our category winners: they develop and sustain their staff and team culture; they have a tight focus on their global niche; they innovate relentlessly and spend up big on R & D; and quality is paramount.”

Above: Supreme winner - Gallagher Group team (from left): Neville Richardson, Evan Morgans, Liam Ewig, Steve Tucker, Rob Heebink; and Alexander Larsen from Air New Zealand Cargo

The company is led by Sir William Gallagher and has over 750 staff in New Zealand and 400 in offshore markets.

You can read more below, and watch short videos of the winners’ and finalists’ leaders talking about their successes, at www.exportexcelerator. co.nz/finalists-winners/2018

Of sales, 80 per cent are exported to more than 30 countries, with key markets in North America, Asia and Europe.

Winners of the 2018 Air New Zealand Cargo ExportNZ Awards - Judges’ comments

A key to Gallagher’s international success has been the enduring partnerships built with strong local distributors who had “skin in the game”, providing for greater control and expansion in key markets.

Gallagher Group – Supreme Winner/Westpac Best Large Business (goods exports) Gallagher are global leaders in animal management and high level security systems, and locally provide fuel systems and contract manufacturing.

Overall the company has had significant profitable growth in recent years. The security systems business has very effectively leveraged off the investment in animal management to recording very strong export growth.

The “Gallagher Way” sets customers as the focus of all decisions and action. With investment in research and development (R&D) of almost 10 per cent, the company continues to develop innovative products, most of which are manufactured in New Zealand.

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BusinessPlus August 2018

Gallagher’s is also recognised for its support of ChildFund internationally as well as hospice, Avantidrome, Westpac helicopter, the Chiefs rugby team and other local communities in New Zealand.

Sir Patrick Hogan – Exporter Champion Award

telling that his peers have described him as a great guy who has a touch of magic about him.

He is also described as a visionary, a man ahead of his time and a passionate perfectionist. He made his mark early on in his career because of his uncanny ability to take the right punt at the right time.

Sir Patrick has always had a clear focus on the export market and wanted buyers coming to New Zealand to see a truly international product.

Presentation was key to showing off his product to prospective buyers, along with an excellent offering. His determination to build international pedigrees was key to enticing global buyers.

As one of the testimonials said, “He rolled out the carpet and they rolled out their wallets”.

Sir Patrick Hogan’s equine breeding programme is world renowned. And the success of it means he is a household name in New Zealand.

One of the reasons he is being honoured is that he set the standard for his industry of Thoroughbred horse breeding, and this has become the norm across Australasia.

Sir Patrick has also given back to his industry, by mentoring those who have followed in his footsteps. It’s

Exporters’ Champion Award winner, Sir Patrick Hogan

international trade

ed: keys to export success Gentrack Group – NZTE Best Large Business (services exports) Gentrack is a publicly listed company that designs, builds and implements cloud-based software solutions that have helped to revolutionise the operation of Tier 1 utilities and airports, in more than 20 countries.

A key factor in its success has been carefully targeted partnerships and acquisitions.

Gentrack’s “Playing to Win” strategic planning framework and clear objectives are communicated throughout the company. The judges noted the positive company culture, the level of engagement and energised work environment as major contributors to Gentrack’s success.

The company’s R&D focus is also a strength, ensuring that the company’s utility billing, customer management and airport management software retains its competitive edge.

Gentrack’s comprehensive business model, which includes direct sales, software licensing software, support and advisory services, subsidiaries and partnerships, provides a sound and sustainable base.

Ross Roof Group – Ports of Auckland Best Medium Business (goods exports) The recognition by the Ross family to be a ‘family in business’ and bringing in outside senior management has strengthened the business strategically, as well as improving internal processes.

A commitment to provide staff with the minimum of the living wage should be congratulated, as well as a focus on staff welfare that extends beyond the factory floor.

Ross Roof Group’s integration with the local community and impact on downstream NZ suppliers of raw materials is commendable.

Ross Roof Group has established a structured approach to their international sales that has people in the market and reduced reliance on one person to drive success; and a good discipline in currency risk management.

Its recent roof tile concept that improves installation times significantly keeps the company at the forefront of world roofing companies.

A substantial increase in investment allows for significant expansion opportunities.

Endace – Baldwins Intellectual Property Excellence in Innovation Endace specialises in truly disruptive solutions to protect mission-critical data networks. Having established itself early on as a market leader in high-speed packet-capture, the company recognised that developments in the analytics industry had created a need for a common platform that could host a wide range of analytics applications.

The result is Endace’s Fusion Partner program that allows commercial analytics vendors to run their own applications on a universal platform in a virtual hosting environment.

Endace’s strategic approach to innovation, with clear objectives and carefully structured R&D processes, plus a thorough understanding of the industry and markets they operate in, have positioned it for sustainable growth.

More4Apps – BDO Best Medium Business (services exports) More4Apps has a strong product and a sound business model: More4Apps holds the rare status of being a highlevel, 5-star Oracle partner. Barriers to entry are significant, since every client company has a different Oracle product but More4Apps has 16 years’ experience and coding history to help understand clients’ needs and match their products to client systems.

Having 30 products in its range provides a breadth and depth that rivals competitors who each offer only one product.

Over the past three years, More4Apps has invested heavily, bringing in human resources and marketing specialists, and recruiting an international sales team.

Auckland BioSciences – DHL Best Emerging Business (goods exports) Auckland BioSciences is a truly innovative business that has developed a specialised and unique processing method to turn a primary industry waste product into a world-leading, value-add product in high demand by the international pharmaceutical industry.

This emerging international business is delivering on all fronts: planning and strategy, innovation, intellectual property, investment, contribution to the New Zealand economy, international sales growth, export market share, customer satisfaction, sustainable profitability and genuine people development.

Haka Educational Tours – EMA Best Emerging Business (services exports) The judges were extremely impressed by the innovation and enthusiasm of this emerging business.

The judges commend the company for its disciplined approach to market, and the risk management necessary to support bespoke design around a concept of safely allowing participants to explore beyond their comfort zone.

Haka Educational Tours has developed a winning formula as a customerintimate, solution-focussed business offering exceptional educational experiences to their clients.

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international trade By catherine beard

Prolife Foods founders Bernie and Kaye Crosby

‘80s child now on trend It may surprise you to know that a familiar Kiwi food - Alison’s Pantry bulk foods found in the handy scoop bins at your local supermarket - is also proving to be a hit overseas, in very different markets.

Named after one of the nation’s best loved cooks – Alison Holst – the nuts, seeds, grains and dried fruits represent good, honest, Kiwi wholesomeness.

Their producer, Prolife Foods, was born in 1984 in the garage of Bernie and Kaye Crosby’s rented Hamilton home. In its infancy, dried fruit and nuts were delivered to health food shops, in the boot of the Crosbys’ Triumph 2000.

Jump forward three decades, and this innovative food business has grown turnover to more than $300 million, and added brands including Mother Earth, Haddrell’s of Cambridge and Donovans Chocolates.

The company’s GM International, Mike Sheeran, explains why the Alison’s Pantry product was chosen to take to export markets.

“The self-selection category is really on-trend, with health and wellbeing globally, not just in New Zealand,” he says.

“Plus, it’s our core competency.

We’ve done it for a long time in New Zealand, and have a great relationship with Foodstuffs here.

Australia was the most obvious test market, and developing a successful relationship with Coles there gave us the confidence and impetus to go further afield.”

Now after just a couple of years in the international playing field beyond Australia, Mike says, “After the success of Alison’s Pantry in New Zealand and self-selection in Australia, we’re focusing in setting up our South East Asia strategy and have found success in Singapore.”

He says Prolife Foods has started a partnership there with Hong Kong Dairy Farms, which owns a lot of supermarkets throughout South East Asia.

“It’s a category that really differentiates retailers’ fresh food proposition, it’s innovative and stands out.

Solid base “One of the key learnings for me is that you have to have a very strong domestic business before you move to exporting.

“You need a lot of capability in your infrastructure – from manufacturing supply chains to brand marketing, finance support and HR. With our self-selection model, we employ people in overseas markets that we have to train, and there can be language and cultural barriers.

“I think if you have a strong consumer proposition with globally understood products, you can be strong anywhere.

“The real learning that you need to get right is taking that consumer proposition from being successful in one country, and adapting that commercial model to suit other countries’ infrastructure and retail.

The Singapore market, for example,

Catherine Beard is executive director of ExportNZ. Email cbeard@exportnz.org.nz 28

BusinessPlus August 2018

has a very different retail footprint – the stores are a lot smaller and it’s a lot more fragmented.”

One of the keys to Prolife Foods’ international success, according to Mike, is trials, then redefining the consumer proposition over time to suit the local market.

This worked very well with Alison’s Pantry in Cold Storage supermarkets in Singapore, where Prolife Foods was operating a store within a store, he says.

As for the future, Prolife Foods has ambitious growth aspirations, and strategic retailer partnerships will be a key vehicle.

“We’ve been in this market a long time and have plenty of experience and passion for it. Also, we invest heavily in understanding how to grow and develop this category, and we always continue to innovate.

“I believe we can really lead the market globally,” he says.

Top tips To develop a strong export business, make sure your company…

1. is committed to the long-term journey, understanding it’s a slow burn; 2. has a strong domestic base, infrastructure and capability; 3. is committed from an investment and a resourcing perspective; and 4. has strong leadership across the business developing the “new” in uncharted waters.

international trade

By Thomas Manning

New broom in Mexico good news for NZ Disenchanted voters in the US, Europe and now Mexico have kicked establishment politics and supplyside economics to the kerb by electing populist leaders.

At the forefront of the new populism is US President Donald Trump who is pandering to his blue-collar electoral base with xenophobic, protectionist policies, the foremost of which are harsh import tariffs which have sparked a tit-for-tat trade war with China and the European Union (EU).

In Mexico, left-wing politician Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known by his initials AMLO) has won the presidency in a landslide, with the highest number of votes in Mexican history.

It is no surprise Mexican voters so fulsomely supported the antiestablishment AMLO because the plutocratic parties which have ruled Mexico since the 1930s have built an unequal society. Despite Mexico being the second biggest economy in Latin America, close to half of Mexicans live in abject poverty, corruption is endemic and murderous drug trade violence runs amok.

MORENA, the left wing party AMLO founded less than six years ago, won a majority in the senate and congress, which will enable AMLO to freely supplant Mexico’s neoliberal economics with a redistributive model and implement controversial strategies to eradicate corruption and violence.

Poorer relations with the US Mexico’s relationship with the US is presently at its lowest ebb in decades, as Trump has demonised

Mexicans as gang-bangers and rapists, insisted on Mexico paying for a border wall and has wanted draconian changes to NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) to favour the US. Trump and AMLO share similar personalities (both are tempestuous, aggressive with enemies and suspicious of the media) but these similarities are unlikely to provide common ground from which to work cooperatively on common interests, as long as Trump continues to denigrate Mexico and its people.

In his victory speech, AMLO promised to boost economic growth, reduce poverty and discourage illegal migration to the US by developing self-sufficiency in agricultural production, which he said will be the central policy of his administration.

Mexico’s wealthy elite and international markets breathed a huge sigh of relief when AMLO guaranteed the independence of Mexico’s central bank and assured recent investors in the recentlyreformed energy sector that all existing state contracts will be honoured unless they were obtained by corruption.

In a conciliatory tone AMLO’s victory speech did not include his habitual denouncement of Mexico’s ruling class as a “mafia of power”, but he did reiterate his intention to make them pay for increased social spending on healthcare, education and pensions for the elderly and disabled, and for student scholarships.

In order to reduce violence, AMLO has proposed a process of national reconciliation with the drug cartels, which have murdered well over 200,000 people since 2012, through

an amnesty for lower-level cartel workers who he says are victims of structural poverty rather than being incorrigible criminals.

AMLO intends to centralise Mexico’s myriad police forces, as the present fragmented system is highly susceptible to criminal infiltration and corruption and indeed, it has already largely succumbed.

Closer relations with NZ Mexico was the first country to ratify the 11-member Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP) trade deal that includes New Zealand. Japan followed suit last month.

Mexico is also expected to stay in the Pacific Alliance (11-year-old Latin American trade bloc), especially if the US pulls out of NAFTA. Mexico is New Zealand’s biggest trading partner in Latin America and 21st biggest overall, with US$471 million of two-way trade in 2017 and which will increase under CPTTP and Pacific Alliance, as both unions eliminate tariffs and barriers.

AMLO’s goal of self-sufficiency in agricultural production will create substantial new opportunities for New Zealand exporters.

Of particular promise are agritech (including herd improvement, pasture mapping and management), digital agriculture (including precision farming, big data, sensors, robotics and drones) as well as systems and technology for horticulture, aquaculture and viticulture.

Thomas Manning is governing director of Manning Group and Transpacific Business Tours, and publisher of the Transpacific Business Digest. Visit manninggrouplimited.com BusinessPlus August 2018

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EMA highlights from the past year 1200+

members attended 25 FREE forums and advocacy briefings

915

ExportNZ Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty teams engaged meaningfully with 915 member companies

874

courses, conferences and events were delivered by the Learning team

10,578

people attended a course, conference or event organised by the Learning team

1214 People people chose the webinar option to “attend” our member briefings

2227 Members

took advantage of EMA Consultancy or EMA Legal service this year

15

submissions were made to central and local government to ensure members’ voices were injected into the development of public policy

35

per cent

reduction in carbon footprint

125

students graduated with a Youth Employability Certificate to help them become work ready

7402 People

attended briefings and employment events organised by the Enterprises team

30,064

member calls and emails answered by the AdviceLine Team

Millions of readers, viewers and listeners made aware of key business issues via media commentary

65 score

was the overall Net Promoter Score awarded by course and conference attendees

85%

of members who used EMA Legal services rated them overall as very good or excellent

11 issues

of BusinessPlus packed with news and commentary to keep members up-to-date

member profile “This can take years to sort out, so don’t wait. This is not just about the marketing team wanting a new website.

“B2B eCommerce is not just a convenience; increasingly it’s how business customers want to deal with suppliers and partners, while communication in person or by phone is becoming secondary.

James Gilbert, chief executive of Solutionists

Business-to-business procurement is changing Online trade among businesses (business-to-business activity) is slowly catching up with the sophistication of online consumer shopping, says James Gilbert (pictured), chief executive of eCommerce providers Solutionists.

“Now business-to-business [B2B] customers are seeing what’s possible overseas in the area of online buying and are starting to ask, ‘how come I can’t buy these parts, or supplies, online?’” he says.

Solutionists began by developing its own modular “MaxCommerce” branded retail platform for mid-sized, omni-channel retail and integrated B2B enterprises. Recently it became the first official Australasian partner with the US developers, Insite Software, to implement and support Insite software for enterprise (large) B2B manufacturers and distributors in this part of the world. Complex issues in eCommerce are pricing and shipping that are already built into this software, which is also customisable, says James.

“This means distributors and manufacturers in Australia and New Zealand no longer have to look off-shore for enterprise online services that cost millions of dollars to implement. The big

technology suppliers’ products are for companies doing hundreds of millions of dollars in trade, cost millions to implement and need large consultancies.”

Now in its 15th year, Solutionists continues to grow due to providing solutions the market demands, he says. “As well, we operate with honesty and transparency.” Solutionists is New Zealand-owned and based in Newmarket, Auckland, with other offices in Sydney and Melbourne. Its total staff of 19, predominantly in technical development roles, is about to increase by three.

Tips to catch up in eCommerce James says, before buying eCommerce software, a business has to figure out its strategy, starting with what it wants its technology to do for its customers.

A company generally integrates its eCommerce platform with other business software systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management systems (CRMs), Warehousing Management Systems (WMS), Point of Sale (POS) and/or Digital Asset Management (DAM).

“US statistics show on average 93 per cent of B2B buyers prefer selfservice,” James says.

Solutionists helps its customers find the best way to sell their products.

“When you know what your customers want to do with you online, you can work out the amount of information customers need, to make a buying decision.

“People are horrified at the amount of information they have to provide to make these [online] channels work.

“They have to spend a lot more time presenting what they actually sell, either visually or with detailed specs, which can be more informative and more effective than talking on the phone.

“We take care of the design, ensuring a best-in-class user experience, and implement the technical requirements.

“Our customers are as independent as they can be and can manage digital systems themselves.

“But every customer’s situation is different.”

Doing business in NZ When asked about doing business in New Zealand, James says the good aspects are the transparent market, encouragement of innovation and trustworthy people.

“But our small population makes achieving critical mass more difficult.”

His advice to someone in their first year of business is: “Always put the customer first.”

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